The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-17


This ball had found a lodging place in
the brain of one of the bandits. who had
been left a coprse beside the track, while
the train went triumphantly on. Here is
the story, as told by the engineer, Edwin
F. Ingles. upon the arrival Of the train
at Oakland:
We had been a little late all the way
up from Benicia. said Mr.. Ingles, and we
made the stop at Davis as short as pos
sible, in order to save a little time.
certainly did not notice anyone get on the
tender or the front car. and l cannot find
anyone who did, though that is undoubt-
eddy the place where the dead robber made
his start. After we left Davis we were
whooping it up pretty lively. trying to
make up some of the lost time, and we
were coming down that straight track
nearly fifty miles an hour, headed for Sac.
ramento.
Just after we passed Swinges Siding,
when the old compound was Logging it
pretty WELL heard voice from over the
tender say:
Throw up your hands!"
looked around, and there over the coal
and a big, black revolver with a muzzle
that looked as big as the stack of a loco
motive pointed straight at my head. The
man repeated:
Thrown up your hands!'
You can bet that it didn't take very long
for us to. obey, and our hands went up.
There were three of us on the fOotboard
of the engine, my fireman, Burns, a col
ored cook from the dining car and my
| self. The cook had got on the engine at
| Davis to ride into Sacramento with us
| There is a standing joke among the din
| ing car men that l am held up every little
while and they won't ride with me be
| cause of that. / was joking with this fell
| low and Davis and asked him if he was
| afraid to ride with me and he said not
! that he would ride even if 1 was held up.
I guess that he got all that he bargained
for. .ont
When that robber got his gun over the
! coal boards the whole three of us gave
| up for he had the dead wood on us, and it
would have done no good to fight. He
came down off the coal pile and stood in
| the gangway of the engine, holding on
| to the railing with his left hand and keep
! ing his revolver pointed at me through
| the cab window. l was sitting directly in
the window, and he had the absolute drop
! on me. a4
| lie told me to pun about four car lengths
over the big trestle that is being rebuilt
| just east of Websters, and then slow
| down. / slowed down going over the tres
! tie. as we always do for safety, and kept
talking to him all the time.
1t was only a very few moments from
| the time that he made his appearance over
| the coal pile until we got to the trestle
| l kept talking to him. asking him what
to do, and apparently agreeing cheerfully
| with everything that he wanted. / saw
| that there was no use to do anything eX-
| cept wait for chance~ and so / talked
| to him all the time to disarm him and
| get him feeling more at home, so that he
| might give us some kind of an opening.
He told me to SLOW down at the trestle
| and | came almost TO a stop, when he told
| me to pull ahead a little further. When he
got to the right point he told me to STOP
| and did so.
The men. had planned everything very
carefully, for the stopping point was a
| great one for anything of that kind. The
| engine and express cars were over the
| trestle, but the rest of the train was or
| the bridge so that the passengers could
| not get off apd,Fun up to interfere. Theii
object was evidently to cut the express
car off and run it ahead to rob it at theiI
leisure, safe from disturbance from the
| passengers.
just as soon as we had come to a full
| stop a second man showed up out of the
| darkness and stood by the side of the
| train Just as soon as this other mar
showed up he asked: ''Is everything al
| right? p, The man on the engine with u:
| said it was and he ordered my fireman e
get down off the footboard and go witt
the fellow on the ground. l knew thai
they wanted 10 have him cut the train il
| two Burns obeyed, and disappeared il
the darkness with the new man, leaving
the cook, the robber and myself on the
| engine.
The bandit kept his position on the side
of the engine, hanging on with his let
hand. and keeping me covered with the
| revolver / sat still, with my nand on the
lever, and kept on asking questions.
| noticed that the man was little nerV
Gus, and that he would turn his heac
away from me every few moments anc
look back in the direction in which ms
fireman and his partner had gone. H'
was evidently expecting signal 10 &c
ahead, and was watching for it.
When he turned his head and before ne
looked back / made a dive into the too
box In front of me and got my revolver
out / held it behind the seat until he
turned, his head again, and then aimed
| directly at him and let drive. l aimed &c
hit him I'M the temple, the side of his head
being turned toward me, but as fired ne
turned his eyes back upon me and the bull
| let struck him Just under the eye, passing
| through his head. ! fired a second time
and struck him In the neck, ana then ht
fen off AS he tumbled out into the night
his death grip frightened on his revolver
and il went off, striking the tender tank
and tearing the varnish off.
Just as soon as the robber tumbled on
| yanked open the throttle and turned heI
| loose for Sacramento without waiting tc
get any more shooting The cook was In
the cab and had behaved first rate.
asked him II he could shovel coal and told
him to get down and fill the engine up
He did the best he could. but soon saw
that he was banking the fire and that
would have to fire myself, so / gave him
my pistol and asked him IL he would
shoot He said that he would, and told
him to get up on the tender and shoot the
first man who came over there. | did moi
want anyone else who might be on the
front platform to shoot me from the dark
ness. He took the pistol and got up on the
coal and rode into Sacramento that way.
had. my old signal whistle footing al
the way in and we made some lively slime
rolling into the Sacramento depot.
did not know what had become of my
fireman, and l was never so tickled as
was when / slowed up in the depot anC
saw him running up from the rear of the