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Union Pacific
train No. 1 westbound was held up at Wilcox, Wy., at 2 o’clock
yesterday morning. The express car was completely wrecked by
dynamite, the safe blown open and contents taken. Engineer Jones was
injured by flying debris. Union Pacific officials furnish the
following account of the robbery: Just before daylight in the midst
of drenching rain, the train was held up just beyond Wilcox. The
robbers blew up the express car with dynamite, severely wounding the
engineer, then escaped to the mountains. According to the officials
of the express company, the robbers obtained only a nominal reward
for their crime. A posse under the command of the sheriff of Carbon
county is in pursuit, and officers are confident of capturing them.
Union Pacific officials received their first information of the
affair from Engineer Jones of the train which was held up. His
message was as follows: -
First section No.
1, held up a mile west of Wilcox. Express car blown open, mail car
damaged. Safe blown open; contents gone. We were ordered to pull
over bridge just west of Wilcox, and after we passed the bridge the
explosion occurred. Can’t tell how bad bridge was damaged. No one
hurt except Jones, scalp wound and cut on hand.
JONES, Engineer.
The robbers
boarded the train at Wilcox at 2:09 a.m.
As the train reached the bridge one of the robbers crawled
into the cab and at the point of a gun ordered Engineer Jones to
pull across the bridge and stop. Meantime the others of the gang
were at work in the express car. Just as the engine pulled off the
bridge there was a tremendous explosion that scattered pieces of the
express car for a hundred feet in every direction. The end of the
mail car was stove in and several stringers knocked out of the
bridge. It only required a few minutes for the robbers to rifle the
safe, which was blown open by the explosion. They took the contents,
signaled their confederate on the engine, and before the passengers
and train crew were aware of just what happened, were off for the
mountains.
It required two hours to clear away
the wreckage so the train could proceed to Medicine Bow, the next
station, from which the report was sent. The sheriff was notified at
once and with a posse started in pursuit of the robbers. It is not
positively known just how many there are of them, but as only four
were seen by the trainmen, it is believed that number constitutes
the party. The passengers were badly scared, but the robbers made no
effort to molest them. The Omaha officials state that the safe
contained little of value |