Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Rawlins Republican September 1, 1900

Kid Charter sent in a great article regarding the Tipton, Wyoming train robbery.

BANDITS HOLD UP PASSENGER TRAIN
This time it occurred at Tipton, West of Rawlins.
Four Men Blew Open the Express Safe on the West Bound Passenger About 8:30 Wednesday Night.

The second section of Union Pacific train No. 3, westbound, was held up, the safe in the express car blown open and the contents taken about two and a half miles west of Tipton at 8:30 Wednesday night. Four men did the job quietly, and no one was hurt.

The amount secured by the robbers is known only to the officials of the Pacific Express company, and naturally they decline to make a statement. The robbers secured a package containing $54 and a lot of jewelry from the local safe, but the amount they got out of the through safe, which was blown open with dynamite, will remain a secret.

The stuff they took made a considerable showing in a gunny sack and the man who picked it up as they started off lifted it like the sack contained considerable weight.

No. 3 was run in two sections Wednesday night, and was about on time. The second section about fifteen minutes behind the first. It consisted of one mail car, two baggage and express cars and two passenger coaches, which were filled principally with laborers for the grading camps west.

Engineer Henry Wallenstine, of Rawlins, with engine 818 was pulling the train. Harry Weaver was his fireman. Conductor Kerrigan, of Cheyenne, was in charge of the train.

ONE MAN ON THE ENGINE

A representative of the REPUBLICAN interviewed Engineer Wallenstine yesterday, and from him the following story of the hold-up was obtained:

"We stopped a moment at Tipton, which is 55 miles west of Rawlins, for orders, and it was 8:10 when we left. We had gone about a mile when I heard someone speak to me. I thought it was Harry Weaver, my fireman, and turned my head. A man with a red bandana handkerchief over his face was leaning against the gate which keeps the coal from falling down on the deck of the engine. He had a gun in each hand. One was pointed at my head; the other at the fireman. He repeated the command to slow up. He then stepped over behind me and told me to move up a little so he could sit down. He took a seat placing one gun behind my ear and with the other he kept the fireman covered. I slowed the train down and the hold-up told me to let it go a little faster, and then stop when we came up to a small camp fire that was burning beside the track. We soon rounded a curve and I saw the camp fire a short distance ahead. The man who held the gun at my ear said: 'That is the fire; now stop.' He said to me that he did not want to hurt anyone, and we would be all right if we did as we were told.

"He asked me particularly whether or not there were any guards on the train. I told him I did not know of there being any. He said: 'You would know if there are, and you will be a dead man if there are.'

"As soon as we came up to the fire the hold-up told the fireman and I to climb down from the engine. I saw two men standing beside the track and Conductor Kerrigan told me afterwards that there was another on the other side.

"The hold-up who was on the engine, and who proved to be the leader of the gang, told me to go back and get the conductor.

"I started back toward the coaches and saw the conductor step off with his lantern in his hand. I called to him, and told him he was wanted up front. Just then one of the hold-ups stepped up and told the conductor to put his lantern down. A passenger then jumped off the front coach and one of the robbers was just about to shoot him, when Conductor Kerrigan said to him: 'My God, don't shoot that man he is an innocent passenger and doesn't know even what is going on.'

"The robber then compelled the man to get back into the coach. Another man kept sticking his head out of the window, when one of the robbers gave him a punch in the breast with the barrel of his gun and told him to keep his head in. By that time the passengers began to realize that something was up and none of them showed themselves any more.

"The robbers then commanded Conductor Kerrigan to cut off the passenger coaches, and another one went forward with me to the engine so that I could give him the slack so he could get the coupling undone.

"The conductor was then brought forward and told to have Express Messenger Woodcock and Mail Clerk Praut come out. They did so and were marched forward to the engine with the conductor. We were all told to get on board the engine, and the robbers threw on three sacks, which I presume contained dynamite. Two of the robbers climbed up on the tender while one man remained down on the deck with the train crew. I did not see the other man. I was then told to pull up about a mile. The man who remained down on the deck of the engine asked Conductor Kerrigan what time it was. Kerrigan pulled out his watch, and the robber remarked that he had a pretty nice looking timepiece, Kerrigan said: 'I suppose you will want that pretty soon.' The robber replied: 'No, we don't want anything from laboring men or the passengers. We only want what the company has got, they have plenty.'

"I noticed that the man on the tender kept a sharp lookout as we went along, and finally the man down on the deck asked them, 'Ain't we to the place yet,' showing that they had a particular spot selected where they wanted to stop. I presume they had their horses tied there, although I did not see anything of any horses.

"When we got to the right place one of the hold-ups told me to stop, and we all climbed down. We walked back along the north side of the train until we came to the rear baggage car when the leader, the man who first came upon the engine, asked Express Messenger Woodcock which car contained the express company's safe and if there were any guards in the car. Woodcock told him there were none. The leader then turned to the man who was standing behind Woodcock and said: 'Blow their d------d heads off if there is anyone in that car.'

"He then told Woodcock to give him a lift. He threw his gun up into the car and climbed in. He then told Woodcock to climb in and open up the little safe which was used for the local business. When Woodcock had done this the leader told him to get out again. All the train crew were then marched back about 150 feet in the rear of the train by one of the hold-ups, remained guard over them. He had a short, double barreled shot gun which he said was loaded with buckshot sufficient to kill the whole crowd, and he also displayed two six-shooters in his belt. The other hold-ups remained at the express car and did the work. They exploded three charges of dynamite before they got into the through safe.

"The fellow who guarded us was quite talkative. He said they did not want to kill anyone if they could avoid it; in fact he said they had an agreement that if anyone killed a man unnecessarily he himself would be killed by his companions. He further said that there was one man in the crowd who would just as soon kill a man as not. When the second charge of dynamite went off he remarked that it was taking a good while to do the job. 'but Perry understood his business, he said and then he acted like he had let a remark drop that he had not intended to.

"He talked of the Wilcox hold up and said that the engineer came near being killed because he acted so peculiar and did not do what he was told to do. The man said that he was once well to do and had a family, but now it was impossible for him to quite it. Conductor Kerrigan kept moving uneasily and the robber said to him: 'Your trying to get a look at me; now stand up in line there and quit your foolishness.' Kerrigan assured him that he had no such intention.

"We probably stood there twenty minutes or half an hour, when one of the men up at the express car called, 'All right,' and our guard told us to walk back along the train, he following along behind us. One of the men then shouldered a sack which seemed to be pretty heavy, and they disappeared in the darkness going to the south side of the track. As they walked away they said 'Goodnight boys.' We were all very glad to see them go.

"We then looked over the train, and although the main line express car, which contained the through safe, was badly wrecked by the explosions, having the front end blown out and the roof blown off, we decided it would be safe to run it to Green River. The safe was a total wreck. The back was twisted off and all the drawers of the safe were missing. I do not know whether the robbers carried them away or not.

MESSENGER WOODCOCK SAVED $600.00.

"It was probably an hour and a half from the time we were first stopped until we had coupled onto the coaches and were ready to pull out again. Both brakemen were missing during the time of the hold-up. As soon as we stopped of course the rear brakeman ran back to flag any trains that might be following us. It seems that Brakeman Nash, the head brakeman, was in the baggage car with Express Messenger Woodcock. When I stopped at the fire, he stuck his head out to see what was up. Nash said he saw three men standing there with guns in their hands and realized that it was a hold-up. He closed the door and told Woodcock that they were going to be held up. Woodcock, who had the local safe open, grabbed two or three packages and ran forward with them into the Oregon Short Line car and hid them behind some baggage. It is said that there was about $600 in these packages which the robbers did not find.

"Nash got off the car and ran off and hid in the sage brush until the hold-ups got through with their work.

REPORT SENT FROM BITTER CREEK.

"It was 11 o'clock before we got to Bitter Creek, from which place Conductor Kerrigan sent his first report of the hold-up.

"We gave the best description of the men that we could. The first was five feet ten inches in height, smooth face, sandy complexion, gray eyes and talks fast. This man was the leader who first came onto the engine.

"The second man was five feet, seven inches in height, sandy complexion, heavy sonorous voice, wore a canvas coat, corduroy pants, shoes badly worn.

"The third man was five feet, nine inches in height, dark complexion, dark flannel shirt and no coat.

"I did not see the fourth man, but Conductor Kerrigan says he was standing on the south side of the track when we stopped the last time, but he was not able to give a description of him."

OFFICIALS ACT PROMPTLY

As soon as Conductor Kerrigan's report was received at Green River, General Manager Dickinson and Superintendent Parks, who were at Allen Junction, were notified. They at once began sending telegrams to officers along the line.

Sheriff Peter Swanson, of Sweetwater county, Sheriff McDaniel, of this county, and United States Marshal Hadsell, who arrived in Rawlins Wednesday evening from Cheyenne, were notified and requested to organize posses to go in pursuit of the bandits.

Sheriff McDaniel and Marshal Hadsell got their men and horses together as soon as possible, and at 4:40 they had their horses and outfit loaded at the stock yards and were ready to start. The posses that went here was composed of Sheriff McDaniel and Deputy Sheriff Horton, Marshal Hadsell and Deputy Marshal LaForce from Cheyenne, Chas. Osborne, James J. Fenley and Geo. Lord.

Unfortunately the engine which took the special out broke down near Creston, delaying them nearly two hours.

Sheriff Swanson organized a posse of six or seven men in Green River and Rock Springs. On account of the delay to the train the Sweetwater county posse got nearly two hours' start ahead of the Carbon county posse, but were overtaken by them before they had gone far.

General Manager Dickenson telegraphed Agent Wood to have circulars printed offering a reward of $1,000 each for the four robbers dead or alive.

The REPUBLICAN force was called at 2 a. m. to get them out, and the circulars were sent to every station agent and section foreman along the line on the first passenger trains that went through. The circulars were also mailed to officers in all the adjoining states.

OFFICERS ON THE TRAIL.

Only one report has been received from the officers' posse since they left the railroad early Thursday morning on the trail of the robbers. One of Sheriff Swanson's posse came into Bitter Creek early yesterday morning and reported that the officers were close upon the trail. The man was sent in to report to the railroad officials. When he started back late Thursday night all signs showed that the four men were not far ahead. They had been seen by several persons only a little while before and their trail was fresh.

The officers' posse were confident that the robbers would be overtaken. The Carbon county posse had good horses and were well armed. It is believed the Sweetwater county folks were equally well mounted.

Nothing has yet developed to give an intimation of the amount the robbers secured. The railroad officials give it out that the amount taken from the local safe was $54 and some jewelry.

A dispatch from St. Louis, the headquarters of the Pacific Express company, says:

"Mr. James Eggleston, president of the Pacific Express company, is out of the city and could not be seen in respect to the robbery of an express car of that company on the Union Pacific in Wyoming Wednesday night. Mr. Hartson, his secretary, stated that the general superintendent had reported to headquarters that the robbers obtained less than $100. The safe was blown open, he said, and the car badly damaged by the explosive used to effect an entrance. Information as to the contents of the safes was not given out at headquarters so it is not known whether the robbers secured any valuable packages or not."

From remarks dropped by members of the gang the train crew were convinced that this hold-up was planned to take place last Friday night, but that night No. 3 was run in one section.

It is stated that strange men have been seen around Tipton and Wamsutter for the past ten days.

RAWLINS, CARBON COUNTY, WYOMING, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1900 (Front Page, Col., 1, 2, 3, 4)

Thanks again to Kid Charter.

Tags: Tipton, Wyoming, train robbery, 1900

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