The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-01-25
MISSOURI RIVER BANDITS,
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL TRAIN ROB
Berry NEAR ST. JOSEPH.
Five skillful Men Capture the Train Gre"
and Relieve the Express Safe Of Its
Contents-Nobody Injured BY
the Robbers.

ST. JOSEPH, Jan. 1S.-Five Masked
men held up train on the Kansas
CITY, st. Joe and Council Bluffs road
at an early hour this morning at Roys
branch, the same place where an at
tempt was made in September, RESULT
ing in tie death of two men. The en-
tire contents of the safe in the express
car was secured by the robbers this
morning. No one was injured. Five
men were in the gang. 1t is difficult
to obtain any description OF tnemf
The amount of loss is not given out by
the express company. Ofhcers are
searching for the robbers. IL
The train left the Francis stree3
depot at 1890 o'clock in charge OF Cont
ductor William Haywood and Engineed
Davis. When the train reached Roy'sl
Branch torpedo exploded under theA!
wheels of the engine and a red lanternI A
swung across the track. The engineer1I
put on the air brakes and the train!
slowed up, coming to a standstill att
almost exactly the same spot on which,
the dummy train stood on the night OF /
Sept. %. Immediately after the stop
a man came running out of the brush /,
alongside of the track, and covering
the engineer and fireman with a rer |
volver shouted: Throw up your
hands, They ordered Engineer
Drvis and Fireman Baxter down from
the cab and as they were covered
with revolver in each hand
of the masked man they readily COM
piled. While this was occurring, fouI
other men came running up the rear
of the train toward the engine, all the
time firing their revolvers in the air
and shouting at the top of their voices
to the passengers, telling them to keep
their heads inside the cars or they
would be hurt, \
The five men then marched the en-
gineer and fireman back to the express
car and one Of the robbers pounded
upon the door of the express car and
told the messenger to open it. This
was done, As soon as the messenger
showed his head he was covered With
revolvers and told to stand back away
from the door. Then three OF,
the robbers forced the en.l
gineer and fireman in ahead oil
them and entered the car On thei
lEDluO VI bllO CdI DOOlSCS ULlS 6ADT6SSf
mess enger was the baggage map. He
was ordered to hold up his hands, and
| with the two men from the engine was
stood against the wall with his hands u
above his head. A tall man with a.
black mask over his face, wearing a
duck and dark pantaloons stood in the
car with revolver in each hand. He
pointed his weapons first at one man
| ok ~, al
watch on their movements. The en-
gineer complained that he was tired of
holding up his hands and the rob-
Der said; well, take them
down then, but don't make
will be trouble" and all the men low
cred their hands at the same time. He
never took his eyes from the men an(
saw that the men with their hands a.
their sides made no attempt to draw s
weapon.
The other two robbers in the car
were busy rifling the safe. When the
safe had been relieved of it's contents
the trainmen were compelled to leave
the the car and were marched ahead
of the bandits down half the length of
the train and stood in a row at the
west side of the track. When the looting
of the express car was being done the
remaining two robbers were on the
east side occasionally firing their re-
volvers to prevent the passengers from
interfering with their work. All of
the occupants of the coaches had BEEN
aroused by the shooting and began toi
hide their valuables, expecting the
coaches would be entered and some of
the people crawled down behind seats,
and lay flat on the floor.
The postal clerks in the mail car had
heard the firing and barricaded the.
doors and then crawled under the.
mail sacks so as to be out of the way.
OF any stray bullets. No attempt was
made to enter the mail car, however.
When the trainmen who had stood upI
in line about midway of the train onl
the west side, the robbers called to the
men on the east side and they climbed
over the platform and joined them.
Then they walked away westward, CO.
ing out of sight in the willows a few
feet from the right of way.
News OF the robbery spread rapidly
over the city. The sheriff and police
were on the scene in less than an hour
after the robbery occurred. If the
robbers went into the willows, as the
direction indicated it would
be almost impossible for.
them to escape unless
they .ross the river. This they will
probably do. The tall man who Sc, md
ed to be the leader suits the descripi
ton of the one who executed the rob-
berry on the cell" train. The shorl
man who entered the car With him
of the same description. The othel
were not observed closely either time
No estimate of the amount secured b
the robbers can be secured as yet. Ey
press Messenger Baxter said that b
thought the amount was small. 9Th
robbers did not get enough to pa
their livery bill this trip think" sal
Baggageman Skinner. 81 do not know
the amount of money and valuables il
the safe but the amount was small"
The superintendent of the Adam
, | EXDrasS cOmnonv said this aftarnooi