Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-10
TRAIN ROBBERIES.
Why n TrainfuI of Travellers Allow
Themselves to he Held Up.

Why n TrainfuI of Travellers Allow
Themselves to He Held Up.
From the Chicago Post.
II never understood" remarked a gen.
eral passenger agent while discussing a re-
cent train robbery. 'how it was that a
whole trainful of people would allow them
selves to be held up by one or two bandits
till some years ago when l was making
a trip over the Michigan Central road.
Then the mystery was explained to me. l
was on my way from Detroit TO Chicago
and had taken a seat in the smoking car
to enjoy my cigar. At that time the smok-
ing of the Michigan Central We're
equipped with comfortable revolving chairs.
Shortly after taking my seat i noticed
that there We're two convicts aboard. They
were in charge of two deputies and We're
being conveyed from Detroit to the state
prison at jackson. They sat there talking
to their guards as complacently as If they
had been going to some more agreeable
entertainment All went well until Ypsi-
lanti was reached. Half way between that
place and Ann Arbor is small road cross
ing named Geddes. AS We approached 1t
an ordinary looking passenger went
through the car in d careless manner. roll
ing his eyes from side to side. casually in
speeding the occupants of the car. When
he reached the prisoners he pulled a whisky
flask from his pocket and in an off-hand
way remarked: Here. you fellows. have a
drink. 1t Will be a long time before you
have another.
Their Chance of Escape.
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 disap-
peared when the convicts, with a 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
mind were the two deputies. They had
seen the two revolvers coming and by
some dexterous move managed to strike
up the cOnvicts arms so that the balls
instead of striking the victims for whom
they were intended. passed through the
roof of the car. While the scuff1e was at
its height the bell rope was pulled in some
mysterious manner and the train came
to dead stop at the cross roads 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 till Is shots had been fired.
The whole thing was evidently concerted
scheme to hberate 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 ac-
ton had come. The attempt at escape for
tunately failed, but If you had seen that
car while the shots were being fired you
could readily have understood how easily
a few armed robbers overpower a train.
Every chair in the car was vacant and the
former occupants wereScrouched in corners
or wherever they could hide themselves be-
hind some object that might stop a bullet.
When everything was quiet again and the
convicts were in irons less than fifteen
men were counted coming from the dress
ing room of that smoking car"