The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1897-07-29

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CHARLEY PIERsON.
press company, running between Chicago
and Omaha, at meeting of several old
time express messengers.
Jake has seen 33 years of service with
the great forwarding concerns and is one
of the veteran bullion carriers of the United
States. He has carried gold and silver
bricks sufficient to replace the famous good
intentions pavement of a place that shall
be nameless here. 'tAnd yet, he says, 81
never let one slip out of my hands.
1.-The nearest approach to anything of the
kind" continued the veteran, twas ore
night when, near Marshalltowp, I thought
I heard a peculiar noise overhead The
train was rushing along at a terrific speed,
but above the racket made by the wheels
there came occasional sounds that con-
WINGED me that some one was sliding along
the roof of the car. Looking up discov-
cred pressed against the glass of one of
the deck windows, a human face with eyes
trained on three bars of silver ranged along
the forward end of the car. Bullion is not
placed in one position in car. We scatter
1t here and there SO that the weight will
not rest on one si1e of the car or over one
truck. 1t so happened that the fellow could
see the three bars in the corner, and it aft
erward developed that he was figuring on
getting possession of one or more of them.
At present market price a silver pig is
worth about 5000.
when the train stopped, I called a
brakeman, and we went after the fellow
overhead. We induced him to climb down,
and the brakeman caught him by the foot
Sudden><. without giving us an inkling of
his intention, he jerxed his foot out of the
boot, and, leaping from the opposite side of
the car, he ran like whitehead. In the
boot, however, had been secreted an object
wrapped in channels skin. 1t was pulled
out when the foot was SO hurriedly extri-
Gated 1t was pair of bits and a small
saw. The man had evidently provided
himself with brace, and with the tools
had intended to cut a hole in the end of
the car near the silver bullion. He could
have easily lowered himself on the forward
platform and made the opening between
the regular stops of the train. He evident
ly figured that the bricks could be raked
out and then probably thrown from the
train near a stopping place, from which
the thief could go back and pick them up
or secrete them until opportunity to dis
pose of them offered itself. -
While present shipments of silver bullion
are small as compared with other days,
the old timers tell of heavy cargoes of the
white metal handled by them. While a
bar is rarely missed, the value of the
freight" requires care and attention only
second in Importance to the handling of
coin and currency. A messenger carefully
counts the bars at least twice when it is
taken into the car. People who Stand
around are naturally curious and ask ques-
tions at the rate of a hundred in a second
Others want to feel it and rub their fingers
over the surfaces, while there are still 9TH
ers who would be willing to give up a dol
lar for the poor privilege of Juggling an sc
pound pig about the platform.
Gold bullion is never exposed to view,
even at transfer points. The bars, of yari.
GUS weights, are sewed up in canvas OF
channels skin and are slowed away in the
stationary safe in the car, which can be
opened only at certain points. There are
never more than five or six bars Of gold in
shipment, but few of these are required
to represent a value of 500, 900. Some Of
them weigh 10 pounds, others $50, while
they run down to small bricks weighing
only IS pounds. At transfer stations they
are placed in steel chests and trucked from
one train to another heavily guarded.
Il used to think it a grand thing to be
put in charge of q cargo of bullion - said
Charley Picrson, another messenger on
the Chicago and Northwestern between
Chicago and Omaha. II was then a boy
living at Amboy, Ills I'd wander down to
Vic 4l11hOfS SchtT1A ucPOt, lOoA 1AbO tHo
cars under packages in which I'd catch a
glimpse of what had been told was pure
silver. Then I'd look up at the messenger
In his overalls and Bingham blouse and
say: My, what it must be to be messen-
ger and have all that stuff in charge
Guess I'll be messenger And here am
in jumpers myself.
"But there was one time when wished
I'd chosen another business. One night
when l had u big load of both gold and sill
yer bullion tn.rc came sharp, short blast
from the engineer. and 1 knew there was
some sort of trouble. Soon there came a
tammering at the door, and l recognized
the voice of the conductor.
Look out for your saluables he yell
ed. 'W re going to be held upi
.And right then l was filled with a sem
sation that comes only to an expressman
away out ON a lonesome prairie, where o
messenger is supposed to stand between a
bandit with Al lliber revolver and the
preeinus freight OF an express company.
Word came to us that the water tank
at Vail, Ia, had been set fire and that
a gang of outlaws had stolen the hand car
and were making their way to meet us ans
rob the express car. I began to think tt;
was about to realize some IF ;ny tnyis