The morning news., 1894-08-04
DYNAMITE ON TIE RAILS.
DiabOliCal Attempt TO Blow Up a
Train at Eureka.

The Locomotive Badly Damaged by
the Explosion-The Failure of 10
Tons OF Dynamite in a Car on a Side
Track to Explode All That Saved
lS3 Passengers From Being Blown
to Atoms-Train Robbers the Fiends
Behind the Murderous Plot.
St. Louis, Aug 8.-The Texas express
on the st. Louis and San Francisco road
left the union depot last night at %
o'clock About $3.50 o'clock, when the
train was nearing Eureka, in st. Louis
county, thirty miles from the city, Wells
Fargo Express Messenger Ferguson
started to go from the car in " hich he
was at work to the one Immediately in the
rear. AL the door he was met by masked
man with a drawn revolver, who COM
manded him to hold up his hands and in
form him where the key to the safe could
be found. Ferguson Immediately drew
pistol ana began using it, The robber re
turned the fire and put a ball through
ferguson S shoulder, and another through
ms hand. He then jumped from the train
aud escaped. Ferguson thinks he wounded
the robber, but is not certain.
REMARKABLE ESCAPE.
The most remarkable feature Of last
nights attempt at train wrecking at
Eureka was the escape of the entire train
and 1888 persons upon it from absolute de-
struction. The desperadoes, who We're
undoubtedly accomplices of the fellow
with whom Express Messenger Ferguson
had a fight, forced open car
of dynamite that stood on the
side track below the station
at Eureka and stole two big dynamite
cartridges that were intended for heavy
blasting in quarries and mines. Each
cartridge was capable Of tearing TO pieces
tons of solid rock They were placed by
the dastardly bandits on the rails, the
intention being to destroy the train and
pluuder the richly laden express car, and
probably the passengers.
II is a miracle that the entire train was
not hurled to destruction for the miscre-
ants who attempted to wreck it placed
the cartridges within few feet of a car
Wh1cn contained ten tons of dynamite.
| Then they seCreted themselves and
waited for the train that was due 10 ar
rive few minutes before 10 O'Clock. The
train left St. Louis at 80 o'clock and
was only few minutes behind, the de
lay having been caused by the shooting of
the express messenger by one of the rob-
bers.
THE EXPLOSION.
When the forward wheels of the engine
rolled on the cartridges there was u terri
| tic explosion, which lifted the machine
/ from the tracks and tore the massive
| pilot from the bolts riveted to the engine
! All the forward part of the machine was
wrecked and twisted, and although il
was able to carry the train Q
few miles beyond it was so badly
wrecked that another engine had TO be
procured. The entire train was severely
shaken, the windows broken and the
! packages of letters thrown from the
boxes in the mail car. 1t is wonderful
how the carload of dynamite escaped
| The explosion tore great hole in the
earth, wrested the rails from their fast
enings and flung the ties in every di-
rectiOn. it tore open one side OF
the dynamite car and exposed to view
tons OF the powerful explosive though for
some unaccountable reason this vast
amount Of dynamite with energy enough
to blow an entire city off the earth, did
not explode If it had, not person in all
| those 1873 passengers would have escaped