The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-04-18
MAIL TRAIN ROBBED.
Bandits Get Away With Nine Pouches
of Registered Matter.

Benicia. Cal, April 1S.-The China
japan mail. which left san Francisco
for the east at 9 o'clock Saturday
night, was held up by two masked
men at Sprig, two miles east of here,
at 1890 o'clock Sunday morning and
robbed of nine pouches of registered
mail. The train carried no express
matter. -Four of the pouches have
been recovered, but the robbers rif1ed
the others and now are hiding in the
hills and canyons between Mdrtlnez
and Oakland. Sheriff'S posses from
two counties, detectives and postohce
inspectors on horses and in automo-
biles are engaged in the man hunt.
The passengers on the train We're
not disturbed and several of them did
not learn of the holdup until morn
ing. After getting the mail sacks the
robbers cut the engine loose from the
train and sent it wild, throttle open,
down the main track to the east.
In the direct path of the engine was
a section of passenger train No. 5,
westbound, heavily loaded. But for
the presence of mind of telegraph
operator at SuiSun, a serious collision
would have taken place The engine
was thrown into a switch in the nick
OF time
Before the fast mail arrived at
Renicia two men who had left Oak
land on another train two hours ear
lfer and had left the train on the
served on the rear end of No. los
LOGON olive
The China-Japan mail had gone less
than five miles from Benicia when the
stowaways crawled over the oil tank
of the tender and pointed revolvers at
the heads of the engineer and fire
man, ordering them to stop the train
and get off the engine.
1--WE are not going to hurt you" said
one of the robbers. "Al! we want is
the treasure box Take us to the ex-
press car"
When Informed by the train crew
that the train carried no express mat
ter, they said:
''Then take us to the mail car"
Arriving there they threatened to
blow it up with dynamite If the door
was not opened Under this threat
Herbert b Black, in charge of the car,
and his assistant, Thomas w. Clancy,
appeared at the door. The robbers
compelled the engineer and fireman to
enter the car with orders to throw out
the registered mail packages.
Black started to toss ont newspaper
sacks, but the robbers detected the
ruse at once. They threatened to kill
the clerk unless he gave them the reg
istered mail. Black complied. The
the nine sacks to the engine.
The engine and mail car then were
uncoupled from the coaches filled
with sleeping passengers and run down
pouches were thrown out the engine
uncoupled and its throttle pushed wide
open. The engine dashe1 forward on
its Wild journey toward passenger
train coming westward to Tolenas, 16
miles east, passing the first section on
a siding at Cyglus-
AS the engine passed the station at
Suisun the operator noticed it was
running wild. He Immediately report
ed to the dispatcher's office at Oak
land and received instructions to call
Tolenas and instruct them to derail the
on-coming engine. Second section of
train No 5, westbound, had just ar
rived at Tolenas under orders to wait
there for the China-Japan mail. The
switch was thrown and the runaway
engine by this time pretty we'll re-
1ieved of steam, ran on 4 siding and
smashed into a string of box cars.
In the meantime the robbers were
making their escape across San Pablo
hay, where the Sacramento river emp
ties The news of the robbery had
gone up and down the line and posses
were quickly formed.