Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1904-04-06
TRAIN ROBBERS
UNSUCCESSFUL
oregon Express Held Up But the
Safe Containing the Mo Could
Not Be Opened.
EXPRESS MESSENGER KILLED
Without Any Provocation the Rob
bers Shoot W. J. o'Neill, Kill
ing Him Instantly.

iN0uuiub, Sdi., hpiil ilnt par
ticulars of the Oregon express train
robbery were obtained when the
train, minus the express car, reached
Redding this morning. When the
train pulled into Copley. which is
merely a watering station. the three
masked highwaymen came u of the
brush at the east side of the track.
This is shown by the evidence of a
tramp who was trying to steal a ride.
He was jabbed in the ribs with a ri.
fe muzzle and made to enter the
smoker.
In the meanwhile one OF the rob-
bers knocked on the door of the ex.
press car. w. j. O'Neill, Wells-Far.
go express messenger. II Is thought.
asked him what was wanted. The
reply a evidently satisfactory, be.
aus OiNeil opened the door about
18 inches, when a rifle bullet was
sent through his body. IL passed
near his heart and the messenger
fell back dead. O'Nenl was not arm,
ed. He evidently believed from what
he was told that the knock came
from one of the train CROW.
The highwaymen then went to get
the crews OF the two engines, who
were still in ignorance of any trou.
BILE. SO they could loot the express
a without fear OF the train being
pulled out with them. They brought
back engineers b. II. Joesink and L,
A. Bissell and Fremen J. +. Sury
and A. Raymond. One robber stayed
on the west side of the train looking
out for possible danger. while the
others marched the train crews back
on the east side to the express car
The robbers were all the time us
ing vile language and discharging oc
casional shots from their rifles. This
apprised the passengers in the front
end of the train of what was going
on. but they remained in the cars
throughout and were not molested.
When the express car was reached by
the robbers. Frank Rockwell, an ex
press guard. who was "~deadheading'
through on the car, waited their re
turn with a shotgun In his hands. Al
first glimpse of the masked men he
raised the weapon and pulled the
trigger. The cartridge snapped, but
the pIucky man started to put an
other shell into his gun when the
robbers covered him with their ri
ies and commanded him to lay down
his gun or be killed. Engineer z. A
Bissell joined in asking Rockwell not
60 make a fight. arguing that if he
did they might all be killed. The
robbers then babe the two firemen
and the brakeman to climb into the
smoker. Because Brakeman Liston
IA not quick enough for the rob
bers they hit him on the head will
a rife. infiicting a severe scalI
wound.
When the bandits found that Col
ford, helper to Messenger O'Neill
could not open the safes. they decid
ed to use dynamite, first removing
the body of o'Neill, which lay neal
the safe. There we're two safes il
the = the large through SAFE
and the other a small safe known a
the local. They placed six sticks o
dynamite on top of the large SAT-
and on this set the small money BIO,
The leader of the robbers ,nen light
ed the fuse and the entire party mad,
its way to the engines by lifetime tn
explosion had occurred,
When they returned to the wreck
ed car il was found that the small
safe had been blown TO atoms an,
the top of the through safe had BEEF
blown off. Only the floor and truck
OF the car were left and tiny piece
of greenbacks were broken, Will
twisted coins covered the floor
showing the force of the explosion
The leader is said to have looked a
the wreck and then To have remarke,
to his partners in crime:
We'll. pals. I guess We get moth
ing"
The robbers again marched tn
two engineers and the express hell
er forward. where they commando
Engineer ID. II. Joesink to climb int
abe front tender of the engine. The
climbed in after him and ordered hin
to pull away from the scene. At
bridge spanlin the Sacramento ri,
or, about 200 yards south Of Keswicl
station. which is five miles south o
the point where the train was stoI
ped, they had Joesink stop his Ell
CINE and they alighted and disappear
ed In the darkness.
IL is certain that the train robbers
did not get a cert for their work
The small safe and its contents were