Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1909-05-22
&. N. TRAIN HELD-UP
MAILCAR ROBBED AGAIN NEAR
SPOKANE LAST SUNDAY.
Several Passengers Injured by Engine
and Mail Car Crashing Back Into
Coaches-Work of Masked Bandits
Thought to Be Old Hands at Business
Nearly $4,000 Reward.

In holdup of Great Northern pas
senger train No. between Colbert and
Mead, shortly before midnight Satur-
day night, ~ persons were injured
when the engine and mail car were
sent running wild down the track by
the bandits after they had rihed the
mails. The bandits detached the en-
CINE and the mail car from the train,
ran them down the track a considerable
distance and then, after the registered
mail had been opened, reversed the en-
CINE and sent it flying down the track
to collide with the standing cars.
The conductor saw the wild cars
coming down the track at a rate of rs
miles an hour a considerable distance
away and he and one of the trainmen
placed tie on the track in an en-
deavor to stop the wild flight. The
flying engine and car were partly
stopped by the tie, but plunged into
the standing cars.
| There was a frightful crash and pas
sengers in all of the cars were thrown
from their seats, most of the injured
being hurt by flying glass from the
broken windows. The injured were
scattered through all of the cars. None
is reported seriously hurt.
When the train reached Colbert some
switching had to be done. While the
engine crew was busy at this work two
men suddenly appeared in the cab, and,
thrusting a revolver into the stomach
of the engineer, William Miller, or
dered him to do as commanded on pen
atty of being shot.
The engineer and fireman, John Hall,
being covered by the revolvers, obeyed.
The car was coupled onto the train
and it pulled out. After the train had
progressed a few miles the engineer
was ordered to stop and he and the fire.
man were forced to dismount from the
cab.
Two of the four or five men that
were seen then went to the door of the
mail car and ordered it to be opened.
Their command was obeyed by Benja-
min f. Stumpf, the mail clerk.
Meanwhile two other bandits were
were uncoupling the mail car and the
locomotive from the rest of the train.
Soon after the train stopped the con-
ductor, G. l.. Robertson, jumped from
the car, but was driven back by the
shots of the holdups, nearly a dozen
being fred
Hastily climbing into the cab the
ruffians opened the throttle and dashed
down the track, how far is not known.
AS soon as the conductor was aware
that there was a holdup he ordered a
brakeman to the rear of the train to
prevent a collision and had another cut
in the telegraph wire to send word to
Spokane of the holdup. Another one
of the train crew was hurried to the
station with the news.
About half an hour after the engine
and mail car disappeared they were
seen coming back down the track, and
hurried preparations were made to
ditch the runaways, but without com
plete success.
J 1t is reported that the bandits OBJ
} tanned large sum of money from the
registered mail, the amount being
placed at $4,000.
= The two bandits who climbed into
the cab are described as follows:
} One over six feet tall, weighing 100
; pounds, face wrinkled and 35 years old
or older and an experienced engineer;
the other about five feet nine inches
tall and weighing about ITO pounds.
Both wore dark clothes and sloucf
r hats and were masked. AS they en-
| tered the cab the tall man remarked tC
J the engineer: "You have heard of III
, BEFORE" indicating that they had beer
| involved in others of the numerous
. train holdups perpetrated in the vicin
. ity of Spokane within the last few
months.