The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-09-18
BAT TILE WITH
BANDITS.
Train Robbers Attack an
Achison Train Near
Gorin, Mo. ~
SHOWERS OF LEAD WELCOME THEM
The Plot Was Betrayed and the
Train Was Alive With
Armed Detectives.


FORT MADISON, Iowa, Sept. 1S, 1884,
Four masked men attempted to hold up
train No. 5, the Utah and Colorado ex-
press on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa
Fe road near Gorin, Mo-, seventy-five
miles west of here, at three O'Clock this
morning. AS result Dad" Prescott,
the engineer of the train, is probably
fatally wounded, two of the bandits are
believed to lie dead or wounded in the
woods that surround the track, and the
other two are fleeing across the country
pursued by railroad detectives with blood
hounds The attempt to rob the train
failed completely. 1t was predestined to
failure from the start.
The plot was formed three weeks ago
and the railroad and express officials
have had a spy in the camp Of the BAN
dts ever since. From the time the train
left Chicago, at five o'clock last evenT
ing railroad and express detectives, all
walking arsenals, climbed on at every
station. Chief Detective j. j. Kenney,
of the Santa Fe, with G. c. Mont
gomery, his right hand man, boarded it
at Joliet. At Streator they We're joined
by two more men, who have been pa
trolling the line for twenty days. j. A.
Matthews who has been acting the spy
for the last two weeks and getting the
news of their plans, put in an appear
ance at Galesburgh.
EXPECTED $4,000.
He brought good news. The would-be
robbers met early i'm the day and de-
cided to leave their hiding place, near
Memphis, Mo-, at $50 o'clock last night
and make their third attempt to get
rich at the expense of the express com
pany. They expected to make haul
of at least $50, 900, the Monday run being
always much heavier than any other
day of the week.
When the train reached this place,
shortly after midnight, Division Super
intendent Stockton, of the Wells, Fargo
Express Company, got into the treas
ure car. He carried a sawed-off Win
chester. With him We're four men.
Their arms were in the car and have
been for several days.
Then a council of war was held and
a plan of campaign was adopted. De-
teetives Kinney and Montgomery board
ed the train. Superintendent Stockton
and two of his good shots tarried in the
express car. But it was in the forward
end of the smoking car the forces were
massed A partition and door inclosed
half a dozen seats and shut off the rest
of the car from it. There a dozen men
were planted. Each had one of the
Sawed Offs every cartridge loaded
especially for the event with two dozen
buckshot. There was only one passen-
,artyo ont
requested by the brakeman to take a
seat in the chair car as ''they were go
ing to sweep" Pullman car conductors
and porters sought places of safety and
the trainmen did not expose themselves
unnecessarily. Ten minutes before the
time set for the curtain to rise the little
compartment in the baggage car was
filled with armed men. The lights were
out the windows were up. In each seat
were two men sitting sideways, the muz-
zles of their guns protruding just a
trifle over the sills. Behind them stood
others, with Winchesters at half-cock
resting across their arms.
THE STOP.
Out from beneath the high embank-
ments, just one mile from Gorin, sped
the train. Then came the crack of a
railway torpedo. A moment and a shlill,
sharp whistle gave token the engineer
had heard and almost before his hand
left the valve, across the tracks, not fifty
yards away, swung red light. grind
ing of wheels along the rails told the
air brakes had been applied, and with
in twenty seconds from the explosion
of the torpedo the train was at a stand
still
Out from the dense undergrcwth north
Of the track came four forms. The face
of each was hidden by a black mask.
One more agile than the rest rushed to
the engine almost before his companions
could reach the express car, He carried
rifle, and when within ten feet of
the tender brought it to his shoulder,
pointed at Dad" Prescott, the white
bearded engineer, and as he shouted
Hold up your hands" pulled the trig-
ger His aim was true and Dad fell
to the floor of his cab with a bullet in
his right breast. With one bound De-
tective kenney gained the top of the
tender, and, bringing his gun to his
shoulder, sent a shower of shot almost
into the face of the masked individual.
How on earth the fellow ever managed
to move six inches is a mystery. But
he sprang from the engine and made for
the woods. The shot which laid Ensi-
neer Prescott low was the signal for q
fusilade, and was echoed and re-echoed
from bank to bank and through the
woods 1t was also the signal for hasty
retreat to the shelter of timber on the
part of the greatly surprised individuals
whose features were hidden by masks.
FEEBLE REPLY.
Not until they reached timber did they
answer; then they only fired two shots.
But their aim was not good. and al
though men were leaning from the car
windows and pulling triggers as fast as
possible, while others had jumped to
earth and were after them on foot, they
failed to hit man.
According to programme their horses
were hitched not over 100 yards away.
When the posse from the train reached
the spot, they saw one animal, gray.
galloping north. A well directed shot
brought it low, but there was no rider
on it's back The place where the horses
were tied was soon found, and cut hitch
ing straps showed that one man, at least,
had life enough left to make his es-
cape. Sheriff Sailing, of Scotland county,
Missouri, who was one Of the party in
the baggage car, took the saddle, blanket
and bridie from the dead gray, and saws