The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1897-10-08
EIGHT BANDITS
Hold Up Train on the Chicago Alton
Road-A Futile Attempt to Blow Up the
Express Safe Was Made.

Hold Up a Train on the Chicago Alton
Road-A Futile Attempt to Blow Up the
Express Safe Was Made.
KANSAS CITY, Mo-, Oct. bandits
held up Chicago & Alton express
train Wednesday night at point less
than six miles from Kansas City. The
robbery is the. third occurring on that
railroad within year, all within Is
miles of this city.
The Chicago & st. Louis express.
which pulled out of the Union depot at
$3.50 Wednesday evening, was stopped
by eight masked men at Evanston, a
suburban stopping place just beyond
Washington Park. Evanston is about
eight miles nearer to Kansas City than
Blue Cut, made celebrated by the no.
toriouS James gang.
The train was stopped at the Evans
ton siding by the explosion of tOrpe-
does which had been placed on the
track. When the conductor and brake
men went out to ascertain the cause of
the trouble they were covered with re-
vOlvers in the hands of four of the
eight road agents. The other four
quickly covered the engineer and fire
man. The brakemen was compelled to
uncouple the baggage and express cars
from the passenger coaches. While
this was being done one of the robbers
busted himself by going through the
pockets of Conductor Graves, who was
robbed of $22 in coin.
In the meantime the bandits at the
head of the train had ordered Engi-
neer Vollette and his fireman to climb
down out of their cab. Engineer Vol
lette hesitated until pistol ball was
sent whistling by his ears. He and
the fireman, after this persuasion,
climbed down quickly, and two of the
robbers Immediately took their places.
The others of the crowd jumped aboard
the baggage and express cars. This
part of the train they ran up the track,
toward Independence, Mo-, about a
quarter of mile. There they COM
PEELED the frightened express mes
senger to open the door of his car. The
door once open, they dragged the mes
senger out by the legs, throwing him
to the ground. and then took his gun
away from him. The messenger was
then compelled to walk back toward
the other portion of the train.
After securing complete possession
of the engine and the baggage and ex-
press cars the bandits placed "a sticks
of dynamite upon the big through safe
and then lifted the smaller way safe
up on top of it. They applied
the fuse and the match and
then, evidently, waited for the
explosive to reveal the treasure
for which so much had been risked.
But for some reason the explosive
did not go off, and from the subsequent
developments it is evident that dyna-
mite had great terrors for the men
who were not afraid to run the ordi-
nary risks of train robbery.
1t is clear that they were afraid to
return to the express car, for after
waiting few minutes for the expected
explosion they hurriedly left the place,
running into the underbrush which
skirts the railway in that section.
The trainmen, who had been left be-
hind with the passenger coaches, po-
litely waited a reasonable length of
time for the robbers to complete their
work and then ran ahead to the engine
and the two cars After some delay,
for they too, were afraid of the dyna-
mite, they succeeded in lifting down
the small safe and throwing out the
dynamite. The engine was then run
back to the rest of the train and
coupled on, and after a full two hours
delay the express resumed the iOurn ey
toward ST. Louis