The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-10-30
One Time He Turned Trick on Omaha
Road Near Here.
Story of the Capture Of the Desperate
and His Pals.
Battle to The Death-Prisoner Suffered
Loss of One Eye.
From Thursdays Daily.

Chris Evans, the noted train robber,
who is confined in Folsom prison, is seek
ing parole. The people hereabouts have
more than passing interest in this
desperate as he together with George
Sontagare suspected of being the two per-
sons who turned a trick in this vicinity
one night not great many years ago.
They held up the Omaha passenger train
due in this city at 1880 o'clock at night,
at a point near Caroline station. The
railroad company sent its detectives
after the gang but they were not captur-
ed until they had reached the far west.
1t was always the claim of the rail
road and express companies that Evans
and Sontag did not secure any booty, but
there are persons who insist that the
highwaymen got away with an amount
of money. Evans and Sontag spent
several days in Mankato before the hold
up occurred. Sontag was well known
here as this was his home when boy.
He is the product of Wisconsin town.
Another one of Evans pals was John
Sontag. George Sontag is also confined
in Folsom, CAL, prison, and several years
ago an effort to secure his pardon proved
futile A dispatch from San Francisco
says:
Though Evans pretends that his
crimes were inspired by revolt against
railroad greed, it is very doubtful if this
was more than a minor factor in urging
him to rob the Southern Pacific trains.
That this hostility to great corporation
was useful to Evans there is no doubt,
for he would have been captured on sew
eral occasions had it not been for the
protection and help given him by the
mountaineers of Tulare county, who look
upon all organized law as the moonshin-
ers of East Kentucky and Tennessee re-
gard revenue officers.
"The story of Chris Evans, if told in a
romance, would be regarded as improb-
able. Certainly Robert Louis Stevenson
in Dr. Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde never drew
anything stranger than the actual char
acters assumed by Evans in the prosaic
little town of Visalia, in the heart of the
great San Joaquin valley.
evans first appeared in California in
the mountains of Tulare county. He was
a fairly good carpenter, but worked at
wood chopping or any rough farm work
that he could get to do. With him came
John Sontag, dark, good-looking fell
low who had one finger gone from his
left hand.
Swans said that he had studied for
the priesthood in Canada, but had given
it up and come west. He said also that
he and Sontag had had trouble on the
railroad while working and had to leave
in hurry and flee over the mountains.
cit is understood that Sontag was en-
gagged to Eva Evans, the fourteen year
old daughter. Chris Evans had small
farm and was interested in mine in
the mountains. He did carpenter work
also whenever he coud get it. He was
respected by everyone in Visalia, for he
was honest, paid his debts and had only
one vice, that of gambling, but in this he
was never reckless.
''Vasalia is town which inherited,
like several towns in the San Joaquin
valley, bitter hatred for the Southern
Pacific company. When the survey for
the railroad was done in the valley
Visalia was on the main line, but the
people refused to give the railroad the
amount of land required for station pur-
poses, and the company, which had then
an absolute monopoly, built road
around the town.
at was years before branch line ran
to Vasalia. This embittered all the peo-
pie, and high freight and passenger rates
added to their wrath. Near there was
the Mussel Slough country, where a
fight occurred between the original set
tiers and the railroad agents, who had
to evict them, a conflict which forms the
climax of Frank Norris novel The Octo-
pus.'
Evans naturally shared in this popu-
lar hatred of the great railroad mono
poly, and no doubt he counted upon it as
a means of escape when he began his ca
reer as train robber.
at was in February, 1880, that the
state was startled by a daring robbery
in Southern Pacific train near Pixley,
Tulare county, by two masked men.
They seemed to express messengers and
train officers like old hands at the bust
ness, for they were cool and systematic,
blowing open the express car with dyna-
mite and looting the safe in skillful
way.
"They secured several thousand dollars
in coin and bills, but didn't injure any of
the train hands. That they were reckless
of human life, however, was shown by
the way in which they shot down two
passengers who had crawled forward from
their cars to see what was being DONE
'sThe leader of the robbers, who was on
guard, turned a sawed-off shotgun
against these two men and as quick as
a flash riddled them with buckshot.
Then the robbers vanished into the night