Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1908-12-24
EXPRESS CAR LOOTED.
o. r. & N. Passenger Train Held Up
Near Portland.


Portland, Dec. $50. II. & N. train
No. !, the Chicago Express, westbound
was held up by three robbers at 9:lC
o clock last night eight miles east of
Portland. Entrance to the express cal
was obtained by nitro -glycerin, and
the express messenger, O. Il. Huff was
compelled to open the way safe, which
was looted.
| The passengers were not mOleSted
and the desperadoes made good their
escape after uncoupling the engine and
forcing the engineer, George +. Don
Ion, to carry them down the track
mile or more.
That the robbers got but little for
their trouble was due to the quick ac-
tion of Messenger fluff. Warned by
shots and the uncoupling of the two ex
press cars, mail car and engine from
the rest of the train, Huff quickly un-
locked the safe and taking out packages
containing from 1000 to $4,000 threw
them into an obscure corner. These he
replaced with packages that had little
value, which he grabbed from shelf
beside the safe. 1t was these bundles
that the robbers got when they com
PEELED Huff to open the safe.
That the robbers were desperate and
ready to kill without compunction was
shown by the fact that they fred on
the slightest provocation both at Mes
senger Huff and the fireman, Mark H..
Bon. Neither man was injured and no
shots were fred at the robbers.
Although the passenger coaches were
not invaded, the occupants were terri
fed during the holdup. The train was
about one mile west of Clarnie when
Engineer Donlon and Fireman Bon
were startled by command to throw
up their hands. Turning, they were
confronted by three men, two of WHOM
were masked and the third had his face
black kened. The engine crew had no OPP
portunitv to offer resistance, and En-
gineer Donlon was ordered a moment
later to stop the train, which he did.
The moment the wheels ceased turning
two of the robbers left the cab, taking
with them the fireman, while the third
member of the gang remained to guard
the engineer.
Under orders from the robbers,
backed up at all times with ready re-
i
off the mail and express cars, but was
badly frightened and unable to un-
couple the cars speedily enough to suit
the robbers, who showed him aside and
completed the work in way that
showed them to be thoroughly familiar
with that work.
AS Fireman Bon was showed aside, he
was left momentarily unguardod, and
made good his opportunity to dash
away from the robbers. AS he ran,
however, one of the hlghwavmen
turned and fired at him. but missed, al
though the distance was short. Ben
stumbled and fell a second later, and
this gave the robber opportunity for
another shot rs the fireman arose this
also going wild. Bon redoubled his
speed and ran to the observation ear at
the rear of the train, where he found
Conductor Dunn, with whom he went
to nearby farmhouse and telephoned
news of the crime to the Portland po-
lice.
The express and mail cars were then
left standing on the track while the
robbers forced the engineer to carry
them nearly to Montavilla, where they
were close to a street car line into
Portland
The holdups are believed to have
boarded the train at Hood River. FOR
that was the last stop made on the trip
before the robbery, with the exception
of a short stay at Bonneville under
special orders to take on a physician.
The evident leader of the gang is de
scribed as short and wearing a dark
mustache. He was masked about tie
upper part of the face with hani-
kcrchef Another of the robbers WAS
Swede, who talked brokenly, and
whose face had been blackened. No
description of the third member of
the ramC WAS obtained.