The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-09-15
HOW IT WAS DONE.
Postal Clerk Almon Tells ABOUT that Rail-
road HOldup.

Postal Clerk AlmOn Tells ABOUT that KALI
road Holdup.
Will Almon returned from his round
trip to the Panhandle yesterday and
his friends at the postofhce hardly
knew him. He had been scared out OF
four years growth.
VIII was in charge Of the mail car OF
the train that was held up near Curtis.
Cherokee strip. by robbers, day before
yesterday.
A reporter for the Eagle met him at
the court house last night and he was
still rather pale behind the gills.
well I should say 1 was scared,
said VIII. who would not be scared
held I'D by robbers with two Winches-
ters stuck under your nose. Yes, ac-
knowledge 1 was scared"
Tell us about it?
at was this way: the day was as hot
as Jupiter and I had all the doors or
my car opened. After we had gone
beyond Curtis a few miles the train
stopped and 1 looked out. 1 saw the
track hands all there and I thought
nothing of it. I kind o'thought they
stopped the train to borrow match
or a chew of tobacco from the engineer.
Pretty soon I saw four men jump out
from behind a pile Of ties and tell Bob
Boswell. the engineer. to throw up his
hands. 1 honestly think that Bob's
hands were about twelve feet long and
made of rubber they went so high In the
air and I tell you that Bob Buswell is
no coward either. Two men stood one
on each side of the train firing shots at
every head that was stuck out while
two more came down towards the ex-
press car. was standing at the door
f<>Aly III han t60v IN q
on me kind O. sudden. Two guns were
placed under my nose and l was order
ed to throw up my hands"
Did you throw up?"
Did I? Well, 1 guess yes, and so SIM
that 1 nearly broke two OF
my knuckles against the top of the car.
My hands actually felt SO timber and
elastic that felt could give the man
in the moon a belt in the nose"
Hand out the money" said one Of
them.
Il am the mail man. said I. guess
you want the express car. They look
ed at me kind o sharp and / expected
to see the top of my head play hide and
go seek in the prairie grass the next
moment. One little touch Of the trig-
gers would send me to kingdom come
and 1 tell you now in confidence that I
wished 1 had been converted while Ma
jor Cole was here"
well. did they kill you?"
''No. they did not. but they might as
we'll for they scared me to death. I
have been running through the Terri
tory for long time and often wished
L was held up to see what the feeling
would be. I know all about it now and
1 am satisfied. Well, to make a long
story short, they took compassion on
my youth and innocence and went up
TO the next car where Dad" the ex-
press messenger, was taken entirely
by surprise. That man, Dad" nearly
jumped out Of his hide when they fired
a shot at him that passed within two
inches Of his nose. He didn't do thing
but throw three summerSaults in the air
yell like a Comanche Indian and make
a dive into the passenger car where he
disguised himself by looking sober.
About that time the women in the car
began to have fits. There Were about
fifty harvest excursionists on the train
and all Of them were from the east
One woman carried on like she was
crazy and she prayed loud enough 10
wake julius Caeser in his grave. She
hid her money in her stocking without
regard for our modesty. The robbers
took everything they could find in the
express car and then went back up to
Bob Boswell when they said:
I'VE don't want to go away empty
handed; we must rob the mail car
Don't do il. said Bob. there's moth
ing there, and you'll get Uncle Sam
after you"
They then said they guessed they
would not and my heart fell back near
its right place again. They then left,
telling Bob Boswell not 10 pull out till
they gave him the signal. The four
men then went into a rsvine where two
other men he,S sneir horses. When
they gsva re signal the two deputy mar
shsis who were on the train got brave
and began firing at them. The six men
the fire and whe1 saw them
preparing TO do 50 ] fell fiat on the
floor and Rugged IL till / was as thin
as piece OF paper. I never heard
such peppering Of bullets IN all my
life Bullets hit that train like hall
stones and IL Is a wonder we were not
all killed While was hugging the floor
l wrote note 10 my wife. telling her
where 70 find my life insurance policy,
/ would never live 10 See her
fair face again When we got into Wood
ward We were all ready 20 Join the
~ASA ~ dtfN NOusI u b.ictr "e- q preach
cd around handy. As / want 10 - good
the balance OF my days after this mar
row escape / tell you honestly and can
didly that / was scared"
Homer Reynolds. the popular chief
clerk of the Chicago division OF The San
IA Fe railway is IN the city visiting his
parents on the West Side he Is &C
conipanied by his wife. who. with his
viii take on outing n Colorado.
Homer looks splendid and Is getting
along finely, rapidly climbing the lad
der of railway life which none but the
deserving succeed in
Children Cry for