The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-10-14
PACIFIC EXPRESS HOLD UP.
No Clue to the Bandits, and Various
Theories of Detectives

San Francisco, Oct. 13.-The bandits
who held up a Southern Pacific train a
few miles west of Sacramento on Oct. 3,
and looted the Wells, Fargo company's
express car, secured over 200. Through
out they showed themselves to be cool
men with more brains than possessed by
the average man who goes out with a
bomb and a gun to take that which is
not his own from two corporations whose
power is great and whose arms are
long. The bravery and intelligence shown
by the highwaymen are such as to lead
the officers TO expect long hard chase
Wells, Fargo & Co. and the Southern
Pacific railroad recognize the fact that
they have no ordinary. criminals to deal
with. Consequently they are exerting
every effort, putting forth every energy,
to run down the men and their rich loot,
and have offered reward of $500 for
the capture of each of the robbers and
$4,000 for the recovery of the coin. This
! is in addition to the usual state reward.
The rewards are sufficiently large 10
put the most skilled detectives and the
bravest officers on their mettle. They are
beginning to gather and take the trail
Every clue is being pursued, every mark
examined, every theory given hearing
AS yet however, the robbers are free.
They secured four sacks of coin. Three
valuable white metal. Two Of the sacks
contained $4,000 each. In the third was
the sum of $4,000. The fourth sack, being
full Of silver: It is presumed l t ha1 me
SOL 900 and $4,000 Where the money was
to go the Wells, Fargo officials will not
say.
The weight of the plumber was SO great
that it is supposed the bold marauders
must have cached it near the place where
they left the engine.
Every clue is being traced to a finish
and it seems impossible for the robbers
to escape, if they are, as is supposed, IN
this city.
The detectives are working on three
different theories. All of these theories
agree that the men are employees OF the
Southern Pacific and reside in this city
1t Isl claimed that the manner in which
the robbery was conducted bears out
this superstition beyond the question of a
doubt.
One of the theories is that the robbers
buried the money in the tuleS near where
the engine stopped, and after dlSposlng
of their arms, masks and linen busters,
crossed the bridge into Sacramento where
they live.
Those opposed to this theory claim to
believe the money was buried somewhere
in the neighborhood of where the en-
CINE was reversed and sent back, but that
the robbers crossed to the Sacramento
side of the river in q boat, which they
had either stolen for the occasion or
which was furnished by a confederate.
The other theory, and one that seems
to have large number of adherents, Is
that the men had a buggy standing near
by. into which they loaded the money
and then drove up the river to point
where they had a confederate awaiting
their arrival with boat, by means OF
which they could row across and enter
the city from the north or east side;
Traces of a buggy in the soft ground
near the railroad track have been dis
covered.
Another circumstance in line. with this
theory is that a buggy has been mis-
sing from stable in this city since the
afternoon preceding the train robbery.