Arizona republican., 1895-04-30
HE DIED FOR IT. Grant Wheeler. the Will- COX Train Robber, Commits Suicide at Man.
 cos, Colo. Detective Breckenridge Was
 Upon His Heels. Suicide Was Committed to Prevent Capture Which Would Proba-
 Have Been Death.

Grant Wheeler, one of the men who held up and robbed the Southern Pa cific overland near Wilcox on Jannary 30 last, committed suicide at Mancos, Colo, yesterday morning. Southern Pacific Detective Breckenridge was close upon him and it was either death or capture. Capture probably meant death, anyhow.
 All the information received of the bandits suicide WAS contained in 8 telegram from the detective to Southern Pacific Attorney Frank Cox yesterday. No details were given.
 The authorities have been aware for more than two months that the TO obbers after fleeing to the extreme southeast ern part of the territory and having been concealed in the mountains, finally eluded pursuit and turned back in a northerly direction. Officers here were notifed'several weeks ago to be on the alert, and photographic and description of two of them were sent to the skeriff's office. Detective Breckenridge himself was here a week ago ssnd if he had located the robbers then he said uoth- ing about it to local officers.
 The robbery for which Wheeler died was the boldest and most successful ever committed in Arizona. On the night of January 30th the west bound overland was boarded by two men at Wilcox and after the train had run couple of miles from town the robbers suddenly appeared in the cab, ordered the train stopped snd cut in two just behind the express car. While this WAS being done the passengers were in- timidated by the discharge of firearms. The express car was taken a half mile | farther and broken open according to the usual style. The messenger had, however, escaped from the car unob- served and gone back to the decapitated train.
 The through safe was attacked with dynamite which was exploded on top of 1t. To give the explosive greater downward force several bags of Mexican dollars piled in corner of the car were placed on top of the dynamite.
 The explosion resulted in the total wreck of the safe. Experts said they had never seen such dislntegration of 8 strong box. The top of the car looked like huge sieve caused by the passage of the 'dobie dollars. Several thousand went through and were picked up in the vicinity for weeks afterward. That may be said to have been the beginning of the present upward tendency in sill yer.
 The express and railroad com panies have never taken the public into conf dence concerning the mount of gold carried away, but it has been estimated at $40,000. The robbers had horses waiting near the scene of the robbery They mounted them and rode south ward. A pursuit was organized the same night and kept up on a gradually dimming trail for several days. Two weeks afterward the same train was held up near Stein's pass according to the same general plan. Details were not so closely observed, for in this in- stance the train was cut in two ahead of the express car and the mistake was not discovered until was too late to remedy it.
 The authorities soon learned that Grant Wheeler and John George were the leaders in the first robbery. As tc the third man there has been some un. certainty.
 Wheeler was about twenty eight years old, a typical cowboy, not con. sidered bad man, but one whose chiei am bition in the direction of lawlessness seemed to be to shoot up towns and gel out in advance of the marshal. When he branched out as train robber and made great display of nerve, for he ii the man who directed affairs at the Wilcox hold-up, his old time friends were surprised and held him in deeper