The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-10-25
TRAIN ROBBIDG NOT HARD,
THE RUB COMES IN GETTING
Away.
One Reason Why There are More Hold
Ups In the West-Single-H Handed the
Best Way to Work.

1
| Best Way to Work.
The lone highwayman of fiction and
fact has been asserting himself in the
west. Probably he reads in the daily
papers that Beadle's dime novels had
gone out of circulation and felt it in
cumbent upon him to enliven a dreary
orld and inspire some new publisher TO
| furnish literature to Young America.
| Hold-ups are much in vogue on the
! western railroads. and even the colored
| porters west of the Mississippi turn
| pale when they hear the brakes put on
unexpectedly. An Grant pig on the
track can deduce a trainload of passen-
gers to a state of nervous collapse, and
hen an engineer slows up for red
light signal he wonders what is about
to happen.
1t is always that way for while af-
ter an epidemic of hold-ups. Then ev-
erything settles down peacefully and
travellers and railway officers talk about
1.-THE old days when travelling had it's
dangers"
It's a good deal like fire in coun-
who is now at the head of an eastern
road. mo one Is looking for it, and
the fire department Is useless; but, ar
ter the fire, the engines are oiled and
everything put in shape. Before an
other fire comes along every one has
forgotten the first, and the fire depart
ment is rust-clogged again. Just now
they are doing lot of oiling and polish
ing on the western roads. Rewards are
offered and officers are vigilant, and
any passenger that gets out of his berth
in the night Is likely to be shot by the
Pullman conductor but, bless your
heart! all that will blow over. Now.
every time the train slows up, except
for a station, the trainmen notice it,
and are looking for trouble, but they
can't keep that up indefinitely. They'd
all be down with nervous prostration If
they took every slippery grade or steer
on the track and every high bridge for
a gang Of desperadoes.
THE fact Is, the railroad companies
cannot take any precautions that
would prevent hold-ups. The only
thing that will ever stop them will be
the settling up of the west. There are
just as many desperate and reckless
men here in New York city as there are
in the west, but the law has better
grip upon them. They stop men in
dark alleys and give Knockout drops
in Bowery dives and break open safes
but they don't hold up trains, because
in this thickly settled territory the
chances against escape are too great.
YOU'D think it would be a difficult
matter for one man, or even for several
men, to hold up train. Well, 1t isn't.
A revolver barrel Is a stupendous per-
suader, and most travellers and conduc-
tors and porters cling to their young
lives and don't take chances on losing
them. OF course man can't point
gun at more than one man at a time,
and it would seem as If some other man
could shoot the robber or take an AK a
him, while he was arguing with one
man; but you see revolvers are such /
shifting things and it doesn't take a (
dead shot long to change his aim. Pre-
all train robbers are dead I
shots. They always are in novels and 7
is something a highwayman really
ought to be. So the other men wait pa
iently until the visitor gets through
with his man and meekly take their
urns. It's safest, and what's glory |
with a whole skin. ,,,
I'm this last hold-up, where a single I
nan went through the Pullman cars
md escaped, the thing was simple
enough Pullman conductors, and por-
ers are seldom armed. 1t is easy for a
nan to keep narrow aisle in range,
md passengers aren't going to climb
nut into the aisle to make targets of
themselves. Any one passenger, with a
evolyer and a cool head If he had
vakened to the situation, could have F
nded that robbers earthly career, but
10 one did it, The fellow got away,
md he probably will not be caught, in
pite of the one thousand dollars reward
,ffered. That's the advantage of living
n land of opportunity, Our boys
eally should go west. There's more
DOM for success out there.
THE old accepted style of hold-ups
vas to swing a danger signal. An en-
ineer Is obliged to stop. He doesn't
are disregard danger signal.
What's up?' says the engineer.
"'This is up, says train robber,
olding revolver in embarrassing
roximity to the engineers head.
You'll run that engine and express car !
mile or two down the track for us, +
Won't you? l
He hasn't the heart to refuse such {
gentlemen. so he {
boots off down the track and the !
ang rifles the express car at leisure. {
ometimes engineers have fought or t
efused to run their engines, and have t
cen shot. There have been few cases S
here by sheer nerve and daredevil y
rit an engineer has run down the gang t
nd saved his train, but, as a rule, the T
obbers have things their own way r
The express care have steel inner r
oors, and express messengers are well ,
rmed, but there isn't much chance for g
ne man against a desperate gang.
Another style of hold-up is worked ;,
lis way: One man of the gang boards i
he train at a station and works his ;,
ay forward, until he climbs over the :,
'nder and points his gun at the engi- .
aer and fireman He makes them n
eep their mouths shut and run the =
ain to lonely piece of road, where :.
is pals are waiting. There he stops q
lie train, ties up the engine and the
lng goes through the train
Railroads often have had warning of
ming hold-ups. Some one of the II
ing is disgruntled and splits, or some =
lie of them is indiscreet or drunk and u