Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1898-09-29
TRAIN ROBBERS AT WORK.
The Missouri Pacific Exprcsa Train Held w
soon After Leaving Kansas City
friday Might.


Kansas City, Mo-, Sept. 20. The
Little Rock and Wichita express on
the Missouri Pacific was held up just
outside Leeds and almost within the
city limits at 0:4O o'clock Friday night
The robbers, five or six in number, are
believed to have driven furiously
through Raytown at three o'clock Sat-
urday morning. They were headed
for CIacker-Neck, the home of John
Kennedy. Deputy marshals are on
the trail and others are looking for
John Kennedy. Marshal Chiles is con-
fident these are the men, or part OF
them. The safes in the express car
are said to have contained $50, 900.
How much the robbers got is not
known.
The train left the union depot in
Kansas City for the south at 9:2O.
When it got to the Pittsburg 81 Gulf
crossing, better known as the Belt
line crossing, it slowed down and
stopped, as all trains are compelled to
do. AS it did so, FIVE or six masked
men, no one present can tell definitely
how many, stepped out. The leader,
a short, heavy set man, weighing prob
ably $50 pounds, and tall, lanky fell
low carrying a shotgun, stepped one
on either side of the engine and called
to the engineer and fireman to come
down. AS they were fairly bristling
with guns the men obeyed. Then
the little man climbed into the cab He
reached over, caught the whistle valve
and gave three sharp toots. This was
railroad engineers signal to the
hagman to go to the rear, that there
was something wrong with the engine
and the rear of the train should be
protected from the danger of a rear
end collision. This signal disarmed
the suspicious of Conductor Carr, who
knew the train had to stop there any
how. The signal was probably given
for this purpose.
In the meantime two other rob-
bers had pounded on the express car
and the messenger opened the door.
They sprang up, covered him with
guns and with much profanity ordered
him to get out and go to the rear. lie
did so with alacrity,
Just then, the leader gave four blasts
of the whistle, the signal to the flag
man to return, then the train was
about to depart He obeyed it. A
moment later, one long blast sounded,
and the robbers all piled into the cab,
the leader with the skill of an ex-
perienced engineer, gently opened the
throttle. Slowly at first, so slowly
that it scarcely seemed to move, the
engine and combination express car
pulled out. But soon it was dashing
at full speed.
Just south of the Diamond Brick &
Tile companys plant, ~ miles from
the crossing, they stopped. 1t seemed
only a moment later that the explosion,
which was heard all over eastern Kan
sas City, occurred. Then they started
up again, went 81 miles further, or
four miles west of Dodson, near Swope
park, and stopped again. There they
finished their work and set fire to the
express car, or what was left OF it,
drew the fire in the engine so that
it would be useless, sprang into
a two-horse wagon with double seat
and drove south on the Raytown road
They passed through Raytown, as
stated, at three o'clock Saturday morn
ing at breakneck speed and were
seen and heard by several farmers.
When the express car left the unior
station, a small safe weighing about
$50 pounds, rested on top of the big
one. Before the messenger got out, he
saw one of the robbers place dynamite
between the big and little safe. Their
they all withdrew after lighting th'
fuse. Since that time no one but thu
robbers has seen that little safe.