Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-10-25
ROBBED THE EXPRESS.

hSoo.0 6NGn6SSs
A West-Bound Through Train on the
Texas & Pacific Held Up by Four Ex-
pert Robbers-They Secure Twenty Thou
sand Dollars and Make Good Their Es-
cape, Leaving q Like Amount In q Conn
bination-Locked Safe.
FORT WORTH, Tex, Oct. 19.-The
west-bound Texas s. Pacific through
train for California, leaving here at
9:O5 a. M, was robbed about 12 o'clock
to- day, seventy miles west of here.
| near Gordon. The robbers secured
about $4,000 from the Pacific Express
Co., and but for their inability to open
the safe of the Texas & Pacific Coal
Co., containing $4,000 in gold, would
have made better haul. Four men
did the work. They came upon section
gang about noon, covered them with
Winchesters and forced them to
spread the rails and flag the on
| coming train. The engineer and
| fireman We're then lined up with
the section gang and guarded
| while two men entered the express car
and covered the messenger before he
| was aware of their presence. Messen-
ger Marshall was ordered to open the
safe containing the money OF the
Texas & Pacific Coal Co. Telling them
| he could not do this, they seized pick
| and ruined the combination, remark
| ing: ''If we can't get that money
| those - miners at Thurber shan't."
The robbers fed southwark and no
| trace of them has yet been secured.
| Rewards aggregating $1,000 have been
| offered for their arrest. The money
secured was taken from the way safe.
| The train crew first saw there was
| something wrong when they were four
miles east of Gordon. The section
| gang was tagging the train, and it
was seen that a rail had been removed.
| After two of the robbers had covered
| the engineer and fireman with rifles
| and walked them in front of the en-
CINE two more of the gang made their
| appearance. The whole gang then
forced the fireman and engineer to
walk ahead of them to the express
car and forced the messenger to
| open the door of the express car.
After the door had been opened the
engineer and fireman were taken
| back to their engine by two of the rob-
| bers. The two who remained to loot
the express car took every valuable
package except those in the through
| safe. The handle to the combination
| of the through safe was smashed by
| the robbers in their efforts to force it,
but all they could do was to batter the
| safe badly. The money which was in
the through safe belonging to the
Texas & Pacific Coal Co. was going to
Thurber to pay off the large number of
| men employed in the mines there. One
package which is known to have been
taken contained 81, 0O0.
| The only time the robbers used their
revolvers was when Baggageman AL
meras became too inquisitive. He
peered out of his car door to see what
the trouble was and not being quick
enough when one of the robbers told
him to take his head in, he had mar
row escape from being struck with a
bullet, which imbedded itself in the
casing of the door.
The crew say that the robbers did
not occupy more than thirty minute
in the job, and acted as if professionals
of long experience. The robbers kept
an eye on the mail clerks, but did not
bother the mail pouches or passen-
gers. The work was done so quickly
and quietly that the passengers were
ignorant that anything of the kind
was ttanspiring until the job was
nearly over. 1t is supposed the rob-
bers had confederates in hiding near
by with horses to aid the gang in es-
Gaping, because there was no sign Of
horses near the railroad.
| When the robbers disappeared the
train was run wide open to Gordon,
from which point the railway, express
and county officers were notified by
telegraph of the crime. Posses were
formed at once to pursue the
bandits. When the train arrived
at Thurber an engine loaded with
posse armed for business was
found waiting under a full head of
steam, and it was hurried to the scene
of the daring hold-up. Marshall, the
express messenger, refused to say any
thing about the robbery, except to ex-
press his thanks that the men had not
| killed him