Omaha daily bee., 1896-10-24
HOLD UP AN ALTON EXPRESS
Four Masked Robbers Bold Work Close to
Kansas City.
FLAG A PASSENGER TRAIN IN BLUE CUT
Express Messenger Saves valuablcs in
the Safe by Throwing Them Into
n Chicken Coop before Adj
mitting the bandits.

mitting the Bnndits.
KANSAS CITY, Oct pa passenger and
express train on the Chicago & Alton rail-
road, due here from Chicago and st. Louis
at o'clock, was held up and robbed by
four masked men this evening in Blue
Cut, between independence and Glen
dale. Mo. The scene OF the robbery is
less than twenty miles distant from Kan
sas City. The train was tagged at the en-
trance. While two OF the robbers stood
guard over the passenger coaches the other
two covered the conductor engineer and
fireman with their pistols and compelled
them to go into the express car. There the
robbers commanded the messenger to open
the door OF the car, threatening to break
In the door should he refuse. After some
delay the robbers were admitted to the eX-
press car. They compelled the messenger
to open the safe and extracted from II sew
eral packages The express messenger
however. had surmised what the trouble
was. While the bandits had been demand
ing admission he had quickly opened the
safe, taken out the money packages, and
tossed them into a chicken coop. When he
finally admitted the robbers to the car and
opened the safe for them the strong box
contained but two or three packets Of
jewelry. Even at the point OF the robbers
pistols and rifles :he messenger insisted
that he had carried no currency
Taking up the very little booty at hand.
the outlaws uncoupled the express car from
the coach following 1t. and then marched
their prisoners forward to the locomotive,
where they compelled them to sit down
on the bank alongside the track. The
leader climbed into the cab, tried the air
and the steam, and then called to the
men who were back guarding the passen-
ger coaches to come forward. At this june
ture the engineer cautioned the bandit to
be careful with the locomotive, warning
him that they were on a hill, and that II
he left the engine improperly guarded at
the top of the hill. It would crash back
into the train, or else, II left on the oppo-
site grade, crash down into the train sup
posed to be waiting at Independence. The
bandit said he would take care Of the loco
motive. With this the outlaws pulled out,
having held up the train without having
fired a shot. They ran the locomotive sew
where they abandoned it. 1t was two hours
before the robbery became known. The
passengers on the train did not know what
had caused the delay until nearly two
hours afterwards. and amused themselves
during the long stop by taking straw pres
idential ballot.
AS soon as party OF the trainmen could
walk to Independence the alarm was sent
out A deputy sheriff and posse left Inde-
pendence at about S o'clock tonight. and
at about the same time the squad of police
men was detailed from here and left for
the scene of the robbery on special
train 1t is thought, however, that the out
laws are now safely out OF the way. SO
far as can be learned, the robbers secured
only the packets of jewelry and S25 in cur
rency, which the fireman had left in his
vest, hanging in the cab. How much money
the messenger saved by throwing 1t into
the chicken coop the express officers win
not say.
There have been three holdups in Blue
Cut. The James gang held up train here
in 1881.
A. ]. Fell of Roodhouse, ILL.,. was the
conductor in charge OF the train. James
Wetton and A. E. Post Of Slater, Mo-.
were on the locomotive as engineer and
fireman, respectively. The United States
Express company's messenger was Andrew
Shields of St. Louis.
From interviews had with several OF the
passengers after their arrival here 1t ap-
pears that only few of the passengers on
the train knew anything about the robbery
until some time after 1t was all over and
the outlaws had departed. Three or four
stepped out upon the platforms after the
train came to stop and started to walk
forward. The bandits on guard told them
to get back into the coaches and they
climbed aboard the smoking car The
whole affair was SO quietly conducted that
aSen these men, though they were sus-
picious enough to get urder cover without
being told a second time, were not sure
that the train was in the hands OF road
agents
CHICAGO, Oct. 23.-A. Wygant, general
agent OF the United States Express company,
said tonight that the train that was held up
never carried much money. None was
shipped from Chicago by 1t. and what there
was in the express car must have been
small sums from way stations. The amount
in the express car would not exceed $1,000
in his oDinIon