The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-03
RIDDLED WITH BULLETS.
Evidently Daring Attempt tc
Rob the Alton
Express.
THE TRAMPs ON THE TRAIN.
They We're Easily Captured, but the
Murderous DesperadoeS Es-
capped Pursuit.

CHICAGO, ILL, May 1.-The officials of
the Alton road deny emphatically to-day
that there was any attempt to hold up the
train at Carlinville last night when Engi-
neer Frank Holmes was killed. The shoot
ing, they say, was done by tramps. The
officials of the road think they have the
murderer of Holmes in the man caught
leaving the tender. However, the mail
clerk, J. P. Keevers, tells the following
story:
The train left Carlinville at II :04. Hardly
had the train got under way when two
tramps, lying fiat on the coal in the tender,
were startled by the appearance of two
masked men crawling over the tender.
Poking two big revolvers into the faces of
the tramps the newcomers enjoined their
silence and strict attention to their own
business. Passing on to the engine-cab,
one of the armed men ordered the two fire.
men and one eXtraman, who was learning
the road, to put up their hands, while the
other covered Engineer Holmes and Or
dered him to shut off the steam. The en-
gineer complied. Then the desperate
or dered him to give her full head and be
lively about it. Holmes made a promise
fed, stepped back foot or two.
Engineer Holmes was on the alert for
the opportunity that presented itself, and,
Selling a freman's pick, dealt the robber
two blows on the head. Both the robbers
opened fire and plucky Frank Holmes fell
dead in the gangway of his engine with
at least three bullet holes in his breast.
The fireman shut off the steam, put on
the airbrakes and the heavy train slowed
down to standstill. AS it did so the two
robbers swung off.
A number of men had been riding IN
the rear platform of the mailcar, and at
the first report the two mail clerks heard
one exclaim, "There, they are shooting {;
let us get off" They jumped off, realizing
that their plans had miscarried. After a
moment of indecision they started to fee.
The mail clerks who at first supposed the
firing was done by brakeman as a men,
ace to the defiant tramps, heard the fire.
man shouting, Frank Holmes is shot
dead"
Mail Clerk John H. Conefrey and Bag
gageman Logan, in charge of weighing the
mails for the Government and the railroad
company respectively, proceeded to assist
Frank Holmes. Hurrying around the en-
CINE, Logan stumbled over a man lying
prone in the grass, and com manded him
to rise. Reluctantly complying, the man
protested earnestly against arrest and
claimed to be in no way connected with
the trouble.
Conefpey pushed on and came upon a
man with repeating rifle and a belt full
of cartridges. His back was turned and
Conefrey covered him and ordered him to
come along. The man demurred strongly,
claiming that he had been on q hunting
expedition. Conefrey refused to parley
and getting his revolver in line with the
suspects heart, convinced him that he
had an earnest man to deal with.
Logan and Conefrey turned their men over
to Conductor Conlin and the passengers.
Conlin in the meantime secured the two
tramps who had been on the tender. The
man with the rife put up so convincing a
story to account for his presence that Con-
lin permitted him to go.
The passengers believe Conlin made a
serious mistake. The man with the Win
che ster was the counterpart of an ideal
desperate in appearance and attire. The
three men detained were turned over to a
deputy sheriff when the train backed to
Carlinville, mile away. Train is said
to carry at times large sums of money, and
the object of the bandits was probably to
loot the express-car. Chief Agent Kane of
the Chicago and Alton road is prosecuting
a vigorous search for the robbers.