The morning call., 1894-09-19
who escaped was started within ten

wakeful ones in the sleeperS will ever for
get the experience. AT the first shot every
man near the window opened it and looked
out. With the second she drew his head in
and dropped on the floor The cry of
train-robberSi" went through the train,
and women went down on their knees and
screamed. Twice before last nights at
tempt the bandits started for the spot
selected for the robbery, but each time a
copious fall of rain baf1led them.
Eleven nights ago the bandits, shortly
after 10 O'Clock, started to ride slowly
across the country 1t was cloudy and
they had not gone over third of the dis
tance when rain began to fall. Some were
in favor of turning back at once, declaring
that they were not going to run the chance
of being tracked by mud trail. Their
objections were OveTruled for the time
being, but by the time the cavalcade was
within seven miles OF the railroad track it
was apparent to even the most fOolhardy
that discretion was the better part of
valor. The command TO retreat was given
and the procession returned. The next
day two of Kinney's men followed their
trail for fvs miles. From the indications
they say eight men were in the party that
night.
Last Saturday morning was the second
time the affair was billed to come off. If
il had not beea for the rain the attack
would have been made, for in addition to
the regular prize carried in the express
car on the train was a big bundle of money
to be used by the Santa Fe in settling with
some employees for August. At least this
is the information on which the robbers
1
early and with too much vigor even to per-
nit start. Detective Kinney was a
! badly chsgrned man when the train
passed the point at which, according TO
! programme, il should have been tagged.
| He was on the engine clad in suit of
| blue denim and looked for all the world
| like an apprentice to the art of firing an
| engine. Snugly esconsed in a skilfully
constructed dugout in the heaping tender
| full of coal was another of his good men,
who had put six bullets into as many tele-
graph poles while riding past them as fast
| as a pony could take him. Inside the eX-
press-car, behind an innocent pile OF
| trunks, egg cases and bundles of merchan-
| dise-wh hich were in reality barrcades of
| cotton-were seven men with loaded Win
chesters and a couple of big Colts.
mighty handy in a tight place." as
| Kinney put it. The cunning of the "hold-
! up" craftsman was shown in the selection
| of this spot for turning the little trick, as
the robbery was professionally designated
For ten miles there is no night telegraph
station until La Plata is reached, and there
| is no stop there. Once in while the train
| takes water at CORN, but there is nothing
| there except the tank. Not within the
memory OF the oldest man on the road has
a halt been made at Barring. but at Hurd-
land, which is just ten miles west Of the
last named station, is switch into which
the train runs eveIv morning aud waits
for the eastbound express to pass. Both
are due there at the same time, and al
most invariably they are on time. But if
the estbound should not put in an ap-
pearance the eastbound would have to
camp there until II came along, for there
is no means of finding out what the trou bic
is without running back to La Plata.
The men who planned the robbery fig
ured that they had the train and its
treasure in a pocket and would have all
the time necessary, not only to rife the
express-ear, but to relieve the passengers
of their valuables.
full study of the topography of the country.
For 1000 feet before the SPOT at which the
red light was swung across The rails the
road winds on reverse curve through
cut with embankments from ten TO forty
feet high. Then comes a little hill, fol-
lowed by stretch of track almost on
level with the surrounding country. On
either side Of the right of way are dense
l.
an underground almost as bad as that of
the Northern Michigan pine woods. But
the forest. though apparently thick and
impenetrable, is only so for quarter of a
mile from the track. Beyond that the
country stretches practically clear and
easily trayersed almost to the Iowa line.
Il was In the middle of the timber that the
horses were hidden, good, strong-limbed
animals, and it was the calculation that
after the nights business had been accom-
plished two hours hard riding would put
every man safe from pursuit and that, too.
soon after the day dawned. There were
no telegraph lines up in the country where
the gang has been in hiding, and it was
thought that news of the holdup would not
penetrate to that region until after the
participants In the affair had time to cover
their tracks.
Itisnearly three weeks since the Santa Fe
and the Wells Fargo officials received the
tip that the raid was contemplated. Since
then the express-car, whether inhabited
by Detective Kinney's men or not, has
been a regular arsenal. Every night at
least half dozen secret service men have
climbed aboard at different points along
the line east Of Fort Madison and scat
tered themselves in the day reclining
chairs and smoking cars. Soon after that
point was reached they would have worked
forward into the smoker-not man say
Ing word TO any other, all total strangers
as far as outward appearances went
and before Gorin was passed half of them
had disappeared into the express-car.
This was merely precautionary. Detec-
tive klnney's spy gave him twenty-four
hours notice of the two premeditated
raids, spoiled by rain. and then the full
force was on hand. But the railroad and
express people were taking no chances.
When the danger point had been passed
the men would drop off at different sta.
tons, working back East along the road
In the daytime and repeating the opera
ton the next night.
Train of the Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe Railroad is what is known as the
Colorado and Utah unlimited. # leaves
chicago daily at p. NJ, and is due to ar
rive IN Kansas City the next morning. The
Santa fe runs almost due eoDtb,as. ho