The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1897-10-02
The 0. R. & N. Passenger
Stopped Near Portland.
A PLUCKY BRAKEMAN
He Opened Fire on the Robbers and
Backed the Train to Place
of Safety.
Watches and Purses-The Robbers
Caught In Portland-They Were
Novices at the Business.

One of the boldest attempts to hold
up train reported here for years oc-
Cured Saturday evening at 9:25 o'clock
on the o. r q n. track just five miles
out from Portland. While the regular
Eastern train, No. 2. was leaving the
city, two masked men succeeded in
stopping the engine by some signal,
and after taking the engineer and fire.
man into the brush beside the track,
robbed them of their watches and
about SIG in money. The brakeman
went forward as soon as the train
stopped, and taking in the situation.
crawled under the mail car and opened
fire on the robbers, who got into the
brush with their two prisoners. Then
he mounted the cab, and, amidst q
volley Of pistol shots, succeeded in
backing the train out of danger. No
one was injured, and nothing was lost
| except what was taken from the en-
gineer and fireman while their captors
had them under guard in the brush by
the track.
The highwaynen tagged the train
with an old farm lantern, the engineer
taking the signal to be warning of
danger. The robbers appeared at the
engineers cab by the time the train
had come to halt, after which they
n6 fn ro1 . ha trl s,sl a1n
occupying the engine.
No. 2 started from Portland at 9
o'clock P. M, and consisted of one
mail car, a baggage. smoker, chair car,
sleeper and tourist. Conductor Alli-
son was in charge Saturday evening
when it left, with Engineer Evans on
the engine, accompanied by fireman,
| and Brakeman Cason finished the
crew. The train gets to running at
fair rate of speed by the time the city
boundary is passed few miles, with
an occasional slow-up for certain side
tracks. BY the time the doubling spur
is reached, the speed is getting pretty
close to the usual travelling rate.
When Engineer Evans was signaled
by the two men carrying lantern, he
was half mile from Portland. The
first the passengers and members of
the train crew knew of the difficulty
was when the train came to stop in
what was known to be an unusual place.
Brakeman Cason started forward on
the ground by the cars when he dis
covered that the train was stopped, to
see what had caused the difficulty.
When he reached the mail car he saw
that the engineer and fireman were in
charge of two highwaymen. Cason's
first impulse was to shoot, as it was
evident that hold-up was in progress.
He got under the mail car, and COM
menced to blaze away at the captors of
the engineer and fremen, who had
taken position in front of the engine.
His fire was returned by the two men
with spirit. One carried a shotgun and
the other Winchester and revolver,
but even with these formidable weap-
ons they could not face the brakeman,
and beat hasty retreat into the brush
with their prisoners. 1he brakeman
fired five shots at lis two antagonists;
Of course being Handicapped in his aim
by the fact that the engineer and fire.
man were with the robbers. The rob-
bers returned the fire with spirit, fir
ing six or seven shots at the brakeman
and the train generally. The only one
of these to reach a mark struck the
globe of the conductors lantern.
The train was run back half mile
and stopped. while the crew and few
passengers who could muster fire arms
prepared to battle with the robbers.
Presently the engineer aud fireman
came walking down the track having
been released by the highwaymen, and
the train was started on its eastward
journey after half hour delay.
w. E. Kahler, formerly of this city,
but now located at Sumpter, was
among the passengers and stopped off
realized what was happening, there
was a general scramble to conceal
valuables. Purses, watches and jowelry
were slowed away in every conceivable |
place of hiding, and had the robbers |
succeeded in going through the cars,
they would have experienced consider.
able difficulty in hunting out valuables |
from underneath seats and cushions.
Both the would-be robbers were |
captured in Portland Sunday night.
They bad hired team at one of the |
livery stables in Portland Saturday |
evening, droye out five miles. and held |
up the train. When captured they had |
Engineer Evans purse, though the |
watches were not found in their pos.
session. The capture was clever |
piece of work on the part of the officers. |
and they will receive the reward OF |
$3.50 offered by the company.