Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 July 1876 — The Railroad Bobbery in Missouri. [ARTICLE]

The Railroad Bobbery in Missouri.

The statement of Mr. Conkling, the bag-gage-master, is probably as clear as any that could be obtained. He says that the train left Otterville, a little town 175 miles from St. Louis, at a few minutes after ten o’clock, and made fair time on the down grade which extends several miles east from there. As the train entered a long, deep cut known as Rocky Cut, about two and one-half miles east of Otterville, the engmeer suddenly caught siglit of a signal light. Not suspecting anythihg more serious than an obstruction on the track, the engineer put on the air-brakes and reversed his engine. The distance was so short, however, that the train did not stop Until the engine reached A piled, ties tlrnt lay across the track a little' east of where the light had been. The engine climbed up on the ties, rising fully ten inches off the track, and then stopped and of its own weight settled back upon tlie track. The first intimation of mischief which the passengers had was a demoniac yell" from fifteen ot twenty men; and a large number of, pistol-shots, given before the train had 'arrived at a halt. In less than a moment the report went through all the cars that the highway robbers had possession. The scene was then Wild. Women shrieked, tome fainted, and many bf the men crawled down under the seats of the cars. Some began to take out their money and jewelry for the purpose of hiding it under the seats, but others, seemingly utterly paralyzed, remained in their seats, blanched and-trembling. Meanwhile the yells and pistol shots were continued without, and the passengers had every reason to believe that a massacre was in progress. Although there were probably fifty revolvers among the passengers, nobody seemed to have a thought of organizingk defense. Tne end doors of the express car were closed and locked,’ but the side doors, as usual in summer, were open. The express messenger, Bushnell, was among the first to take in the situation, and before the train stopped he dashed through the cars to the rear sleeper, and giving the key to his safe to a brakeman there, made him put it in his shoe. The wheels had hardly stopped turning when two men, with navy revolvers/ jumped upon the engine, and covering the engineer and fireman with their weapons, suggested very quietly that they had better remain passive. The suggestion was acted upon, and the engineer and fireman were marched into the baggage car and kept under guard. At the same instant that the engine was boarded, three men were lifted upon the shoulders of others to the side door of the express car. So cooly desperate were they that they seemed to care nothing for the

ruk of thus lioMly oferjny th* Offtm <hwr way. Tlie express messenger, ah before stated, had fled, but Conkling, the bag-gage-master, wa* in the car. They at oncjLtookcharge of tlia exprfe key's wen* Jleßaid Sat IM did not liave them. They sMvhefo jiiinß and not |B<ling the keys,jFe«rke<!ihat li witaid pdrimps be bettlr ror linn if Ke tolß wM&e tliev were to betfeindPWe anoe* at the villainous-looking shooting irons, and said that he guessed the messenger had the key*. ere is tho mesßcn- 1 ger?” was the next question. He said the messenger hail just stepped aft. They placed Conkling in front of one of the nnvie< ami nyd.ed him along very calmly tlwough the car*. requesting that he point oat the ocreas messenger whenever he should come to him. As tne quartette passed throug* the cars with ugly masks and their gleaming revolvers, the effect op the passengers seemed very depressing. , They sat like statue* in their seats, and those who were snugly cuddled up under the foot-reste did not, seem to takesuffleient interest ihthe proceedings to poke out their head* and lootc. The scene wa* in striking, contrast with outside, whore the pistols continued to pop and thd[robbers to yell. The men found the agent in the rear car, and Conkling pointed him out. One of them remarked sententiously to Mr. Bushnell, at the same time diverting his revolver that way, “ Give us the keys, my Christian friend, and be quick about it.” The remark was very effective, and the brakeqian's shoe soon yielded up the keys. Ohe man remained as a guard over the agent, while the other two marched Conkling back to the express car. The fellow in the sleeper marched up and down occasionally, with Bushnell in front of him, and terrorized the passengers most painfully. Afl he wa* going to the forward end of the ckr on one occasion, the negro porter remarked, in a suppressed voice: “If any of you gents has got a revolver, now’s a bully chance to pop that fellow backet the head.” One of the suffering travelers immediately broke out in mortal terror: “Sh—h—h! Don’t get us all killed.” The men who went forward opened the Adams Express Company’s safe, and the entire contents were indiscriminately dumped into" a long wheat sack which had been brought for the purpose. ’lt was found that none of tiie keys would lit the other safe, and an active little man whd seemed to be a sort of inside manager, and who, by the way, was the only small man in the entire crowd, rail forward to the engine and got a pick, with which he attacked one of the panels of the safe. Ik struck several blows that were not very effective, when an immense fellow who was with him stepped forward, seized the pick, and with ti)e blows of a Hercules soon broke a hole thd 'pafiel. He | then squeezed his hand through, the hole was so small that he only tor* off a lot of skin, without getting any boto-„ He then drew his hand out with an oath, and the little man burst out laughing at him. “Let me get at it,” said he,^yl t wear a number Seven glove, and botWffe hands will go where one of your mauleffi wont.” He soon relieved the safe of W entire contents, which were emptied into the sack. , They then seized the newsboy’s chest, and breaking it open, took everything that they cared for. The stable* seemed right in hand, and in a moments all of them were munching cakes, apples or candies. The robbers next seized the JA K. and T. letter-box and broke it open, Mattering the letters and papers all over the car, but finding nothing that they wanted. They next proceeded to the Adam* express freight car, but found nothing that was valuable and portable therein. Having now completed their search, one of them suggested that they search and rob all of the passengers, but the leader very promptly rebuked him, commanding Xhe men not to touch a passenger under any consideration, as they had secured enough without going to that extreme. While all this was going on within, one stalwart fellow was parading on either side of the train, calling out to his comrades who lined the top of the banks on both sides of the cut, to shoot the head off of any one who might stick his head out of the window. It could be seen, 100, that there were men up there to obey the command, even,, though the occasional shoot ing and almost continuous yelling did not preveit. At tlie time this injunction was first delivered, the plucky little newsboy had fired his little pop-gun of at revolver through one of the wmdows, and tlie robbers laughed at it as though it were a huge joke, one of them remarking: “Hearthat little thing bark.” The shooting, of which there was so much, seemed to be entirely for the purpose of intimidation, as nobody -wis hurt. From all the circumstances, it would seem that there were not so many men as the passengers were led to believe, hut that the loud orders and much shooting intended to keep up appearance#. Having finished their work, the little/ man shouldered the well-filled wheat-bag, and the crowd started off with a goodbye, boys.” They stopped long«nough, however, to tell the baggageman that it would be well for him to go back some distance and< remove the obstructions that had been placed there, as they might make mischief to the next train. The conductor, baggageman and one qr two others acted on this, and.going back a quarter of a mile, found a very sqlidand well-arranged wrecking trap, which. t*ey dismembered. While there they could hear the robbers talking and laughing a* they went over the hill half a mile away. The engineer and fireman resumed their the train, after a delay of an hour and ten minutes, started for St. Louis.— St. Loui» Republican, July 9. —An agonizing occurrence is reported by the Port Jervis (N. Y.) Gazette: A fanner, Horace Miner, wa* chopping in the wood* near Waymart AX noon hi* ■wife carried his dinner to him. He was engaged felling a tree wheft she arrived at the spot, and she stood near waiting for him to get through. She had in her arms a child a few months old. The tree in falling lurched in the direction of Mrs. Miner, and before she could get out of the way it came crashing upon her, one of the largest branches Striking her and pinning bom her and her child to the earth. Miner ran to tlie spot. He could not see his child, but hia wife wa* lying with her face turned up, and gasping in- death. Miner at once set to work to extricate hia wife and child from their terrible position. The branch of the tree lay across Mrs. Miner, and it was evident the child was beneath the mother. The husband, to extricate his wife and child, was compelled to cut away the branch, which was seven inches through, and before he had finished the task he saw his wife die before his eyes. He removed her body from beneath the tree, and found his child crushed to death, having been pressed deep into the ground. The husband,' almost frantic, took both bodies in his arms and carried them a mile through the woods to his home.