The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-04-18
Work Of Desperadoes Reminder
of Wild West in Its
WOolIiest Days.
FIERCE BATTLE EXPECTED
WHEN BANDITS ARE FOUND
Take Only Registered Mail
Pouches, Value of Whose Con-
tents Is Unknown.

cisco Tor the cast at 8 o'clock Saturday
night. was held up By two masked men
at Sprlg. two miles east OF here, at 12:30
o'clock this morning and robbed OF nine
pouches OF registered mail The train
carried no express whatever Four OF
these pouches have been recovered. but
the robbers rlfled the others and now
are hiding with their loot in the hills and
canyons between Martinez and Oakland.
Sheriffs possess from two counties, de-
tectivcs and postofficc inspectors on
horses and In automobiles are engaged in
the man-hunt. The robbers are well
armed and a battle with them is ex-
pccted,
The passengers on the train were not
disturbed and several OF them did not
learn Of the holdup until this morning
After getting the mail sacks. the robbers
cut the engine loose from the train and
sent II Wild throttle open. down the main
track to the eastward.
Operator Saves Passengers.
In the direct path OF the engine was a
section OF passenger train No. 3. west
bound, heavily laden with passengers. But
for the presence OF mind of a telegraph
operator at Suisun. Il serious collision
would have taken place The engine was
thrown into a switch in the nick of time,
occurred in California for several years.
1t was plotted and executed in a daring.
spectacular fashion. Before the fast mail
had arrived at Benicia. two men who
hours earlier and had left their train
on the Port Costa ferry boat. climbed
unobserved on the rear end OF No los
locomotive. The China-JaDan mail had
gone less than five miles from the Ben
icla landing when the Stowaways crawled
over the oil tank in the tender and pre-
sentcd revolvers at the heads of the en-
gineer and fireman and ordered thcm TO
stop the train and get off the engine.
I'VE are not going to hurt YOU, sa id
one or the robbers. ''All we want is the
treasure box"
Demand Registered Pouches.
The engineer and the fireman complied
quickly. having nothing 10 defend them
selves with. except jack knives, Then
the robbers, taking the engine crew with
them. went back and compelled the en-
eineer and fireman to get into the mail
car, which was in charge Of Herbert j.
Black, and his assistant. Thomas Clancy.
Throw out the registered mall
pouches" ordered the robbers.
Black started to toss out newspaper
sacks. but the robbers showed their ia
millarity with the situation by detecting
the ruse at once They threatened to
kill the clerk unless he gave them the
registered mall at once. Black complied
The engine crew then was forced to carry
the nine sacks TO the engine.
The engine and mail car were uncoupled
from the coaches filled with sleeping pas
sengers and run down the track two
miles Here the mail pouches were
thrown out upon the ground. the engine
was uncouplcd. its throttle pushed wide
open and il began its wild journey to-
ward q passenger train coming westward
at Tolcntas. sixteen miles east. passing
| the FIRST OF this train on siding nj
| Cygnus.
Rare Presence Of Mind
As tho engine passed the, station al
| Suisuu the operator on duty there noticed
| that Il was running wild, with no one in
the cab. he Immediately reported this
fact to the dispatchcrs office at Oak
| land and received instructions to call uI
| Tolcnas by wire and order tho men there
TO derail the oncoming engine,
Second section train No. 5, wostbound
| had lust arrived at Tolcnas under order.
} To- walt there for the China japan mail
| The switch was thrown and the runa-
way engine. which. by. This time was
pretty we'll relieved Of steam, ran or
a siding and smashed into = string o
| box cars The operator at SuiSun hac
syertcd what would have been scrIou:
Robbers Make Escape,
wreck,
In the meantime the robbers were MAX
| ing their escape across san Pablo bay
where the Sacramento river cmptics intt
| IT, The flash of the robbery had gone
up and down tho line and posses wcr'
| forming.
mail ihe robbers fired four shots, will
! thc purpose Of frightening off any i'm
mediate pursuit Even this did no
awaken the passengers. The porter heart
the sleeping cars. The China-Japan mai
lay engineless For some time while ;
locomotive was being brought from Sac
ramento. II then was hurried into Sac
ramcnto, arriving at 5 clock this morn
: fairly good description Of tho ban
ia. loo 1.
Porto Costa ferry boat. who had ub
| served them Hs they hung about whit
ing for The train they intended to rob
The men had the appearance OF beint
iarity which they showed with the en-
eInc there is no doubt I'm the minds -
the officials that tho men arc formc
railway employees
Into Range Country.
Tho trail OF the men BIAS been followc'
10 the rough bIll country between Mar
tiuCz and Oakland, and IT is bclicvc'
That they are headed toward San Fran
cisco. and that they have good cbnpc
Near where The bandits left the or
gluc Il rce.l- leads % the cast bank u
the bay. Tho men ran down this roa
! lo ~ Towboat they had concealed In th
bushes. The four sncks which they di
not take with them were found later h.
+ other trains along The edge Of the track
, They evidently had fallen from the en-
ginc after Il had been uncouplcd fIor
tnn train.
From tho point where their boat wa
mourcd, the bandits rowed directly acros
| the bay 10 Bulls Head Point. one an
: a han miles east Of Martinez Ther
they abandoned the boat. In climbn
! the bank one Of the men slipped an
lost a .3S-calibcr Colt . revolver and
p1ir OF field glasses. This made thrc
' clues for the officers to worl, on in In
+ Identification az any suspects
From the point where the boat wa