The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1894-02-17
HELD UP b. ROBBERS
An Express Train Wrecked On the
Southern Pacific.
CARS BLOWN UP WITH DYNAMITE
Posses are Out After the Robbers, but
There is Little Hope of Their
Capture

SoUIulC
Los ANGELES, CAL, Feb. 16.-South-
ern Pacific No. 20 was robbed at Roscoe
station this morning at about 1 o'clock.
This is the same place that the same
train was robbed about six weeks ago.
The train was delayed in leaving and
did not get away until about IL 80 last
night. 1t was heavily loaded with pas
sengers, and Wells, Fargo 6, Co.'S. ship
ments were unusually heavy. The train
reached Burbank, about six miles north
of this city, and was reported back all
right. At Roscoe, four miles north of
Burbank there is no station, but siding.
AS the tram approached this switch,
Engineer Thomas saw too late that the
switch was misplaced, and vainly tried
to stop the train. The engine and two
fruit cars of oranges went into the ditch,
the engine turning over and burying the
engineer and fireman. The two fruit
cars were a total wreck. AS soon as the
wreck occurred three masked men
sprang up out of the bushes and COM
menced a fusIlade and every one knew
the mission of the desperadoes was rob-
berry. A few seconds later couple of
dynamite bombs were placed under the
express car. The messenger refused to
open and the whole side was blown off.
Brakeman Foster rose to the emergency
as soon as he heard shots and made
run for a neighboring ranch house,
where he saw a light. Here he got a
team and drove back to Burbank and
gave the alarm.
Within fifteen minutes of the time he
received word of the robbery, Sheriff
Cline had posse of six men out on the
conveyed the sheriff to the wreck was
attached to the train and returned with
it to this city, arriving at 4 80 this morn
ing, bringing also the bodies of Masters
and Granger, the tramp. Sheriff Cline
was accompanied by James H. Pacev,
one of the two men who were stealing
ride on the pilot of the engine, and on
being interviewed said: ''The first
thing 1 saw before the train left Bur-
bank was torch faring up short dis
tance ahead, and a man waving a flag.
The engineer, however, did not stop,
and as we passed the man with the
torch he fred two shots, one in the air
Immediately was hurled from the pilot
as the engine left the track and fell over
into the ditch. When I recovered 1
heard dull roaring sound, which SUBJ
sequently learned was the explosion of
dynamite in the express car. I at once
returned to the train and helped to ex-
tricate the injured fireman from the
wreck. distinctly saw two of the rob-
bers. One was short, thick-set man
of about five feet five or six inches in
height, while the other was several
inches taller and slim. Both wore
black slouch hats and masks. The taller
of the two was armed with rife, but
the other had two pistols, one in each
hand.''
When the posse arrived at the scene
everything was in confusion. The en-
gine and two cars were wrecked on the
siding. Fireman Arthur Masters and
an unknown man, supposed to be a
tramp, were dead. The fireman's body
was horribly mangled, having been run
over by the tender and two cars. It is
claimed by Engineer Thomas that he
was shot before falling under the wheels,
but circumstances point to the belief
that he had endeavored to jump from
the tender, and had fallen and was
crushed to death. The tramp was shot
through the heart. The best evidence
obtainable at this writing is that
he was stealing ride on the pilot,
and was shot by stray bullet
while making for the brush. Engineer
Thomas, seeing the fireman fall. jumped
and was shot while running. The en-
gine was at this time jumping the track
and turning over, followed by two fast
freight cars. Messenger Edgar can give
but a meager description of the two men
he saw. They forced him to give up
the keys, and the rifling of the safes fol-
lowed. The whole transaction did not
take more than Is minutes. AS near as
can be learned, the two men left on
horseback in the direction of Cahuenga
pass. distance of about II miles. No
tracks of them have been discovered,
and the officers who arrived are practic-
ally in the dark as to clues. The rob-
berry was SO quickly accomplished that
the chance for Identification of the par
Elephants or their actual number is g