Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1905-10-06
TRAIN HELD UP
NEAR SEATTLE
Three Men Perpetrate One Of eoIdest
Jobs of the Kind Ever Known
on the Coast.
Stopped and Robbers Get Not to Ex.
ceed Thousand Dollars, Accord.
ing to Officials.

Everett, WASH. Oct. 4.-The Great
Northern overland due here at 9:2O
last night reached Everett at 1915
o'clock this morning The delay was
caused by one of the boldest holdups
in the history of railroading on the
Pacific coast. The holdup occurred
just south of the brickyard near Bal
lard, which is located near the Ten
Mile post.
Three dynamite shots were put into
the safe. the robbers working until
$3.50 O'Clock before they finished the
job. They worked over an hour and
half. Most of the contents of the
through safe were secured. Express
Messenger Anderson says he does not
know how much they obtained, but
the officials fix the loss at not more
than $1,000. The local safe was not
touched.
No one was injured seriously, al
though a continual fire of revolvers
was kept up. Stories differ as to the
numDer OF robbers engaged in the Job.
There were at least three. There may
nave been four or even more. A tor
pedo on the track first attracted En-
gineer Calder's attention. Then an
other torpedo explosion occurred and
then a red light was swung over the
track. The rain caused the engineer
some apprehension as the track near
the point of the hold-up is troubled
with mud slides. He brought his train
to a stop. While slowing down his
attention was called to a robber stand.
ing over Fireman Gorett with gun
in his face. Almost at the same in
slant another robber held a gun over
the engineers face. The bandits were
masked, wore rubber hats and rubber
coats. They had crawled over the ten
! der.
| AS soon as the train was stopped
these robbers took the engine men
OH the locomotive and back to the bag
gage car, where they compelled EX.
| press Messenger Charles Anderson to
! leave his car.
Free With GUNS.
They compelled obedience in a. verT
rough manner, using their guns with
good effect, but fortunately wounded
no one. They at once began the DIV.
namltlng. Express Messenger Ander
son and the engine men say that thav
were compelled to remain with the
robbers and watch the PROCEEDINGS
! Three charges were fired The first
was a small affair six sticks of dyna-
mite being used. The second contain
ed twelve sticks and the third eighteen
sticks
The car and most of it's contents are
a total wreck. There was considerable
delay between shots. When the work
was getting under way, after the train
Ead been stopped, and especially af
ter the first shot was fired, a number
OF the passengers attempted to go for
ward to witness operations, but their
movements were halted by fire from
revolvers. A high bank was at the
east of the train and the water of Pug.
ct Sound close up to the track on the
west side. Their bullet holes through
the baggage Car all struck it diagonal
ly.
The head brakeman started back
down the track. Several shots were
fired at him, but he extinguished his
lantern and kept going He thinks he
had gone half mile when he was
halted and instructed to return to the
train by one of the bandits who had
been stationed back of the wreck.
Conductor Grant managed to leave
the train in spite of the hail of bull
let's. He extinguished his light and
remained where he could observe op-
erations. but was unable to proceed
toward the scene of their operations
After the bandits had left the scene
the trainmen attempted to tap the
wire to report and this caused furth-
er delay. No attempt was made to
rob the passengers, most of whom
were panic-stricken throughout the
ordeal.
Two young fellows. about 10, who
claim to have been stealing ride on
the blind baggage when the train was
EeM up are in Jail here. They were
brought up on the train. They give
their names as Frank Alfred and Ro-
land Gibbs. They say that they as
sisted one of the bandits to get on the
Overland at Inter bay, where it slow.
ed up. They say they were ordered
&c get back aboard the train when the
robbers began their work, the band.
its showing guns in their faces. Rail.
road Detective Ryan says he believes
one Of them is Babe Little" a char
acter well known to the Seattle DO
lice.
Frank McCandless. formerly of Ell
lensburg and Tacoma, was a passen
ger. Mr.. McCandless says that after
the hoh-up one of these young fel-
lows went through a number of the
passengers by passing his hat. He
went from passenger to passenger ex-
. claiming. Come help us out; all same
holdup anyway" While all of the
passengers did not contribute some
of the panic-stricken women did.
McCandless says he saw one WON
an who left the train at Everett give
some money. He thinks the two oh
tanned $l5 to $40 in this manner. The
baggage car is mass of wreckage
} Great noles are blown through the side
on which the safe stood and through
the roof. and it is filled with a non
discriminate mass of wrecked con
tents of trunks, fresh fish and othe!
things usually carried on a baggage
car.
Former State Horticulturist Won Hol
derbeke was a passenger. He had
dog in the baggage car. but the ami
NAL was apparently uninjured. Tn,
wrecked car was taken through witt
the train. A train left Everett witt