The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-08-22
ROUTS HOLD UP
men WITH TORCH
"a" Engineer Is Attacked by Negro
and White Man and Hits Colored
Man Between Eyes With
Flaming Stick.
WAS ALONE AT THE TIME
His Fireman Was Overcome With the
Heat and the Crew Had Taken
Him to Station, Leaving
the Engineer.

quincy journal: Being held up at
the point of gun and vanquishing
two would-be robbers afte. receiving
a blow which split his scalp, was part
of the experience of G. 2. Twyman,
engineer on Burlington freight
train which pulled into .Eubanks from
Quincy at 9 o'clock Saturday night.
f. K. Kerlin, fireman on the freight
of which Twyman was engineer, was
overcome by the heat at the end of
the run up grade to Eubanks, and
Twyman ran his train on a siding
and waited for another fireman to
be sent. The overcome fireman was
taken to Eubanks station by the re-
mainder of the train crew, leaving
Twyman alone with his train, a short
distance east of the station.
Twyman, the engineer, told the
story Of his experiences alter he was
left alone, as follows:
Il had been having trouble with
my air-brake train-line and knowing
that l would have to wait for some
time, / decided to repair the leaks
in the air-brake connections. I start.
ed out with monkey wrench and a
torch and had worked back about
thirty-ive car lengths when, just as l
had finished repairing a joint and
was rising, heard some enc say, up
with yotr hands, / supposed it was
my new fireman who had arrived and
was putting up little joke on me,
but when l stood up l looked into the
barrel of a revolver and beyond the
revolver was a big negro.
when / saw that l was in for real
trouble l struck the negro between
the eyes with my flaming kerosene
torch. He did not shoot, but let out
a howl of pain as the hot kerosene
splashed over his face. He staggered
back and 1 was struck glancing
blow on the head which staggered
me, but did not put me under. A
white man who had been by the side
of the negro had struck me, but l
still held my wrench and aimed a
blow at him with it. He took the
blow on his shoulder and ran down
the track, soon gaining on me when
l chased him. | let fly with the
wrench. but missed him.
81 did not know what might follow,
so 1 put out my torch and backed up
against the train to await the next
move. The negro had disappeared
and l heard the white man running
down the track towards Eubanks. In
few minutes, when nothing had
happened, 1 returned to my engine
and then went to railroad telephone
short distance away, where l called
up the station and told the crew what
had happened, asking If they were
ready to come to the train. My re-
lief fireman had arrived and the crew
joined me in few minutes.
81 had only a few dollars and my
watch with me at the time. 1t is my
belief that the two were hopping a
ride on my train, which was a long
freight, and that they saw me repair
ing the airline and knew that l was
alone. l am sure the negro must
have been marked where l burned
him with the torch between the eyes.
Twyman's wound was an ugly cut
in the head, probably made by a
"black snake Three stitches were
needed to close 1t, but he was in good
condition yesterday and able to make
his run. The hold-up men have left
no clew and probably are miles away
by now.