Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-09-28
THE SAFE WAS BLOWN UP
Another Express Robbery on the
Missouri Pacific Road.
DYNAMITE WAS USED.
Amount secure is Unknown-Train
Crew Has a Decidedly Interest
ing Experience.

the Little ROCK and Wichita express, at
q point in the woods between Leeds and
Dawson, seven miles from Kansas City,
at $40 o'clock last night. To prevent
interference they first smashed the tele-
graph instruments at the belt line sta
ton, the junction of the Belt line and the
Frisco, near the scene Of the hOld-up,
and marched the operator, L. NJ. Hasey,
before them half a mile east. While two
men covered his eyes the others tagged
the train as it approached, quickly COW
cred the engineer and the firemen and
compelled them to uncouple and run the
engine and Pacific express car down the
track a mile and a half toward Dawson.
The passengers were unmolested and
the porter who attempted to interfere
was quickly sent to cover by a shot di-
rected by one of the rOadmen. At a deS-
olate spot up the road the baggage car
was quickly broken into, great quantities
OF dynamite placed upOn the through safe
and the local safe placed on top of it.
SO much explosive was used that the car
was literally blown to splinters and the
safes thrown away to one side of the
track.
This morning nothing but fragments of
the local safe could be found, and the
through box was q wreck, the top hav-
ing been blown off and the door wrenched
and otherwise damaged. The explosion,
which was of such force as to have been
heard distinctly in Kansas City, undoubt-
eddy destroyed any valuables that the
safes may have contained. That the rob-
bers themselves were not blown to atoms
seems strange, so terrific was the blast.
Ihe express officials examined their one
remaining stronghold this morning and
they absolutely refused to make u state
ment OF their loss, saying simply that 1t
Was small"
Supt. Moore of the Express company
insists that the train carried but little
treasure. \ small army Of detectives
was at the scene early this morning, but
up to 10 q. IN. no tangible clue to the
robbers has been secured, but the belief
that they were old hands at the business
and are by this time safe from capture
is general.
Flying debris from the shattered express
car carried down the telegraph wires
along the Frisco track which parallels the
Missouri Pacific at the point of the rob-
berry and completed and compelled the
stoppage of telegraphic communication
I begun at the Belt line station. 1t was.
therefore, some time before the news of
the robbery became known. and @ still
longer before q wrecking crew could be
gotten.
A new engine had to be secured as the
one the roadmen had used had been
hllleu. II WAS O.DO llllS ulOTIluG DeIOrN
the wrecked baggage and express matter,
which had been thrown in all directions,
was gathered together, the train made up
and the trip south continued.
The express matter, in many instances
totally destroyed, was taken to Osawa-
tonne, kaS. Much excitement prevailed
among the passengers during the long
wait in the detached cars, though but lit
tie firing was INDUCED in by the robbers.
The robbery was undoubtedly one of
the boldest that has ever been committed
in the locality so noted for hOld-ups.
A special train left the city for the
scene of the robbery about l o'clock this
morning, carrying several railroad and eX-
press officials. Operator Hasey was the
first man encountered at the junction tele-
graph office, told his story of the robbery:
1T was Just before the Missouri Pacific,
No. 8, was due" said Hasey, when two
men, a tall and a short one, came into the
telegraph office. The short one, wearing
a black mask, showed a Winchester to my
stomach and ordered me to hold my hands
up. The tall man had a cloth tied over
the lower part of his face and displayed
a big red nose and a pair of vicious black
eyes. He carried a pair of pliers with
which he cut a few wires, then tried to
smash the switchboard with his revolver.
The damage did not amount to much.
Just then the train crossed the trestle
nearby and stopped as usual. The short
man showed me ahead of him at the muz-
Zle of his Winchester down the track to
the train. Around the engine were per-
haps five men, wearing masks. They had
the engineer and fireman down from the
engine. The engineer, fireman and my
self were ordered to uncOuple the engine
and baggage car from the rest of the
train. We complied promptly. We three
were then ordered to get on the train and
stay there under pain of death. The por-
ter of the train came upon the scene,
14 = 1l~~4 6 4hA ao y1rnI
him to make a hurried retreat. In a few
minutes more the robbers had piled onto
the engine and started down the road.
About twenty minutes later we heard a
terrific explosion and soon Express Mes
! senger Hills came running back and said
the express car had been blown up. He
had not stayed to get the details. l imme-
diately repaired my instruments and gave
the alarm
Express Messenger Hills told an inter-
esting story of his experience with the
robbers.
II was working away" said he, when
| felt that my car was starting without
the rest of the train. 1 looked out and
saw some figures of men. | realized 1t
was a hold-up and ducked in. They then
came to the side door and beat on it with
their guns.
Let US in or We'll blow you up they
! demanded. I opened the door and three
UlSu SOI III. 1ASS NC1C LhoShSu Ii NoA
ried sacks over their arms. One man got
the drop On me. They cursed me and
asked how much money there was in the
safe. / lied to them good and plenty.
The mask of one of the men slipped and
I tried to get a good look at him. Quick
as a flash he hit me on the head with the
butt of his revolver. They put seven
sticks of dynamite IN the big combina-
ton safe and set the portable safe on top
of the dynamite. The car finally stopped
and they set a fuse; l saw a match
struck. They jumped out, leaving me in
the ear. l pleaded with them and they
finally Let me jump down. w all moved
upon the other side of the road. 1t
seemed an age as we waited. The fuse
had apparently refused to work and they
sent me to uncouple the engine from the
baggage car. Just as l was doing It
there was a fash and a roar. 1 fell to
the ground stunned. When 1 recovered
sufficiently to gain my feet some one
said: Git git l started on the run
down the track toward the rest of the
train, while the robbers who had come up
by this time made for the wrecked ex-
press car"