Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1904-04-05
MASKED BANDITS
HOLD UP A TRAIN
KILL EXPRESS MESSENGER AND
DYNAMITE SAFE.
THEY MAKE THEIR ESCAPE
Stories as to Amount Taken Conflict
Conductor Declares Blast Scat
tered Money, and None
Was Secured.

Sacramento, Cal, April 2. - Three
masked men held up the oregon express
train on the Southern Pacific road early
Friday morning, killed w. ]. O'Neil, the
express messenger, and escaped with the
contents OF the express box.
O'Neil was murdered deliberately
after the robbers had broken into the
express car The value of the booty Sc
cured by the men is not known.
When the train stopped at Copley, a
small Village, for water, three masked
men bearded it and cut the train in two.
Climbing over the tender they COM
PEELED Engineer Joesinll to go ahead.
He ran the engine and express car down
the track for about mile and then was
ordered to stop. Leaving one man on
guard two of the robbers left the engine
and went back to the express car.
o'Neil refused to open upon their de-
mand and they blew the door off the car
with dynamite. ONeil was not hurt, but
as soon as the men got in the car they
deliberately shot him through the head.
The train crew then was compelled to
march back to the express car
O'Neil's helper was threatened with
death unless he opened the safe, but he
persuaded the robbers that he did not
know the combination. They then
placed dynamite on the safe, and, after
lighting the fuse, ran away with their
prisoners. The car was completely
wrecked By the force of the explosion.
After overhauling the contents of the
safe the men compelled the engineer to
proceed to Keswick, five miles away,
near where they dropped off the engine.
sheriff is in pursuit with IL men.
The Conductors Story.
Conductor De Pangher, of the Oregon
express, said: when the robbers
reached the engines they ordered all
of the men on the locomotives to get
down on the ground and line up, and
the men did so. The robbers marched
back to the baggage car and made all
OF Us get in, with the exception of two
engineers, whom they took back to-
ward the express car. They ordered
Engineer Brissel to knock on the door
OF the express car, and as he did so,
one of the men said: open the car
Messenger 0'Neill, evidently thinking
We were having row with some
tramps. opened the door to look out
and was shot dead. He had no chance
for his life at all. The fact that the
robbers obtained nothing for their
work was because they put too much of
the explosive on the safe. When the
dynamite went off it tore away the tor
and sides of the car and in consequence
the money in the safe was scattered
far and wide"
Gathered Souvenirs.
Arthur Grandras, resident of Santa
Barbara, was riding in the day coach
Just behind the express car. II was sit
ting in my chair reading" he said
when suddenly l heard three shots
Tired in quick succession. Soon more
shots We're fired and then terrific ex.
plosion took place. The door of OH,
car was shattered and window glass
fell thick around us. A piece of steel
weighing about four pounds, buried
itself in my seat few inches from my
head. The car was filled with ,flyine
paper and chunks of melted and twist.
ed money fell in all directions. One
man, who was sitting in the seat oppo.
site me was hit in the head by piece
OF flying steel and a deep cash was cut
in his scalp. After the explosion j
picked UP handful of torn pieces Of
greenbacks to keep as souvenirs Every
one in the car did the same thing"