The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1894-03-02
DESPERATE, BUT FUTILE.
Well Laid scheme Fo- Libarating Two
COnvicts Their Wa to I'riso:,.

"A wen Iaid Seher1e fGS ElbPT2f1n% TWO
COnvicts on Their Way to I'risOa.
81 never unders ODD, :" reinaI ked gen
eral passenger agent while discussing
recent train robbery, chow it was that
whole trainful Of people would allow
themselves to be held up by one or two
bandits till some years ago, when | was
making trip over the Michigan Central
road. Then the mystery was explained
to me. was on my way from Detroit
to Chicago and had taken a seat in the
smoking car to enjoy my cigar.
SAT the time the smoking cars of the
Michigan Central were equipped with
comfortable revolving chairs. Shortly
after taking my seat noticed that there
were two convicts aboard. They were
in charge of two deputies and were be-
ing conveyed from Detroit TO the state
prison at jackson. They sat there talk
ing TO their guards cOmplacently as if
they had been going TO some more agree
able entertainment. All went we'll un-
til Ypsilanti was reached. Half way be-
tween that place and Ann Arbor is a
small road crossing named Geddes. As
we approached it al ordinary looking
passenger went through the car in a care
less manner, rolling his eyes from side to
side, casually inspecting the occupants
of the car When he reached the pris-
oners, he pulled a whisky flask from his
pocket and in an offhand way remarked:
Here, you fellows, have drink. 1t
will be a long time before you have an
other
1.-The convicts accepted the invitation,
took a good long pull from the bottle
and handed it back to their apparently
chance acquaintance, who pocketed it
and passed into the next car. Hardly
had he disappeared when the cOnvicts,
with motion quick as flash, pulled two
revolvers from somewhere on the seats
beside them and presented them at their
guards. Before any one in the car had
time to realize what was taking place
those revolvers were going bang! bang!
just as fast as the triggers could be
pulled. The only men who appeared to
have any presence of mind were the two
deputies. They had seen the two re-
vOlvers coming, and by some deXterous
move managed to strike up the cOnvicts
arms so that the balls, instead of strik-
ing the victims for whom they were in
tended, passed through the roof of the
car. While the scuffie was at it's height
the bellrOpe was pulled in some mysteri-
Gus manner, and the train came to a
dead stop at the crossroads near Geddes
station, where a fast team of horses
hitched to a light wagon was standing.
By the time the train stopped, though,
the convicts had been Overpowered by
their guards, but not until 1S shots had
been fired.
"The whole thing was evidently a con-
certed scheme to iberate the cOnvicts
The man with the whisky flask was an
ally, and his tender of the whisky was a
signal that everything was ready and
the time for action had come. The at
tempt at escape fortunately failed, but
if you had seen that car while the shots
were being fired you could readily have
understood how easily few armed rob-
bers overpOwer train. Every chair in
the car was vacant, and the former oc-
cupants were crouching IN corners or
wherever they could hide themselves be-
hind some object that might stop bull
let When everything was quiet again
and the convicts were in irons, no less
than 10 men were counted coming from
the dressing room of that smoking car"
Chicago Post.