Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 October 1897 — BANDITS ROB A TRAIN. [ARTICLE]

BANDITS ROB A TRAIN.

Hold Up a Northern Pacific Passenger Crew in Minnesota. The Northern Pacific passenger from the east was held up and robbed at 2 o’clock Sunday morning about three miles east of Moorhead, Minn. The engine and mail car came in alone and the engineer reported that he had been compelled to leave the rest of the train. The robbery was the coolest piece of criminal work in the history of the valley. Engineer Hooker, just after pulling out of Glyndon, noticed a masked man on the front platform of the mail car. A few moments later the man climbed over the tender of the engine under cover of two revolvers. He compelled the engineer to stop the train, threatening to shoot if he refused. Several minutes afterward three other masked men came to the front end of the train with Conductor Corcoran and a brakeman. All were compelled to mount the engine and Engineer Hooker was ordered to open the throttle. The men with revolvers sat on the end of the tender and with the weapons leveled urged the engineer to increase the speed. Not until the train reached Moorhead was it known to the crew that the engine and mail car had been cut off from the other section of the train. The holdup was not profitable to the robbers. They had evidently, intended to take the express car, but did not cqt deep enough in the train. When a stop was made to secure the plunder the leader of the gang discovered the mistake, and finding that they had left the express car behind, the robbers ordered the mail men out of the car and went through the mail.