The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-03
STORY OF OFFICIALS.
Union Pacific Men Tell How the
Robbery Occurred.

Omaha, June 2.-The Union Pacific
officials furnish the following ac:ount
of the robbery of the westbound tra IN
| No. J.. which left this city yesterday
morning:
Just before daylight this morning, in
| the midst of drenching rain, the train
was held up just beyond Wilcox, Wyo.
! The robbers blew up the express car
with dynamite, severely wounding thS
engineer, and then escaped to the
mountains. According to the officials
of the express company, the robbers OBJ
tanned only nominal reward for their
daring crime. a posse, under command
of the sheriff of Carbon county, is in
pursuit, and the officers are confident
of capturing them.
Union Pacific officials received their
first information of the affair from In
gineer Jones of the train that was he'd
up. His message was as follows:
First section No. l held up g, nile
west of Wilcox. Express car blown
open; mail car damaged. Safe blown
open: contents gone. We were ordered
to pull over bridge just west of Wilcox,
and after we passed the bridge. the eX-
plosion occurred. Can't tell now bad
the bridge was damaged. No one hurt
except Jones-scalp wound and cut on
hand. JONES. Engineer.
During the forenoon several other
dispatches were received COHSStlllS
some details. These indicated the rob-
bers boarded the train at Wilcox at
2:09 a. m.
AS the train reached the bridge, ore
of the robbers crawled into the ca5 and
al the point of a gun ordered Engineer
Jones to pull across the bridge and
stop. Meanwhile, the others Of the
gang We're at work in the express car
Just as the engine pulled off the bridge,
there was tremendous explosion that
scattered the express car for hundred
feet in every direction The end of the
mail car was blown in and several
stringers knocked out of the bridge.
Engineer Jones was slightly injured by
the flying debris.
1t only required a few minutes for
the robbers to rifle the safe. which was
blown open by the explosion They took
its contents, signaled their confeder-
ates on the engine, and before the pas
sengerS and the train crew were aware
of just what had happened, were of
for the mountains. 1t required two
hours to clear the wreck away, so that
the train could proceed to Medicine
Bow, the next station, from whicn the
report was sent.
The sheriff was notified, and with a
posse started in pursuit of the robbers.
The soft ground caused by the rain
will aid in tracking the robbers. Il is
not pOSlllNSlN hHONn just NOW lldDy
there are in the party, but as only LorIr
were seen by the trainmen, il is be- |
lieved that number constitutes the |
party.
4 later telegram conveys the infor- |
nation that the bent in the bridge was |
shattered, but has been repaired to per- |
nit OF the passage of trains.
The passengers were scared nearly |
out of their wits, but the robbers made |
no effort to mOleSt them cOnfining their |
operations to the express car.
The local express officials have re-
ceived no information beyond the bare
fact that the train was held UP and the !
contents of the safe taken. They state
that the safe contained very little of
value.
Nothing is said in any of the dis
patches regarding the express messen-
ger or where he was when the explosion
occurred, but as the dispatch says only
the engineer was injured, it is certain
no harm has befallen the messenger.