Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-10-18
EXPRESS RoBBERiEs.


Successful Hauls in California and v1r-
ginia-Large Amounts of Booty Cap
tured-The Robbers In Both Cases being
Men Who Thoroughly Understood the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS rainmen Surren-
der at Discretion.
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. ia report
from Sacramento states that the east
bound overland train due there at p.
m. was held up by two men about
miles below that city Thursday night.
The track-walker was first robbed and
then forced to start to town. The train
robbers then covered the engineer and
fireman with guns and compelled them
to accompany them to the express car.
Messenger Pare shot twice at the
bandits. The engineer and fireman
called upon Page to open the door, as
the train robbers were going to shoot
| them if he did not, and were prepared
to blow up the car with dynamite.
He complied with their request in
order to save their lives, and the rob
bers looted the car of four bags OF
gold, the amount of which is not
known. Then they cut the engine
loose, boarded it and ran toward the
city. The engine was then reversed
| ana set on a wild run toward the train,
but by the time it had reached its des-
tination the steam had run SO low that
the collision caused little damage. The
robbers made their escape. The train
arrived at Sacramento at 1890.
The Story of an Eyewitness of the Rob
berry.
SACRAMENTO, Cal, Oct. 1s.-James
Cotton, who was beating his way to
Sacramento from Suisun, probably
saw more of the robbery than anyone
else. His story is as follows:
''The first thing I knew about any
trouble was when the torpedo went
off. 1t seemed to light the car. said
to Hanley, a tramp who was riding on
the forward platform of the blind bag
gage, where I was riding: There
goes a torpedo; something's wrong
swung out on the step and looked
ahead and saw two figures on the
track, swinging lanterns. One had
red and the other white lantern.
As the train slowed up I climbed
up in the back end of the tender
and lay down, while Hanley went
inside the storm doors. The next thing
saw the two robbers, who ran up on
each side of the engine. They were
dressed in close-ftting white suits,
wore high-peaked white caps. exactly
like the pictures I have seen of the
'whitecaps' in the east. They looked
like clowns in a circus. They had
Winchester rifles but no pistols or
cartridge belts that could see. The
big one fired his rifle off, and said to
the engineer, ''Get down out of that,
and be quick about it. The en-
gineer replied: I will, I will;
don't kill me, I'll mind YOU The
engineer and the fireman accompanied
the robbers, who kept poking them
with their guns. The tall one said,
Get a move on you.' They went back
and uncoupled the four forward cars
from the passenger coaches and brought
the fireman and engineer back to the
engine. The tall man stood on the
platform of the first car, and said to
the engineer: ''Pull out now, -
lively, and go till tell you to STOP
Zone of the robbers kept his gun
aimed at the engineer, and rested it on
my legs without seeing me. It was ali
old gun, with SO large bore that 1
thought it was musket at first. After
we had gone about a mile the big man
told the engineer to stop.
''The big man climbed on the tender
and saw me for the first time. He
pointed his rifle at me and said: ''Who
in - is this?" I said: ''Don't shoot,
mister, I'm only tramp"
s'Then the men compelled the engi-
neer and fireman to go back to the ex-
press car and call the messenger. The
messenger began to shoot at once, but
was implored not to by the engineer.
saw the four come back presently
bearing a sack each, and heard the
large man say the sacks weighed about
seventy-fve pounds, though the two
carried by the railroad men were larger
than the other two. They put the
sacks on the engine, told us to get
away from the machine, and then they
pulled out.
Gas they were bringing the sacks to
the engine the messenger fred two
shots at them and the engineer said:
THAT - fool will kill us yet" The
big robber laughed and said: mo he
won't, he can't hit the side of
house." They were the coolest men
ever saw. The mouth opening in the
big fellows mask was very large and I
could see that he had dark NOUS
tache.''