The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-09-19
WHERE BULLETS FELL like HAIL.

S5CCNA
men, who had put six bullets into as
many telegraph poles while riding past
them as fast as a pony could take him.
Inside the express car behind an in
nocent pile of trunks, egg cases and
bundles of merchandise-whic were in
reality barricades of cotton-were seven
with loaded Winchesters and a couple
of big Colts.
Cunning of the Holdups.
Mighty handy in tight place" as
Kinney put it.
The cunning of the "hold-up" crafts
men was shown in the selection OF
this SPOT for turning the little trick,
as the robbery was professionally deS-
ignated. For ten miles there is no
night telegraph station until Laplata Is
reached. and there is no stop there.
Once in a while the train takes water
at CORN. but there is nothing there eX-
cent the tank. Not within the mem
orv of the Oldest man on the ROAD mas
Ia halt been made at Barring, put at
Hurdland. which is just ten miles west
of the last named station, is a switch,
into which the train runs every morn
ing and waits for the eastbound eX-
press to pass. Both are due there at
the same time and almost invariably
they are on time: but if the westbound
should not put in an appearance the
east bound would have to camp there
until it came along, for there is no
means of finding out what the trouble
is without running backAto Laplata.
The men who planned The robbery
figured that they had the train and ITS
treasure in their pockets, and would
have all the time necessary not only
to rifle the express car, but to relleVe
the passengers of their valuables.
1t is evident that they made care
81 he nh
try For 1000 feet before the spot at
which the red light was swung across
the rails. the road winds on reverse
curve through a cut with embank-
ments from 10 to II feet high. Then
comes a little hill. followed by long
stretch of track almost on level with
the surrounding country. On either
side of the right of way are dense
clumps of oak and hickory, not to men
ton an underground almost as bad as
that of the northern Michigan pine
woods. But the forest, though appar-
entity thick and impenetrable, is only
so for a quarter of a mile from the
track Beyond that the country
stretches practically clear and IS easily
ltraversed almost to the Iowa hne. l
was in the middle of the timber the
horses were hidden, good, strong-limb-
ed animals. and it was the calcula-
+ lions that after the nights business
had been accomplished two hours hard
riding would put every man safe from
pursuit. and that, too. soon after the
ldav dawned. There are no telegraph
lines up in the country where the gang
has been hiding and it was thought
news of the hold-up would not pene-
trate to that region until after the par
ticipants in the affair had time to cover
their tracks.
Received n Tip.
1T is nearly three weeks since the San
! IA Fe and the Fargo officials re-
Iceiyed the tip that the raid was con-
ltemplated. Since then the express car,
whether inhabited by Detective Kin
lney's men or not, has been a regular
arsenal Every night at least half a
dozen secret service men have climbed
aboard at different points along the
line east of Fort Madison and scatter
ed themselves in the day, reclining
chair and smoking cars. Soon after
that point was reached they would
work forward into the smoker-not a
man exchanging a word with the eth
er. all total strangers as far as outward
appearances went-and before CORN
was passed half of them had disap-
peared into the express car. This was
merely precautionary. Detective Kin
ney's spy gave him twenty-four hours
notice of the two premeditated raids,
spoiled by rain. and then the full force
was on hand. But the railroad and ex-
press people were taking no chances
When the danger point had been pass
ed, the men would drop off at different
stations, working back east along the
road in the day time and repeating the
operation the next night.
! Train No. of the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe railroad, is what is known
as the Colorado and Utah limited. II
leaves Chicago daily at 5 p. m. and is
due to arrive in Kansas City he next
morning. The Santa Fe runs almost
due southwest between Chicago and
Kansas City, and crosses the Missis-
sippi river at Fort Madison. 1t enters
the state of Missouri $50 miles distant
from Chicago. The road runs for some
miles through a rough country, the
many streams which have their head.
quarters in southeastern Iowa breaking
1T up into hills and valleys, some sec
tons being densely wooded.
The bayous of the Mississippi river
are only a few miles to the east. This
section during the civil war was oVerrur
with bushwhackers who frequently car.
RED terror into the little towns in Van
Buren,, Davis and Appanoiose counties
in Iowa. by their frequent raids across
the border.
1t is a fitting place for bandits to dc
their work. as hiding places are easy
of access. The inhabitants of this Sec
ton, however, are a sturdy, honest, ag.
ricultural class, who have no sympathy
with crime or criminals.