Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-02-24
THE NEWS OF THE RAILROADS.
RAILROAD MEN WHO rsDonsn THE
COUGH niLL.
" nm is Now Before the Texas
hosisinture--Assssses the Punish.
en' for Holding up Trains a,
Dea'h--some Notable nobber,e.


""as agents Of the different
ia''foads are unanimous in their on
uorsements of the Cough bill now no
tore the legislature. assessing the nun.
ishinent for holding up trains at death
~ Turner. local passenger agent
oi the Texas and Pacific, said. 81 co,.
sider the punishment NOT In IN. ,.-,
700 great. as 1t is the only way to an
niihish train robbery, and the law
VIII not only be in the interest Of rail.
rosus' Dut the travelling public Every
attempt to hold up a train inouae. no
possibility of murder and the intent
10 commit it, If necessary, ana f,e
punishment should be adequate"
" H. bullock. local passenger agent
OF the Houston ana Texas Central. az
believe it would be all right If the
heads Of train robbers could be placed
on a block and chopped off. The nun
ishinent should be as severe as possible
Inc pubic welfare is as much M stake
as that OF the railroads. Every hold
up renders murder possible and very
probable. and train robbers never hesi-
tate to accomplish their object, al
though 1t involves the loss of life
MIR. Bullock recalled the fact that
the Houston and Texas Central rail-
road has the distinction OF being the
nrst road held up in the Inauguration
or train robbing, and was the kinder
garten where the first ideas OF train
robbery were developed. II was I'm
the early part OF 1878 that the sam
Bnss gang organized in Dallas county.
Their first hold up was made below
Hutchins, on a north bound Houston
and Texas Central train j. l.. A.
Thomas. now a coal dealer OF Dallas,
was the express messenger He stood
the robbers off until his ammunition
was exhausted and himself wounded.
After Bass and his gang had plundered
the car they treated Mr.. Thomas with
much polite and complimentary consid-
Grafton. After this robbery Bass and
his gang made hold ups at Allen. ~
the Houston and Texas Central, and
at Mesquite and Eagle Ford, on the
Texas and Pacific. Big hauls OF eG-
press money were secured In each Of
them. Finally a force Of Texas rangers
was organized for the especial service
of discriminating Sam Bass and his
gang. The two sides fought all the
way fNam salt Greek, IN the Panhan-
killed by Tom Floyd OF Dallas, down
TO Round Rock, near Austin, in Au-
gust. 1878, while the state Democratic
convention was deadlocked on Hub
bard and Throckmorton for governor,
The state treasury had about Sli 900, 900
in money and convertible securities
at that time, and 1t was the Intention
of Sam Bass and his bang to hold up
the treasury. The rangers intercepted
the gang at Round Rock, and a fight
to finish resulted. Sam Bass, Sebe
Barnes and others were killed. The
only members OF the gang that escaped
were Frank Jackson and Henry Un-
derwood. They were hunted for years,
but were never captured, Sam Bass
died under large tree at Round Rock.
Adjutant General John b. Jones en-
deavored to extract confession from
him of the history and criminal opera
lions Of his gang, but Sam looked up
at him smiling. and said: 81 know |
am going to die and go to he'll, but I'll
never give my pals away" In few
hours Sam was dead.
Previous to these encounters with
the rangers, oJel Collins. Henry Col
Inns and VIII Collins. brothers, and all
born and raised in Dallas county and
Identified with the Bass gang, had
died with their boots on, resisting cap
ture. Joel Collins was killed by United
states soldiers at Buffalo Springs, kan,
Henry Collins was MORALLY wounded
by a sheriff's posse in Collin county and
died In Jail at Mckinney, and Billy
collins was killed by Deputy United
states Marshal Bill Anderson In the
Dostohlce at Pembina, Dakota, and
killed Anderson with a simultaneous
shot to the one that ended his own
life. ~,
Anderson had stood up" with Col
Inns when the latter was married. years
before. ,
fight took place, with the Bass gang on
the one side and the trsinmen ana
messengers on the other. Conductor
.Iuies Alyord was shot through me
arm ans crippled for life, lie sun
carries as a memento of the fight a
small palr of scissors. then the prop
erty of the writer of these remlnls-
cences. who loaned them to surgeon
for use In dressing AlVords wound
Alvord and the writer were peys 70
rether in New York, and the ihciueh'
,,,ao,inr under such peculiar cir
cumstances In IeAAs H'
impression on each.
This was the beginning OF the IN
austrv that has since had sucn Son-
aus, promoters as Col. Bill Dalton
and Col. Bill Cook. -.r,a. cant
w q. wilkins, local passenger assh.
n, The santa Fe. agreed with the ot ii,s
tents in believing that the paaults
Who do this especial class OF ROBBERY
shnnld have the death penalty anu
smSfer the same fate given muraeIsIs
sum n,,rs,arv Of this kind almost newt
aD n ~ Hammond. local passenger
agsnt Of the Missouri, Kansas and I Ien-
as road, said: II consider capltai Pn,,
a sSnsnt the right thing for tram roo
ISM The bandits do not heslt@te W
o o roads in order TO aGcoi ,,,iI1,~
u.s. inject. thereby frequently STILLS
t a,'n,hers Of innocent persons, ih ',nin-
ing ing raiiroad property. They ireq went
aD'e a. through the train when io, na
~ ,helr purpose of stopping H. as, az T nlis.
IN .ne Hurley. a conductor on me M, MES
Tom ron, Kansas and Texas roac. . We va
shSt M Sas are often thrown open, nnI
S s,ys rever considered by the gpi ~
ne robber; therefore, glye nun Wv
tram r of the murderer.
puhAeH