The Anaconda standard., 1895-11-20
HELD UP Two TRAINS
A Wild and WOOlly Story Comes
From st. Cloud, Minn.
NOT A CENT DID THEY GET
The Would-Bes Succeeded In
Frightening the Crew and Pas
sengers = Supposed to Be
Montana Desperadoes.

Special Dispatch to the Standard.
st. Paul, Minn., Nov. 19.-The wax
ing portion of st. Cloud, Mimi, was
electrified last night by the report that
both the Great Northern through pas
senger and the local Fargo express
on the Northern Pacific, had been
held up shortly after 10 o'clock just
west of Clear Lake. At IL o'clock, 40
minutes behind its regular time of ar
rival, a locomotive and a single bag
gage car pulled into the depot at st.
Cloud with three thoroughly frightened
men on board. They were Engineer
Michael Maloney, his fireman, William
Carley, and the messenger of the Win
nipeg express car, L. d. Woods. The
train had left Clear Lake IL miles east,
on its regular leaving time. 1905
o'clock, and was due I'm st. Cloud at
1920 o'clock. 1t was a truly wild and
woolly story they had to tell.
Though all were frightened nearly to
hysteria they told their story. 1t was
that when three or four miles out from
Clear Lake the fireman. who was put
ting in coal. turned and looked square
ly into the muzzles OF two Winchester
rifles backed by the ugly physogs of
two men. The fireman was badly
frightened, but obeyed the injunction
to tell the engineer TO stop the train.
He was so badly frightened that he
failed to understand for the moment,
but with an oath they repeated the
command. Engineer Maloney looked
around and saw the men and the guns
and the train was brought to a stand
STILL The fireman was then ordered
to cut off the express car from the re-
mainder of the train. This he demurred
to, but the muzzles of the guns in the
hands OF the desperadoes were an ar
gument that he could not successfully
contend with. The car was uncoupled.
and with the two men on board, was
run west several miles. where it was
stopped on the prairie and the ex-
press messenger ordered by the engine
crew to open the door. He obeyed and
the robbers proceeded to try the three
safes. They rode on a few miles fur
ther and when within a couple of miles
of the city and just east of the state
reformatory they left the engine and
disappeared in the wilderness. The en-
gine and express care were run into
st. Cloud.
there was excitement. Chief of Police
c. F. Wheeler and Sheriff McKelvy
were summoned and proceeded to take
steps. The robbers first went through
several parcels, but finding nothing of
value asked as to the largest safe.
Woods told them 1T could not be opened
until the train reached Fargo. He Of
fered to open the local safe, but said
there was nothing in it, and they did
not require him to do so. The engine
with a switch engine and crew and
having Superintendent Rice and large
party Of citizens left at 11:35 o'clock to
the relief of the train. The engineer
had stated that in looking backward he
had seen at least 10 men with guns cir
culating about the train.
The Northern Pacific train arrived at
st. Cloud just after II o'clock. 1t left
Clear Lake at 1920 and not coming in
1t was of course supposed 1t had met a
similar fate. The Clear Lake Northern
Pacific operator said the train had been
held up and robbed. The facts appear
that a freight train running west in
advance of the Northern Pacific pas
senger had been caught by the rob-
bers. They had cut the air brakes and
brought the train to a standstill. Then
the passenger came UP behind and
was signalled to stop by the freight
train crew. II does not appear, how
ever that this train was molested. A
young boy on the blind baggage of the
Great Northern was taken into custo-
dy. He was frightened and is inno-
cent, but from him IL appears that the
men got on the train at Elk River.
The men did not get a cent for their
trouble. Z. ID. Woods. the messenger,
showed them the safe but explained
that 1t could not be opened short OF
Fargo. They left then at once, only
waiting to be run nearer the city. 1t
now appears that there was but four
Of the robbers in all and that they
were evidently novices. The belated
train arrived at ST. Cloud at 1910 and
proceeded on its way. The spot where
the hold-up occurred is in Sherburne
county, about seven miles from st.
Cloud. 1t is two or three miles from
the Mississippi river and there is a
prairie to the west. Just where IL oc-
CURED, however. is a thick woods of
white oak and to the east for many
miles is an almost unbroken wilder
NN-'- - - PAOoNbig lut men
started on towards the east with an
ultimate destination OF Duluth.
Though the attempted robbery occur
red in Sherburne county the authorl-
ties of Stearns county viii do all In
their power to bring the culprIts to
justice. The Great Northern officials
have guaranteed the expenditure of
any reasonable amount in the work.
At daybreak a party OF determined
deputies VIII start out.
IL Is thought that the men are by
no means expert train robbers. They
were all masked. but all the evidences
point to their being tramps. A saloon
keeper OF ST. Cloud tells of several sus-
picious characters In his place during
the day. They inquired about the
movements OF trains on both the
Northern Pacific and Great Northern
roads and II Is believed they took an