The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-21


Ing first drawn the fire from the engine
and drained all the water out OF its
boiler.
Work of a Lone Bandit.
A robber working all alone turned a
neat trick in Chicago half dozen years
ago when he looted the stock yards spe-
cial." as il Is called train which used
| to consist OF an engine and an express
and baggage car. and which made trip
every night from the Adams Express
! Company's office in the stock yards to
! the Union Station in Chicago. The train
| was plodding along at about five miles
an hour when the lone hunter boarded
1t and overcame it's single express mes
senger. He forced him to unlock the
| safe. which contained a little less than
$4,000. and after taking the money bound
the messenger and leaped off the train.
While the looting Of trains may still
| be classed as a reasonably safe enter
prise in the United States. II would
seem to have its drawbacks in Canada,
particularly in the province of Alberta,
where two train robbers were killed and
a third bemmed in and captured within
an hour following the robbery Of Ca
madam Pacific train at place called
Sentinel last August. 1t was the North
west Mounted Police who accounted for
the trio They killed the two In the
course Of running fight on horseback
through a mining town, and having cor
nered the third man in the hills. left
him to his reflections as to whether his
clearer course was to surrender or to
starve to death. He possessed the
philosophlc mind, as 1t fell out. Within
an hour OF the time he had been run TO
earth he emerged into gun range with
his hands I'm the air and received with
stole calm the information that the one
of his band who had carried the money
had been shot dead at the first fire after
| him.
william Miner. Expert.
! William A. Pinkerton. OF the detective
\ firm or that name. making an address
before a convention OF police chiefs in
1907. gave one William Miner. a train
robber OF the old school, the credit for
being the highest expression Of his trade
and class who ever operated on Amerf-
can soil. Miner never belonged TO a
band. or posed as n bad man. or COM
mitted a murder. He was a methodical
and thorough person. and one OF the
pioneers OF his calling. which he fol-
lowed on the Pacific slope. As early as
1859 he served a term at st. Quentin
for stage robbery and upon his release
In 1897 held up another stage In Colo
this enterprise he had the assistance Of
one Leroy. who was caught and hanged
by the vigilance committee. but Miner
got clean away and for a while lived
opulently In Chicago. explaining himself
to the world as one who had struck il
rich In the gold fields. When his money
gave out he returned TO California and
robbed another stage. but was captured
and again sent to prison, this time for
~ fsslf aF tNtfHr sgs..
set him free far within that time. Re-
vcrting straight to type, he resumed a
predatory life. but turned his attention
to trains.
His first train robbery was at Cor
bett. Ore. and he got away with Il a.
\ though both his assistants were cap
tured The next year he robbed a Ca
dian Pacific train at Mission juno
ton, B. C., and took $4,000 in gol1
obst and currency. A reward OF that
sum was posted for his arrest, and he
replied by robbing another train on the
same railroad. lie had the engineer OF
u unlock the mail car and take II two
NILES from the rest Of the train. The
CIR was found to be empty OF anything
valuable. and Miner, In entire good
fUmor. apologized TO the engineer and
made off. But the railroad kept after
| him without let up and in May Of 1906
he was captured and sent up for lie
| after a career upon the roads lasting a
tiifle less than forty years.
Drawbacks to the Profession.
He escaped from prison ultimately
I and was not reoaptured but he has kept
strictly away from trains. n he is stll
alive. unless he occasionally pa'ronizes
them as a passenger.
one critic. writing not so long ago Of
The enterprise OF train robbing called
! attention 20 It's decadence and insisted
that Is was a disappearing trade.
THE business" he declared does not
offer sufficient Inducements to tempt
thoughtful and forehanded men from
legitimate toll. The men who held ur
stages and trains In the palmy days died
poor and usually Unexpectedly. The
| planning Of robbery makes great
drains on the energies OF those who cs-
say &C. TO carry Il out they must en-
dure trials and hardships Of 2 character
which tho cautious would avoid To lie
beside railroad track. often for hours
and on cold or marshy ground IS most
unhonlthful. and frequently trains arc
late. A Successful attempt nccessltotes
n period Of concealment that must be
irksome 70 any true lover OF society. and
at the end IL always the possibility Of
n term in prison.
mo. the business OF train robbng
seems to have little lure left for those
who sock quiet enjoyment and green
old age. II VIII become moro and more
rare as scientific safe blowing and bank
burglary have become. and in the end u
will ne n lost art"
GERMANY GIVES INDEMNITY.
GENEVA. Nov i9--Thc German Gov