The herald., 1894-04-10
A HEROIC CALIFORNIA WOMAN.
She Braves Dangers From Train Robbers
to Help an Injured Man.


There were some incidents in the re-
cent robbery of the Southern Pacific
railroad train near Roscoe, in Los An
geles county, which were not developed
in the accounts sent from Los Angeles
or in the stories told by passengers. One
of the best of these incidents was the
bravery Of little Mrs. J. D. Brown of
Bakersfield, who ventured out in the
darkness when men refused to go and
gave aid to the fatally injured fireman,
who was jammed under the disabled
engine. Mrs. Brown is the wife of a
civil engineer who is engaged in super
intending large irrigation works in the
San Joaquin valley. She had been visit
ing in Los Angeles, and on leaving her
mother in the depot she said laughingly
that she proposed to put one of her slip
pers in her berth, so that if the train
was held up she could break out the
window. An hour afterward she had
really figured in one of the most sensa-
tiOnal holdups in this state.
Mrs. Brown, when seen few days
ago at her home, disclaimed any special
merit in the work that she did Oh the
night of the robbery. She is a fragile
little woman, but in her eyes is light
which gives some hint of her nerve.
She didn't want to be quoted, but she
gave a very amusing account of the
scenes that followed the stoppage of tho
train. 1t seems that the crash of the
derailed engine and baggage car was
followed by fusillade of shots.
The Pullman cars were largely filed
with eastern tourists, with sprinkling
of heavy business men of San Francisco.
The latter did not show the courage
which has been ascribed to the far west
ern man. They were fully as much
'rattled'' as the down casters. They
INDUCED Ill foolish speeches, hid their
valuables in all sorts of ridiculous
places and acted like children. Only
one man had revolver, and he declared
he wasn't going out to be filled with
lead as Detective Len Harris had been
at one of the train robberies two years
before in the San Joaquin valley. An
other man, who afterward told a story
Of his great efforts to get out and of the
refusal of the conductor to allow him
to risk his life, really kept very close
to his berth and never stuck his head
out until the robbers were reported to
be gone. The frightened passengers
could see the bandits carrying sacks of
coin to wagon, and then, SO clear was
the moonlight, they saw the robbers
drive off.
Even then no one ventured out. In a
moment came laundering knock at
the car door and demand for admit
tance. Every one fancied that it was a
part of the gang which had been detailed
to rob the passengers, as this was the
last Pullman on the train. Finally
Mrs. Brown suggested that it might be
some one who was wounded and needed
aid. So the door was unlocked. She
proved to be right. 1t was one of the
brakemen, who said the fireman was
terribly hurt, and doctor was wanted.
No physician was on the train, but
none Of the men volunteered to help.
Then Mrs. Brown rose up and said she
knew something about dressing wounds,
! - --7-.-l-~---eesAss'- '-Svaiaangay 40 wnat she
could. Only one of the passengers
showed any desire to accompany hel
out into the night, which had become
very dark, owing to the clouding of the
moon.
They found the poor fireman crushed
between the engine and tender and call
ing upon his friends to shoot him and
end his misery. No one could extricate
him, but Mrs. Brown chm bed up on the
disabled engine and gave clear direc-
tions for applying hniment and ban
dages to alleviate his sufferings. She
did everything she could to help the
victim, who was afterward taken out of
the wreck, only to die few hours later.
In the half hour that she was on the
wrecked engine, Mrs. Brown says, no
one came near the place to offer help,
except the brakemen, the conductor and
the one passenger mentioned. The en-
gineer at the first alarm had leaped
from the engine and taken refuge in the
brush, from which be did not emerge
until relief train arrived from Los
Angeles with force of heavily armed
detectives. He could have done more
than any one else to ease the fireman, as
he knew the engine, but repeated calls
for him brought no response. When
Mrs. Brown went back to the car, she
found the ladies in mild Mysteries and
the men still greatly agitated and fear
full of an attack. She could not under
stand their fear any more than she could
comprehend that she had done anything
calling fW commendation. San Fran
cisco Dispatch.