The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-05-25
FIRST HOLD-UP
TRAIN ROBBERS.
A Canton Man Instrumental In
Bringing Them to Justice.
sroREKEEpER ST. CLAIR
or the wheeling and Lake Erie Relates nm
Interesting story of the Seventies In
which He Took an Active
Part.

The Canton correspondent of the CO.
lumbus Press-Post has the following in
teresting story of railroad occurrence,
which is local in character:
Canton has a citizen who was in
strumental in bringing to justice the
first hold-up train robbers on record In
the United States. The robbery was
back in 1877, on the Union Pacific rail-
way, near Ogallala, Nebraska, when
3 a United States treasury train was loot
ed of about 100000. The money was
recovered, in greater part. All of the
robber gang were killed, except one.
The Cantonian who participated in
rounding up the bandits is w. p. p. st.
Clair, general storekeeper for the Whee'-
ling & Lake Erie railway. He has wit
messed stirring scenes in many phases
of life. He was soldier in the civil
war. He fought Indians under General
Custer He was probate Judge of Keith
county, Nebraska, was postmaster of
Ogallala, county seat of the same
county, and represented the Fourteenth
Nebraska district in the state legisla-
ture. Most Of his time, however, has
been in the railway business He has
for 30 years been identified with rail-
way work.
When the first hold-up of the west
occurred he was agent for the Union
Pacific line, at Ogallala, Nebraska. His
part in bringing the bandits to Justice
is best told in his own words. Says he:
1.-The robbery occurred on the Union
Pacific when I was agent for the road
at Ogallala, Nebraska. So far as have
ever heard, the train hold-up was the
first of the many subsequent hold-ups
g.. a.
present. Although back in 1877, I
remember the incident very distinctly.
"The story begins with the advent in
to that section of Nebraska of a
HALF DOZEN CATTLE HERDERS
from Texas, headed by Joe Collins who
was as affable a man as I ever met At
that time 1t was common practice for
Texans to drive herds up into Nebraska
and sell them to men forming herds on
the plains Of that and other states.
collins and his men came up for
just that purpose. They camped near
the town Of Agallala, remained proba-
bly, nearly two weeks and made many
visits to the town. One September
morning the community was almost
dumbfounded to hear that a through
express and passenger train had been
held up and robbed at Big Springs, a
town nineteen miles west of us. I soon
got an engine, gathered a squad of
armed men and we were soon tearing
down the track to the scene Of the rob-
berry. We found the job had been well
done.
Here is the story in brief: Just
about the time the through train was
due at Big Springs one of the bandits
stepped into the Office and ordered the
agent, named Barnhart, to fix the tele-
graph instruments so that they were
useless. The agent was made prisoner.
When the train came in at II 40 at night
two of the robbers boarded the engine
and at the point of a revolver made
the engineer and fireman detach the
engine and run down the track about
two miles. There the boiler of the en-
gine was emptied and the iron horse
made useless by tampering with the
machinery. Two more men boarded the
express car and two did the robbing
of passengers in the coaches.
"The express car bandits tried to COM
pei the expressman to open the big
safe. He declared he did not know
the combination. In fact that was the
truth. But the robbers did not be-
lieve him and they began to kick him
and torture him. They got mad and
began to
SMASH UP EVERYTHING
in sight in the car that could be handl-
ed. In throwing about packages a
small box burst open and several new
'$20 gold pieces rolled on the floor
Bonanza yelled one bandit. Soon the
robbers began to roll into empty grain
sacks carried with them all the money
and small packages they could find and
carry
"The men in the coaches were getting
in their work in the meantime. When
the passengers saw the men with drawn
revolvers and heard them cry hands
up the travellers lost no time in obey
ing. One man covered the car. The
other man walked through the car and
valuables were thrown into the sacks
with more alacrity Than pennies and
buttons into a hardshell Baptist con-
tribution basket. Money and jewelry
came forth in abundance. No one ever
knew how much money was secured
from the passengers in the coaches, but
the express packages were valued at
$6O,OOO.
with their booty the men galloped
off on horses fastened in waiting near
by. No one had any idea who the rob-
bers were except a passenger named
Riley who said he thought he recogniz-
ed Joe Collins in the gang. But he kept
this to himself. The cattle .herders
continued near Ogallala but were not
then suspected by the citizens as be-
ing the train bandits A short time
later the herders moved southwark with
cattle. Meanwhile search was being
made for the train robbers. The posse
had tracked them into the Black hills
district but there lost the trail. The
posse separated and part of 1t found
its way to the abandoned camp of Col
Inns and band. One young man picked
up some patches of red cloth and stuck
them into his pocket. Later detective
came on the scene and asked what had
been found. The young man bethought
him of the cloth. The patches were
orr eped with an perpaaa hu tho 1afac.