The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1894-09-18
BANDITS
'"''' beaten Off.
Masked Robbers Make an
Attack on a Treasure
Train In Missouri
MET BY ASHOWER Of BULLETS
Express Company Forewarned,
Its Guards Strong and
Well Armed.
engineer SHOT BY A COWARD.
Robbers Escape Through the Woods
Panic Among the Trains
Passengers.
ENGINEER SHOT BY A COWARD.

CORN, Mo, Sept 1S-The Colorado
and Utah express on the Santa Fe was
held up by robbers at $50 A. M. to-day
Owing to the fact that the railroad and
express officials had spy on the trail
of the bandits when they stopped the
train, the robbers met hail Of buck
shot and bullets.
1t Is said that at least two bandits
lie dead In the surrounding woods. while
others rode for their rendezvous, twenty
one miles away. filled with leaden pei
lets. They were novices in the art of
train robbery. and brutal ones at that;
for they shot Dad Prescott, the engi-
neer, before they even gave him
chance to hold up his hands. His
wound. 1t is believed. will not prove
fatal
The raid was planned three weeks
ago. When the train left Chicago at 5
press detectives, al w%iEi Gaa a ags es
climbed on at every station. Chief De
with g. c. Montgomery, his right-hand
man. boarde 1t at Joliet. At Streator
they were Joined by two more men,
twenty days.
j.. A. Matthews, who has been acting
the spy for the last two weeks. and
bcNtiIS tHt NEWS OF tDelr plans, put in
an appearance at Ga,esburg. He brought
news that the would-be robbers met
early In the day and decided to leave
their hiding-place, near Memphis. at $50
O'CLOCK last night, and make their third
attempt TO get rich at the expense of the
Express Company They expected to
make hau! of at least $4,000, the Mon
any other day of the week
When the train reached Fort Madison,
Ia, shortly after midnight, Division SUI
perintendent Stockton, of Wells Fargo
car; He carried a sawed-off Winchester
with history. 1t formerly belonge to
BIZ Dalton. With the Superintendent
were four men.
Detectives Kinney and Montgomery
boarded the engine Supt Stockton and
two OF his good shots tarried In the ex-
press car. In the forward end of the
partition and door inclosed half a dozen
seats and shut off the rest OF the car
from them. There the men. a dozen OF
them, We're planted. Each had one OF
loaded especially for the event, with two
dozen buckshot, by supt. Stockton.
There was only one passenger in that
compartment, and he, was requested by
the brakeman to take a seat in the
chair car, as they were going to sweep
at 2 o'clock" When Sheriff Matthews
of Scotland, climbed on board. all de-
tails Of the surprise party were ar
ranged
There was one man, however, who had
to be looked out for and protected. He
was the spy. According to the report
brought in by Matthews, the spy would
endeavor to be the one who tagged the
train. If So one torpedo was to precede
the swinging of the lantern. II another
there would be couple OF tiny bombs.
The orders were that, no matter IL every
one OF the guilty ones got away, there
life Of the man who had, in fact, taken
his life into his hands In order to frus-
trate the attempt at robbery.
Pullman-car conductors and porters
sought places OF safety, and even the
trainmen did not expose themselves
unnecessarily. In the little compart-
ment filled with armed men, the lights
were out and the windows were up.
In each seat there were two men sitting
sideways, the muZzles OF their guns
protruding just tribe over the stills
Behind them stood others, seemingly
statues, with Winchesters at half-cock
resting on their arms.
out from between two high embAnk-
ments. Just one mile from CORN, sped the
train, One minute more and the anxious
watchers would know whether they
again had their labor in vain.
Then came the crack OF the looked
and longed-for signal. There was but
whistle gave token that the engineer
had heard, and almost before his hand
left the valve across the track, not
fifty yards away, swung n red light,
plosion OF the torpedo the train was at
a stHndstill.
out from the dense underground north
Of the track came four men. The face
~ each was hidden by IA black mask
one man, more agile than the rest.
rushed to the engine almost before his
companions could reach the express car.
lie carried a rifle, and when within ten
feet OF the tender, brought It to his
shoulder, pointed II at Dad" Prescott,
the white-bedrded engineer and AS ne
shouted Hold up your hands" pulled
the trigger His aim was true, ana
Dad" fell to the floor OF his cab with
a bullet In his right breast.
With one bound Kinney 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 rob
Der. The fellow did not fall as eN-
pected but turned and made for the
woods.
The shot which laid Engineer Pres
colt low was the signal for a fusillade,
and was echoed and re-echoed from
bank TO bank and through the woods,
II was also the signal for the hasty re-
'rast Of the bandits.