The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-30

Portland. Ore, Jan. 2O-The postal
authorities this morning received word
from Roseburg, Ore. of the stopping
Of the Oregon express and the robbery
Of the mail coach and express car
The train left here at D. m. on
Wednesday last for Portland. and the
robbery occurred at midnight last
night at Shady Point, two miles south
IF Roseburg.
The train was signalled by a lantern.
Engineer Morris stopped at the light,
and masked man. revolver in each
hand. crawled down from the tender,
ordering hands up Fireman Hem
bricks jumped off the cab and ran for
Roseburg, followed by couple of
shots. The robbers ordered Morris to
back up the train and the mail and
express cars were cut off. Then he
ordered him to pull ahead for about so
Gus. During TINS time Conductor
seatch and Brakeman LOhr went for
ward with their lights to reconnoiter,
out were shot at and ordered back.
Butler, the express messenger, put
out his lights and went behind some
trunks. He was called upon to open
he car He opened the door and took
i shot at the robbers. The highway
1ltu dDDllEu dynamite on the Opposite
side, which shattered the car. Butler
jumped out, and seeing the robbers,
attempted to shoot, but his gun snap
ped and he ran for the Pullman car.
The robbers used dynamite on the
safes and succeeded in opening the
small one, containing not over $50.
They knocked over the stove, set
ting fire to the car, totally consuming
t and its contents, also all the pas
5enger baggage. involving a heavy loss.
They took some registered letters from
The mail car and departed.
superintendent Fields, of the South
ern Pacific, who happened to be at
ROseburg, was called about 80 and
took an engine and men to the scene.
The burning car tumbled off the track,
and the train was brought in after sew
eral hours delay. Engineer Morris had
his cheek grazed by a bullet and the
express messengers dog was killed. A
few mail pouches were rified, but the
value of the letters taken is not known.
The end of the mail car was charred
and some mail matter damaged by
fire and water.
Several commercial travellers lost val
liable sample trunks in the fire. One
case containing silver knives, forks and
spoons was found this morning in the
slough uninjured. Nothing else of value
was recovered. The large express
safe, unopened, was taken to Portland
on the morning local.
The sheriff and his posse are securing
the country, but there is no clue yet,
as a heavy rain has been falling and
the tracks are Obliterated. The train
arrived at Portland at 1 o'clock this
afternoon. Charles Piper, postal clerk
in charge of the mail car, said:
1.-Two men did all the work of hold
ing up the train, but I think there
were five in the gang. They exploded
two dynamite bombs in the express
car, and half a dozen on the outside.
When the express took fire. 1 realized
that my car, which was next to the ex-
press, was in danger. One of the rob-
bers drew a revolver on me while he
went through the mail. 1 do not be-
lieve he took anything of value.
The express car was soon a mass of
flames, and I set about TO save my
car, if possible, by carrying water from
a pond near at hand. The entire end
of the mail car was burned out, but
only small part Of the mail was dam
aged