The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-17
PASSENGERS ARE
NOW LAUGHING
Friday Morning at Early Hour,
However, They Were
Crying.
SECRETED VALUABLES.
FEARING TRAIN ROBBERS
Later on Discovered That 1t
Was Just Japs Clearing the
Track From Landslide.

Passengers arriving from the East
over the Rio Grande tell Of some ter
riblc and at the same time humorous
incidents that transpired near the
Utah-Colorado State line in the chill of
early morn before dawn Friday. In
the wild scramble following the
alarm Of a hold.up it did not seem
funny; now they are laughing.
The story. as told by Fred Zobodie,
"the world IS greatest hand balancar, "
who was on his way to Salt Lake to
appear at the Orpheum this week, is
not devoid of humor. The story is
also corroborated by E. Drake, the
local district passenger agent of the
Rock Island. who also was on the
train, but being n good railroad man,
he does not care 10 be quoted.
"I have Travelled all over Ameri-
ca said Mr.. Zobedie yesterday,
Gin circus trains and through Mexico,
again. We all turned in for n good
night IS sleep. and, Il should guess,
had been asleep for four or five
hours, when suddenly in my dreams |
heard two revolver shots. Then fol-
lowed the grinding of the brakes as
the engineer threw on the emergency
brake. BY the time my head cracked
ke, and was Just beginning TO
climb ont to investigate when the car
was shaken by an explosion that came
from tho head of the train.
SIT did not take 4 second to realize
that train robbers were at work. They
manded the cxpressman to open the
door. He had refused, and, Of course,
they had promptly blown il open with
a couple of sticks of dynamite,
Effort to Lock Doors.
''For minute there was silence in
the car, and then subdued whispers
were heard The next instant the Pull
man conductor and the colored porter
rushed along the aisle, and | heard
the former order the porter TO lock
both doors and turn out the lights.
Then the conductor made a run for
the smoking.room. a passenger in the
berth next TO mine, who had told me
that he was going through to Los
Angeles, beat the conductor to it, how.
ever, and entering the toilet locked
himself in with his cash, leaving the
porter and conductor on the other side
expostulating.
!'Just as the lights were turned out
the car was shaken by n second ex.
plosIon which was stronger than the
frst-the robbers were blowing the
Wells Fargo safe in the car. Then
the sadron.colored porter came STUN
bling down the aisle. Don bother ME,
missile. he said, Il IN lookin' for upper
S (the only empty berth in the carr. |
was more whispering throughout the
car, during which | could hear such
words as money, Jewels, pocketbook,
etc, and then the engine whstlcd, A
minute later the bell connected with
the push button on the observation
platform began to ring. 1t rang in
cessantly, and later kicks on the door
accompanied it. Nobody stirred, and
just when it seemed as though the rob
bers would break in the plate glass
door a woman got ont and unlocked
the door-and let in the hagman.
Judging from the remarks in the |
dark the Iagman seemed to be some
him telling the woman that there had
been rockslide ahead at Ruby tunnel, |
and the train had been stopped just in
time by two torpedoes on the track. |
There was n force of Japs at work |
now, he said, blowing up some of the |
big powders that were in the way,
Hunt for Wearing Apparel.
81 will never tell you how relieved |
we were. We laughed until we were
sick at the Pullman CONDUCTOR the |
porter and the automobile man, who |
came sneakIng CUT with his wad. But |
the porter had the laugh on some of US
the next morning, for when we came
TO get up there was an awful scramble |
for shoes, stockings, etc. The porter
had 10 go down on his knees in the
car and grovel for footwear under the |
berths, and there was possibly not a
single shoe he hauled ont but had any-
where from 500 TO $500 in it. to say
nothing Of watches and rings.
l.a in
periences, stated that he could follow
that hold-up from the time the two
revolver shots were fired until the |
robbers tried the Pullman door He |
said he was in an upper berth, aud !
proposed to take no chances of stray |
shots through the windows. so rolling |
himself MP in his blankets. ne hugged |
the side of the car and wished he was !
as thin as bed slat The blasting !
OF the rock ahead sounded too sugges. |
tive for comfort, and when the flag |
man began TO kick on the door, that |
N he 8