Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 February 1874 — THE GAD’S HILL OUTRAGE [ARTICLE]

THE GAD’S HILL OUTRAGE

A Railroad Train in Southern Mlasonrl Stopped and Plundered—The Express Messenger and the Passengers Robbed, and the Mails Rifled—The lowa Out- . rage Repeated. The existence of a band of outlaws, the peers of those of whom Dick Turpin and Claude Duval were the acknowledged leaders, making their theater of operations the States of Missouri, lowa and Aikaneas, has been abundantly demonstrated during the last few months. The circumstances attending their attack upon the railroad train in lowa, the plunder of a country store in Western Missouri and tlie recent robbery of a stage load of passengers near Hot Springs, Arkansas, will be well remembered by intelligent ‘ readers, from a money point of view the first outrage was the more successful one, although attended with the loss of life, and it is not surprising, therefore, that the members of this band have looked upon the many railroad trams running across the country with covetous eyes. The task of capturing an unguarded railroad train is not a difficult one, as a description of the last attempt in that direction will amply demonstrate. The Little Rock express left St. Louis, Mo., via the Iron Mountain Railroad, at five o’clock on the morning of January 31, and arrived at Gad’s Hill, a little platform station on the prairies, one hundred and twenty miles from St. Louis, a little before five o’clock in the afternoon. The train consisted of the mail car, two coaches and a sleeping car, and had on board about twenty-five passengers, bound for Little Rock, Hot Springs, and other places in Arkansas. On nearing the place the conductor discovered several people on the platform, and one of them waved a red flag. This is er signal of danger ah'ead'7'ah'd'tsso under 1 Btoodlby all railroad men. The train slacked up, and the switch was so turned that the train was run upon a side track, while the switch at the other end was also turned so that the train was cut off from all connection with the main track. This gave those on board the train a chance to look about them and take in tlie exact condition of things. A number of persons were on the platform under guard, and it was soon ascertained that all the residents of the place, including the little boys and girls, had been captured. It seemed that the place was in possession of five desperadoes, armed witli revolvers and double-barreled shot-guns. As soon as possible the conductor jumped from the train, and a man thoroughly masked advanced and stuck a pistol in his face and shouted, “Stand still, or I’ll blow the top of your head off.” Atthe same time he yelled out, “If a shot is fired out of the car, I will kill the conductor.” The engineer, fireman and conductor were placed upon the platform and told to standstill or they would be shot. Then the express messenger and the mail agent were placed there, the whole being guarded by a ruffian who stobd over them with a double barreled shot-gun. Two of the robbers then went through the express safe, and then the registered letters were overhauled, and everything of value in both taken. They then started through the train and systematically robbed the passengers. The amount of money thus obtained was something over $3,000, besides several watches, pistols and overcoats. The baggage of the passengers was not disturbed. After they had finished they told the conductor that he could go on with his train. They -then strolled off to their horses, and before tlie train got fairly under way were seen leisurely trotting their horses southward. One of them, whou robbing the express messenger, entered on the book, “Rolibed at Gad’s Hill,” and remarked that he had made a similar entry in an express bookjiefore. It was evident that they were used to the business. The question that interests people who travel in that section of the country is, “How long is that sort of ‘business’ to be allowed to continue?”