Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-11-08

senger Cars--Several Cars Burned.
The startling news reached the New
MEXICAN by wire yesterday morning that
the eastbound mail and express train on
the Santa Fe-Pacitic railroad was held up
and robbed by number of masked men
near Grants station, 80 odd miles west
of Albuquerque, about 8 O'Clock the
night previous. Similar information,
with some details, was also wired to
United States Marshal Foraker by the
sheriff of Bernalillo county and the Off
GERS of the railroad company.
The United States marshal was seen by
NEW MEXICAN representative late yes
terday afternoon, and that official prompt
ly disclosed such facts concerning the
sensational and thrilling event as he then
possessed.
1t appears that the train stopped as
usual at the water tank about mile east
of Grants station, and there it was board
ed by five Zone report says eight heavily
armed and desperate looking men, who
imme diately covered the engineer, fire.
man and other members Of the train Grew
with revolvers and seized possession of
the train.
The train men, express messengers and
mail agents we're then driven from their
places; the locomotive, mail, baggage and
express cars we're next quickly detached
from the main train; and, with one of
the desperadoes in charge of the loco
motive, these treasure laden oars we're
run ahead in the darkness about mile
and half to deep cut, no one being
on board but the robbers. There stop
was made and the work of plundering the
express and mail cars was then accom-
plished with the skill and celebrity of
trained experts. The large combination
through safe in the express car and also
the smaller one used for local business
we're blown open with dynamite and
robbed of their valuable contents, and
the mail cars were looted of whatever
valuable letters they contained. The ex-
act amount of money secured from the
express safes and the mail pouches is not
known at this writing, but it is presumed
to be large, probably reaching thousands
of dollars, as it is understood that the large
express safe carried unusually heavy
remittances from California to eastern
cities
After the robbers had completed their
work they reversed the engines of the To-
com olive, opened the throttle wide, and
sent the detached part of the train back
at full speed, with no one on board, to
plunge into the passenger coaches left
standing on the track at the water tank.
The bandits then disappeared in the dark
ness, presumably to saddle.horses hitched
nearby.
The roar of the rapidly returning loco
motive and cars warned the numerous pas
sengers of their peril and they all left the
,ss2ches before the terrific crash occurred.
Hencenone Of them were hurt. OF course
the coming together of the two sections
Of the train, one moving at high speed
and the other standing still, resulted in
telescoping and wrecking several cars.
The ponderous locomot made kindling
wood of the cars next to it; lamps and
stoves we're abruptly upset, and soon
flames leeped forth from the confused
mass of wreckage. According to the first
report that reached the New MEXICAN
four of the shattered cars were burned,
but later Information indicates that only
two were destroyed in this way, the train
men and passengers continuing to save
the rest of the train from the fiery ele.
ment.
TTrsx kota aho1
tains no doubt that the men who per-
petrated this bold and atrocious crime are
members of the famous Black Jack gang
and that they have fed southwest toward
the mountain Businesses at the headwaters
of the San Francisco river, in southwest
ern Socorro county, about 100 miles from
the scene of the robbery and 100 miles
from the Mexico line. Acting on this
theory he left for the south last night, and
hopes that his represent concerning
this aggravated case of interrupting the
United States mails will result in the
authorities at Washington promptly pro.
viding him with the necessary means to
prosecute vigorous and effective cam
paign against these border bandits. As
it is now, strange as it may seem to the
uninitiated, the United States marshal is
not provided with any funds to meet such
emergencies and must await authority
from Washington before mourning the
expenses necessary to meet the same.
Since the foregoing was written the
New MEXICAN is advised that Marshal
Foraker received dispatch at Lamy last
night informing him that the robbers
we're believed to have gone almost due
south from Grants and we're then in the
hills west of Magdalena. In this connec-
tion it may properly be mentioned that
the marshal discredits the story of the
killing of Black Jack by Deputy Sheriff
Fred Higgins, of Chaves county, and ex-
pressed the opinion to a New MEXICAN
reporter that the alleged dead man was