The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1916-12-23
FIFTH AVENUE
SALOON IS
HELD Up
TWO MASKED HOLDUPS SECURE
SMALL SUM FROM CASH
REGISTER

Henry Meyers. a miner, was enter
tanning Jim O'Brien, the bartender,
with tales of how he used to use
just one uppercut to floor holdups
in San Francisco.
At 9:45 a man with a mask cover
ing the upper portion of his face
walked in the front door and quietly
said hands up" at the same time
pointing a gun at the W men.
Later. after the holdup had gone,
Movers said: 1T is a good thing for
me / had nothing in my hands; 1t
saved my life, for if l had anything
in my hands, | shook so 1 would
have thrown it at him and he would
have shot me"
When the masked man entered
the front door and ordered O'Brien
to hold up his hands, O'Brlen
thought he was fooling and rose
from the chair without raising his
hands and it was lot until he had
been commanded three times to hold
them up or he would be shot and
saw the mans partner, also masked
and with a gun, enter the rear door
that he was convinced the man
meant what he said.
The bartender and Meyers, with
their hands held high, were faced to
the wall while one of the men went
to the cash register n took from
it about $29, while the other COW
cred the victims with his u
O'Brien asked the man to be reason.
able and not take all the coin; to
leave a little change, and 1t was
afterward found that the robber had
complied with the request and left
a few nickels and dimes. The hold
up walked from the cash register to
O'Brien, and poking his gun into
the middle of O'Brien's back, asked
him if he had any money. O'Brien
told him that he had a little and the
man went through his pockets and
ooh from them about 50.
A comical air was lent to the pro-
ceedings by the fact that when the
holdups entered, O'Brien and Mey-
ers had stopped talking and O'Brien
was sitting with his feet against
the stove studying, with a large
sized Webster's dictionary in his
lap. When he arose from the chair
he kept the big book in his hand,
and when he held up his hands he
still kept it in n of them.
O'Brien is an ex-prize fighter and
a big man, but the longer he held
the dictionary on high the heaviar
it became and whenever he up"an-
sciously, from the weight OF the
book, let his hands drop a little,
the holdup would shake the gun at
him and order him to hold them
up high and Meyers, who was badly
scared and afraid that O'Brien
would make a break and get shot,
would warn him that his life de-
pended on keeping them up.
O'Brien says he hopes that never
again will a hold-up find him with
a dictionary and make him do a
strong-man stunt with it while he
takes his time in getting the money
from a saloon in which he is tend
ing bar.
After going through O'Brien's
pockets, n of the men walked to
the back door and stood there with
his u pointed at him while the
other went out. The first man then
followed him.
After they had gone O'Brien took
down his hands, but had difficulty
In ~persuading Meyers to take his
down and the latter still stood with
MS hands in the air and his face to
the wall, claiming that the men
might still be outside looking
through the door at him and if he
TOOK down his hands they O
shoe him. O'Brien then vent be-
nine the bar and Meyers walked
over to it and leaning heavily on il.
SAID TO o'Brien, Jim, gimme a shot
quick"
O'Brien says that one of the men
was about five feet 10 inches in
height and that the other was short
er and stouter than his partner.
Both wore black masks that covered
only their eyes and left the lower
portion of their faces exposed to
view. He says that he looked al
n OF the mems eyes as they show.
ed through the holes in the mask
and that for about 10 seconds the
man returned his gaze. He thinks
he recognized the man and that the
holdup knows that he recognized
him.
Smith Arrpu to. nj: