The San Francisco call., 1909-02-14
BANDITS HOLD UP
PASSENGER TRAIN
Masked Robbers Stop East
bound Flyer Near Denver
and Loot Mail Car
FusiIlade of Shots Intimidates
Passengers and Trainmen
While Thugs Work

DENVER, Feb. 13.-That the holdup
passenger train near Denver early this
morning was the work of three instead
of two robbers is indicated by the iu-
vestigation of the railroad and police
officials today So far no tangible clew
to the identity or whereabouts of the
robbers has been found, but it seems
probable that the men came to Denver
and are now hiding in this city.
The exact amount secured by the
robbers can not be ascertained. It is
known, however, that the registered
mail sack from Colorado Springs to
Denver was empty ana that little of
value was in the Pueblo-Denver sack.
The sack from Portland Colo, to Den
yer, however, contained $400 of money
order funds, consigned to the Denver
postoffice.
The robbery was remarkable for it's
originality and daring. 1t took place
within eight miles of Denver, within
less than two miles of Fort Logan, the
United States military reservation, and
at a spot where habitationS were plen-
tiful Yet so thorough was the work
of the robbers and so we'll were their
plans laid that they had fully an hour
and a half start of the officers,
Search of the vicinity of the hoIdup
indicates that third man and pos
sibly a fourth were engaged in the
crime; that a rubber tired buggy was
| in waiting for the actual holdups and
that torpedoes and red signal fires were
used unsuccessfully in an attempt to
| stop the train before the automatic
revolvers of the two men on the train
succeeded in doing this.
From the manner in which the hold
UP was accomplished it is thought pos
sible that the robbers are the ones re-
| sponsible for the hold up of the Denver
and Rio Grande train last May, when
Express Messenger Wright was killed.
TRAIN is HELD UP
1t was while the train was running
! so miles an hour that two bandits
suddenly appeared from the coal tender
and compelled the engineer and fire.
man to stop the train. The bandits
took the two enginemen from the cab
and, standing about 35 feet from the
locomotive, one of them fired three
times at the headlight, hitting it twice.
but not eXtinguishing it. They then
fired a number of shots alongside the
coaches to intimidate the passengers
| and train crew. The conductor ap-
peafed on the scene, asking What the
matter was, and one of the bandits
fired at him three times before he
could escape. He was not hit
With their two prisoners the two
robbers, one of whom is described as
| large and the other as small. then
went to the door of the mall coach and
compelled the fireman to call out to
the mail clerks to open the door There
We're two clerks in the car and they
were lined up beside the engineer
while one OF the robbers forced the
fireman to help him put three sacks of
registered mail into one large mail
sack. This he threw out of the car.
The robbers then marched their pris
! oners a couple of blocks ahead of the
train and then told them to return.
The bandits made good fheir escape in
the direction of Fort Logan, but it is
believed they really made their way to
Deliver.
The train proceeded on to Santa Fe
Junction, where the news of the hold
up was telegraphed into Denver and
when the train arrived here the mail
clerks notified the postoffice depart
ment.