The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-08
THE LONE TRAIN ROBBER.
AN ATTEMPT TO Get SAM WILSON
OFT OF THE PESITENTI4RY.
There was n Mortgage to Lift on HIs Fathers
Farm, 80 sinEie Handed ne Held Up n
Train and Carried on n Package OF Money
-Iho Record OF n InIaue High Mnymnn

ma AllNNOA vi NhlE NVthag N ~ AAfhh Nv h@AN
up a passenger train out in Missouri one night
about three years ago. This man went about
his work single.handed, and, singlc-handcd,
accomplished 1t successfully. He would even
now he "A FREQ man had his subsequent action
been guided by as much wisdom rs that which
characterized his lone performance in u Mis-
souri, hollow down on the Frisco railroad. At.
tention has recently been called to him again
because an effort is being made'to get Sam Will
son out Of the penitcntiary at jefferson City,
where his misdeeds took him. The term was
fixed by the Judge at fifteen years.
When sam Wilson first got himself talked Of
he was best known as the lone train robber.
A'Friscot train had been held up about two hours
out of.St. Louis. The'Governor OF the state was
on board. He Mt once offered IA reward for the
conviction of the men who were guilty Of the
crime. The train crew. in discussing the rob-
berry, said that n number OF men had been con-
cerned in il. II was even intimatcd at the time
that the Governor himself fixed the number of
robbers at seven. 1t was not many days, however,
before it was fully established that one man had
accomplished the stopping and robbing OF the
train. For u little time this story was not be-
licvcd. 1t seemed much more reasonable that
seven men had had a hand in the job. The de-
~tectives were not long in proving that Sam Will
SON had taken the train nj st. Louis. climbed
over the tender at a point not far from Pacific,
threatened the life OF the engineer until he
stopped thc train. and then got II package OF
money from the express cac.
1t was at this time that the story took on n
now interest. Every newspaper man of expert.
encc In the State had been accustomed TO writ.
ing OF tho commonplace rohber who, with half
a dozen of This swearing, pistol shooting com
panions. stopped trains, terrorized passengers.
and robbed right and left. 1t was new TO all Of
them to hear OF ono man who went about the
Job unattended. observation-disclosures of any
man who would undertake such n job alone,
although they didn't take much stock in his
judgment. There was Il good deal of interest,
therefore, when it became understood that the
detectives had arrested Sam Wilson down in
the hills OF the Ozarks. The fellows who had
been watching the history OF train robbinG from
the time jim Bcrry's men took $4,000 in gold
out of a train out in Nebraska up to the case OF
sam Wilson, went TO headquarters 10 see the
man who had given trouble to the Frisco.
They expected to see n powerful. daredevil OF
a fellow, mighty Of muscle. fearless rs to eye,
and exceptional all through. Instead of that
they met q thin. gaunt fellow, with an honest
looking. frank sort or face. He lookcd like my
gaunt country boy who had had a bit OF eN-
pericrcc ia the large towns, most of which he
had thrown away by going back to the country
again. He realized that he was in trouble.
He said rs much; but all the time he KEEP, up a
mighty thinking. which formed Itself later into
one OF the most remarkable propositions ever
made by a criminal 10 an officer Of the law.
see here" he said to the CHEZ. this case Of
mine has attracted u lot OF attention. and l
think. that everybody Il like 10 see me. Fl YOU
let mo out OF this I'll 20 into u dime museum
an divide the profits with you
Wilson was not joking. When he made that
proposition he was in the midst OF one OF the
most serious periods OF his life. That one
sentence is a better index to the mans charac.
te- than any column description OF it. He was
not under lock and key long before he came ont
with the entire story OF his strange expedition.
For several years sam had been away from
his home in q little town at the foothills of the
ozarSs, working here and there as u telegraph
operator. He was not much OF a success ut the
key. and after a time he found that he could
not make Il living Tor himself and family. lie
went To his fathers home. where hc found that
the farm had been mortgagcd. With this bad
prospect ahead OF him. Wilson set about TO
plan a train robbery a. u way out. He nN-
bln ma u, 10 nv y fsddc "a 9 InSe r 1870 ,Ec rn nihi my
trains q, Il profession. He believed that the
railroad and express companie, could stand the
up. and said he really needed the money 10 lift II
mortgage and To provide for his need.
manner. He went to st. Louis. a%arryins q
largo grip, which he though. would De nece--
up. In the city he thought he Would ind some
one who would undertake the job with him.
After "a study of the history of train stopping
he concluded that it would be best 10 undertake
the enterprise without the aid OF n confederate.
lie feared that the other follow might weaken
and make "a confession il hard pushed. One OF
the first things that Wilson did after -~cacling
81. Louis was To invest u few dollars in dynt.
mite. Three dollars was invested in Two small.
worthless pistols. These were purchased at "A
pawnbroher's. Wilson had had no experience
with dynamite. so he set out for the outskirts
of the town one morning and there exploded
one or the Sticks rs AN experiment, On this
occasion he narrowly escaped arrest. hut he cN-
d~entally. and that was the end OF the matter.
After all his S.. Louis plans were concluded
Wilson took a Frisco train for the scene Of the
duct. He decided that II point near Pacific.
where the train would stop at midnight. would
be best suited TO his plans. In the woods. not
far from the town. he placed his grip. which
had been addressed to him while lie was in st.
Louis. Close TO the satchel he placed a stick
in the ground and at the top OF this stick he
fastened "a cotton handkerchief.
II done that Wilson told the detective, so
I'd know whur to make the engineer stop 'cr."
Then Wilson. returned TO 81. Louis. lie went
got on the '"biind baggage" OF the train thai
left the MON station ut o o'clock In the even;
Ing; nc D nGi,n Or t twice at at 't WT e bTasG man looked Q
Pncidc the .robber began to be anxious. lie
examined his small, worthless. weapons, and
braccd himself for the effort Of his life. As the
train sped along through the darkness Wilson
began to look for his white flag. Whom he
fastened the signal to the stick u day: or two
before, in broad daylight, II had not occurred to
him that it would be Il difficult matter for him
10 make il out from his place back OF the tender,
the train speeding Mt the rate of forty miles an
hour through n midnight wood. Now ne real.
l2ed that he would have to take chances about
stopping in the ncighborhOod of the place OF his
plans. After a minute or two of this sort OF
consideration, Wilson concluded that he was
no, far from the tagged grip. In ten seconds
he had climbed over the coal and down into the
black pit before, the engineer and fireman. In
another instant he had shouted out a NINA
10 stop the engine. Neither the engineer nor
the fireman. stopped TO do any thinking about
the make Of Wilson'S pistols. They only knew
that the train was being held up. How many
desperate men were back Of this uncanny figure
with the two re%volvcrs was no matter to them.
The train was stopped.
Git down." the robber commanded.
The engineer and fireman climbed down and
stood on the sod Of the right of way. The robber
fired n few shots In the air. and II porter who
mad run out to see what the trouble was. hurried
back into the train and told everybody, includ.
ing Gov. Stone, that seven men were shooting
the train crew to pieces in front. There was
no one to dispute his word. More shots were
fired. and in another minute n terrific eyplO
sion shook tho train. The porter had no one IL