The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-04-02
STORY OF THE HoLDUP.
Messenger >O'Nein Shot Down With
out Warming.


out Warning.
Sacramento, Cal, April f.-Conductor
John DE Pangher of the Oregon eX-
press said today:
when the robbers reached the en-
gines they ordered all of the men on
the locomotives TO get down on the
ground and line up. and they did so.
These were Engineer Joesihk and his
fireman. j. L. Surrey. and Engineer
Brissen and his fireman. A. Raymond.
AS the men lined up, one of my brake
men named Stone, came running up
and he was also ordered to get into line.
He did not understand what was going
on at the time and failed to obey as
promptly as the robbers wanted him
TO. so one Of them struck him over the
head with the barrel Of his rifle and
then Stone obeyed. He had a cash in
his scalp and the blood was running
down his face when / came up.
He Got in Line.
Seeing the engineers on the ground
and some strange men around them, /
naturally thought some tramps had in
terfered with them, and I concluded to
bluff them off. / ran up toward the
group and was dumfOunded to run
against the muzzle Of a rifle and hear
the stern command: Get in line there,
YOU, or III blow the top OF your roof
off, I got in line Then they marched
back TO the baggage car and made ali
of US get in with the exception of two
engineers, whom they took back toward
the express car. They ordered Engineer
Birdsell TO knock on the car OF the ex-
press car. and as he did so. one of the
men said: open the car Messenger
O'Neill, evidently thinking We were
having a row with some tramps, opened
the door to look out and was shot dead.
He had no chance for his life at all.
and was not even warned TO throw up
his hands.
Passengers Alarmed.
1.-The fact that the robbers obtained
nothing for their trouble was because
they put too much of the explosive on
the safe. II broke the structure, but II
! blew all of the contents of the safe to
I pieces and scattered il all over the sur
rounding country. When the dynamite
went off il tore away the top and sides
of the car and in consequence the
money in the safe was scattered far
I and wide.
while the shooting was going I
sneal1ed out of the baggage car and
hurried through the train and warned
| ell the passengers that we were held
uD, and advised them to hide their val
uables as the robbers might take a. no.
ton to loot the train. The passengers
I were greatly excited and especially aft
1 er the body of the murdered messen-
| ger was seen"
One Of the narrOwest escapes from
/ injury as the result Of the blowing up
/ of the express car was that of Arthur
! Gengras. a resident Of Santa Barbara,
who was on his way TO his home from
| a visit TO Portland. He was riding IN
/ the day coach just behind the express
! car.
Hid Under the Sea-.
4 was sitting in my chair reading"
| he said. when suddenly / heard three
| shots fired in quick succession.
! jumped up and was about TO rush for
/ the door when some one ordered me
| back, saying there was a hold-up. I
I went back 20 my seat and waited. Soon
! some more shots were filed and then a
/ terrific explosion took place. The door
/ of our car was shattered and window
/ glass fell thick about US. A piece Of
/ steel weighing about four pounds buried
/ itself in my seat a few inches from
/ my head. L got under the seat pretty
quick after that. The car was filed
With flying paper and chunks of melted
/ and twisted money fell in all diree-
tons
zone man who was sitting i'm the seat
( opposite me was hit IN the head by a
! piece OF flying steel and a deep cash
! v as cut III MS scalp AFTER the expo
. sion I picked Up a handful Of torn
/ pieces Of greenbaclIs to keep as SOU
| venirs. Every one in the car did this
I same thing"
Had Narrow Escape
p Anthony French Of Portland had
/ a narrow escape from death in the hold
| up. When he heard the firing. like
many others he raised 10 the window
and looked cut. AS he did so a masked
| man beside the track raised his rife
and fired at him The bullet buried it
self I'm the car near his head The
| highwayman. with an cath, ordered him
TO close his window and get inside.
Il was in the smoker when the first
/ shots were fired" said French. Il and
! several others rushed to the windows
10 look out. As 1 raised up the window
and thrust my head out a man beside
the track raised rife and before 1
could draw my head in again he fired.
Then he began To curse me and warned
us to keep inside That sent us away
from the window in quick order.
! T.. NJ. Steers. a travelling man from
Portland, is OF the opinion that there
were four men concerned in the rob-
berry Il saw four men just before the
report" he said, "and others who Were
with me think there was a fourth man
in the plot
DR.. Jaeger Sanitary Underwear.
/ The uueouaIled wool garment fo, n, ~,