The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1912-10-03


country where lie can stop and feed
himself and his horse and get few
hours sleep without having to keep
both eyes open.
Now | propose to tell why it IS easy
to hold up train and then why no
one should ever do it.
In the first place the attacking party
has all the advantage. That Is. OF
course. supposng that they are old
timers. with the necessary experience
and courage They have the outside
and are protected by the darkness.
while the others are in the light hem
med into small space and exposed.
the moment they show Il head Mt a win
dow or door to the aim Of Il man who
Is a dead shot and who won't hesitate
to shoot.
But In my opinion. the main cOndi-
tion that makes train rOlpbin" easy Is |
the element of surprise in connection
with the imagination of HE passengers.
The passenger thinks there are hun
dred men yelling and shooting outside
when maybe there are only two or
three.
AS to the train crew we never had
any more trouble with them than II
they had been so many sheep don't
mean that they are towards mean
that they have got sense. They know
they're not up against=a bluff It's the
same way with the officers. I've seen
secret service men. marshals and rail-
road detectives fork over their change
as meek as Moses | saw one OF the
| bravest marshals ever knew hide his
gun under his seat and dig up along
| with the rest while I was taking toll.
He wasn't afraid. He simply knew
that we had the drop on the whole
outfit.
| will give one instance to support
my statement that the surprise is the
hest card in playing for ho!dup
| Along in '92 the Daltons were cut
ting out a hot trail for the officers
down in the Cherokee Nation. Those
were their lucky days. and they got so
reckless and sandy that they used to
announce beforehand what job they
were going to undertake Once they
gave it out thai they We're going to
hold mp the NJ. X. and T. tlier on Ger
tain night at the station OF Pryor
Creek. in Indian Territory
That night the railroad company
got fifteen deputy marshals in Musco-
gee and put them on the train. Beside
them they had fifty armed men bid iD
the depot at Pryor Greek
When the Katy f!ier pulled In not q
Dalton showed up The next station
was Adair. six miles away. When the
train reached there and the deputies
were having good time. explaining
what they would have done to the Dal
? ton gang If they had turned mp. all a,
once it sounded like an army firing out
, side. The conductor and brakeman
5 came running into the car yelling
| Train robbers
r Some Of those deputies lit out Of thu
p door. hit the ground and kept on run
ming. Some of them hid their Win
/ chesters under tine seats Two OF then
made a fight. and both were killed
J. It took the Daitons just ten minutes
/ to capture the train and whip the es
sort In twenty minutes more the.
n had robbed the express car of S21 .O0
!: and made clean getaw
Nv opinion is that those deputie
II would have put up stiff fight
q Pryor Creek. where they were expect
ing trouble but they were taken b.
r surprise and 'locoed" at Adair. just a
N the Daltons, who knew their busines:
,r expected they would
e don't think | ought to close witt
+ out giving some deductions from N
e experience of eight years "on tn
70 dodge" 1t does.it pay to rob trains
Leaving out the question of right an
ID morals, which don't think ought
of tackle. there is very little to envy
,s the life of an outlaw. After awhi
nt money ceases to have any value In n
eyes. Most of the time he Is OH tt
an lump, riding day and night. and
nd lives so hard between times that !
TO doesn't enjoy the taste Of high Iii
he when be gets it. He knows that d
ye time is bound to come to lose his III
n. or liberty and that the accuracy OF o
a aim. the speed of his horse and Il
d fidelity of his slider are all that pos
ey pones the inevitable
no It isn't that he loses any sleep ov
~ danger from officers of the law In
In. nv experience never knew officers
NJ attack a band Of outlaws unless tn
eh outnumbered them at least three
wi one.
oil But the outlaw carries one thoug
nd constantly in bis mind. and that
nd what makes him so sore against ffe
ot he knows where the marshals Z
ex their recruits Of deputies He kno'
OK that the majority Of these upholde
are of the law were once lawbreake
ow horse thieves rustlers. highwaym
mt and outlaws like himself and that "a
J gained their positions and immunity
the turning states evidence by turn
,ss traitor and delivering up their co
tn rades TO Imprisonment and death.
mo knows that some day unless he is n
IN shot-his Judas will set TO work.
od trap will he laid and he will be
rod surprised instead Of snrpriser al
stickup
nyh That Is why the man who nolds
due trains picks his company with III
hat sand times the care with which
fo, careful girl chooses IA sweetheart u
hid is why he raises himself from
pht blanket Of nights and listens to
,ere tread of every horses hoofs on the
ion. tant road Inat Is WI! ne o'oo'H
the piciously for days upon jestine
the mark or an unusual movement O
tried comrade or the broken NUT