DA.'RIJVG THAIJV
! Always Worked Alone, but
Dressed Up "Dummy" Robbers
with Wooden Guns and Planted
Them Along the Track; Oliver
Perry's Express Car Robberies;
Other Remarkable Cases
*RO'B'BE'RS?Charles Boles, Who
the top of the pile of express packages,
i "While the train sped along the robber
bad managed to cut a hole In the front
door large enough to admit his body.
Then he had wriggled like a snake up
through the heap of merchandise and |
crawled along the- narrow space which
separated the top of the pile from the
' roof of the car.
; There he lay flat on his stomach?his
t right hand outstretched and pointing a big
revolver at the messenger's head.
9 The messenger reached instinctively for
- ills own revolver, which lay on the top of
1 his desk. But the robber was too quick
t for him.
1 Springing like a panther from his lofty
'? perch, he landed squarely on top of the ex
* pressman and bore him to the floor.
7, Perry's hand tightened like a vise on the
J half stunned messenger's throat, and when
^ he had choked him into insensibility he
'? cowardly struck the helpless man several
1 brutal blows with the butt of his revolver.
Next be tied his hands and feet and
? bound a handful of cotton waste over his
? mouth for a gag.
n Rifling the safes was an easy matter, for
the door of one stood open and the other
was not locked. He took from them $5,000
v ^n cash besides quite a quantity of Jew
d t-lry.
f How to get off the train was his next
P problem. At forty or fifty miles an hour
8 jumping would have "been surclde. But he
ft must get off at once?he had no idea when
the train would stop again, and at any
?f minute he was liable to be discovered by
a some of the trainmen.
? He stepped out on the platform, first
?making sure that the baggageman In the
C car behind -was not looking.
5 Gripping the platform rods in his pow
9 erful hands, he lowered himselr at the risk
I of h)s life down between the moving cars.
r He drew a Ions knife and severed the hose
y through which the compressed air thai
operates the brakes is carried.
* ' As Perry know, the cutting of this hose
* would at once set the brakes on every car.
The train slowed down with a series of
' . grinding Jerks. Before It came to a ful?
stop Perry jumped oft unobserved and dis
' appeared in the darkness.
* This crime caused creat excitement b&
5 Express Car Robbery
swaying roof of the express car?
???'Engine and in danger of being hurled
pending train. Inch by inch he drew
shaft which stuck up through the roof.
> this, ha tied the other end around his
with his left hand and began to lower
the car. It was an undertaking which
strength and nerve would have dared
e ?irmf he took his revolver in his free
door of the car.
!" he shouted.
ngcr reached for the bell cord, which
hamd reached it the robber fired twice,
be-broken pane, he drew the bolt. Slid
into the car.
cause it was so unusual in this section of
the country. The robber had lert abso
lutely no clue to his identity, and the ex
press messenger, -who hovered between life
and death for several weeks as a result of
the cruel heating Perry had given him,
wag unable to supply a very clear descrip
tion. The mystery was made all the
deeper by the surprising way the robber
had stopped the train in order to make hlg
escape.
Although largo rewards* were offered for
the robber's capture. Perry coolly con
tinued to live in TCochester, Syracuse and
other cities where he was well known. Ke
squandered the proceeds of his crime In
riotous living, and within six months was
as penniless as he had been before. Then,
emboldened by his previous success, he
began to look, about for an opportunity for
another train robbery.
This time he selected Syracuse Instead
or Albany as the starting point for his ven
ture. Just eaBt of the city was a signal
Cower where trains often made brief stops.
For a week Perry haunted the vlclnitv
of this tower every night, familiarizing
himself with the movements of the trains
and watching for the opportunity to board
one unobserved. Concealed underneath
hlB coat he carried a long coil of stout
rope which, as you will see. was quite es
sential to the success of the plan he had
In mind.
The chance he had been waiting -for
came at last. One evening when an east
bound train haKed at the tower for an In
stant he managed to climb unobserved
onto the platform of the first car?an ex
press car?just behind the engine.
As soon as the train started he climbed
up on the railing of the platform and, by
bracing one foot against the tender of the
engine, succeeded in raising himself up to
the roof of the car.
Perry's Daring Feat
By the time be reached the roof the
train was going fifty miles an hour. The
speed made his perch a perilous one, par
ticularly as where he lay on the smooth
roof there was nothing for his hands to
grip or for his feet to brace themselves
against.
The thick smoke from the engine almost
suffocated him?the hot cinders blinded
him?and the car swayed from side to side
so violently that he was in constant dan
ger of being hurled off.
But, by lying flat on his stomach, with
his arras and legs outstretched, he man
aged to keep from slipping off the rock
ing car. After some little time he was
gradually able to draw himself along inch
by inch until one hand clutched a steel
ventilator shaft which stuck up through
the roof.
His hold on this made his position much
more secure. Soon, as he became more
accustomed to the motion of the train and
the dense cloud of smoke and cinders
which constantly enveloped him, he was
able to do more than merely hold on.
He took from his pocket a black mash
and tied it over the lower part of his
face. From underneath his coat he
pulled out the rope, fastened one end of it
securely through the ventilator and tied
the other end around his waleL
For several minutes he waited patiently
for the engine's headlight to reveal a long
stretch of straight level track ahead. When
at last It did, and the motion of the train
became less violent, he gripped the rope
tightly with his left hand, gave It two or
three turns around his wrist, and began
to lower himself cautiously down the slop
ing roof and over the side of the car.
It was a hazardous undertaking, and
one that only a man of almost superhu
man strength and nerve would have dared
attempt. His hand was bleeding from the
friction of the ropo long before his feet
touched the narrow moulding a third of
the way down the side of the car, which
gave his stTainlng muscles their first re
spite.
For a moment he rested In this diffi
cult position. Then he resumed his slow
and painful descent until at last he could
look right Into the car through the glass
In the upper half of the sliding door
There stood the safe which he hoped to
rifle. In front of it. with his back to the
door, stood the express messenger busily
engaged In checking off his list of valu
able packages.
With his one free hand. Perry reached
into his pocket and took -out a big revol
ver. Smashing a light of glass in the
door with the butt of this be shouted at
the top of his voice:
"Open that door or I'll kill you."
The startled messenger looked around,
saw the masked robber and at once reached
up to pull the emergency bell cord which
would stop the train.
But Perry was ready for that very'move.
The big revolver barked twice In rapid
succession before the messenger's hand
could grasp the cord and the expressman,
bleeding from two wounds In the shoul
der, fled to the forward end of the car
As he disappeared from view,' Perry
put his hand throu^Jj the opening where
he had broken the glass, drew the bolt
and slid the door open. In another sec
ond he had swung himself into the car,
and stood there, revolver In hand, facing
the plucky messenger.
By this time the messenger had seized
his own revolver. He was game enough,
but he was badly wounded and not a good
shot under any conditions. He fired at
Perry?the shot went wild and Perry re
plied with one that took effect.
The robber would soon have been in
sole possession of the car and its valu
ables had' not the train Just then slowed
down, for a stop which Perry had evidently
N not taken into his calculations. Aroused
How "Black Bart," the Train Robber, Deceived His Victims With "Dummy" Riflemen
"Black Bart," the train ronber, never used vio
lence. The shotgun he carried was never loaded,
and he never took a life or injured a human being.
He always worked aione, but by an ingenious de
vice he deceived his victims into believing that he
had with him a number of armed men.
With Jute bags or pieces of tent canvas he built
a screen about three feet high between two trees or
two pilee of rocks. The outside of thiB ambush he
carefully masked with branches of trees and chunks
of sod. Behind it he stuck in the ground half a
dozen sticks, and on each stick he hung a sombrero
and an old coat.
These hats showed above the amoush just aa
they would have if there had been real men under
neath them. Below each hat "Black Bart" stuck a
piece of broomstick painted black to give the oem
blance of rifle barrels. It all looked very real and
very formidable?for all the world as if six men
were crouching there with rifles In hand, ready to
fire at the first sign of resistance.
Time and again fast express trains on the west
ern roads would be stopped just at dusk in some
lonely spot by the frantic waving of a red flag.
When the engineer Jumped down to see what the
trouble was he was confronted by "Black Bart,"
dressed in a long linen duster 'and a tall, cone
shaped hat ouch ac clowns In the circus wear. At
the point of hi# shotgun the robber forced the ert
gineer and fireman to uncouple the engine and run
it a few hundred feet down the track.
By this time the passengers and trainmen wero
pouring out of the cars to learn the cause of the
delay. ''Black Bart" wasted few words on them.
Nodding his head significantly In the direction of
the ?'riflemen," whose hats and "gun barrels" showed
from the ambush at the side of the track, he said
loud enough for all to hear:
"Don't fire unless I give tne word, boys!"
The hint was quite sufficient. Convinced that
they were at the mercy of a large band of desper
ate men, passengers, trainmen and express messen
gers quickly handed their valuables over to "Black
Bart."
When he had secured all the plunder he uttered
a threat about not looking back on penalty of being
shot at by his "companions" and allowed the train
to move on.
by the shots, the conductor, two brakemen
and several passengers came hurrying to
the rescue.
As they entered the car Perry jumped
out of the door by which he had entered
and ran down the track. There was no
time to take anything from the open safe
where $10,000 worth of cash and jewelry
lay in full view.
With two shots from his revolver
Perry drove the engineer and fireman
from an engine which stood on a nearby
aiding:. Climbing up into the cab ho
pulled the throttle wide open and the loco
motive leaped ahead at a 60-mile an hour
clip.
Luckily the steam in the engine Perry
had Beized. was low and after running
three miles Its power gave out complete
ly. It came to a dead stop just in time
to avoid a collision with an oncoming ex
press train.
Perry leaped to the ground and started
off across a fleld, reloading his revolver as
he ran.
His Attempts to Escape
But his pursuers, who had followed him
on another engine, were close behind him.
Before he could gain the shelter of the
wooded country toward which he was
aeadins- they had surrounded him and
succeeded in making him a prisoner?not,
however, until Perry had used his last
cartridge and had desperately wounded
eeveral of the railroad men.
Crime seJdom has a speedier or more
appalling sequel than it did in Perry's
case. Popular indignation against him
ran so high that his trial was hurried and
he received the extreme penalty of forty
nine years and six months in State prison,
which, although Perry was then only a
young man, amounted practically to a life
sentence.
But Perry's crimes did not end when
the doors of Auburn prison closed behind
him. He raged like a madman and seized
every opportunity to make murderous at
tacks upon his keepers and fellow prison
ers.
Before he had served six months of his
sentence he contrived to escape by saw
ing the lock off hia cell door, half killing
a keeper and risking hi3 life by a leap
of thirty-five feet from the top of the
prison wall to a heap of rocks below.
He was recaptured in less than twenty
four hours. Becoming convinced that he
was really insane, the prison authorities
had him removed to the asylum at Mattra
wan.
Although kept constantly under the
closest guard he soon succeeded in escap
ing from Matteawan even more easily
?than he had from Auburn.
This time he was at large four weeks.
When finally arrested in the railroad yards
at Weehawken, New Jersey, he was about
to put into execution a plan for an ex
press car robbery as daring as those in
which he had already figured.
Failing in these attempts at liberty he
devised a fiendish way of putting out his
eyes In the hope that blindness might win
the Governor's sympathy and secure his
pardon.
The apparatus he constructed for this
purpose was a weird masterpiece of me
chanical skill.
In two holes in a piece of board Perry
inserted two long sharp nails. These were
so placed that when the board lay across
his forehead they were directly above the
pupils of his eyes.
Above these nails jvas suspended a
heavy dumbbell, which, when let fall,
would drive their steel points deep into
the eyes. The release of /the dumbbell
was ingeniously arranged by attaching
It a spring on which a lighted candle was
pladed. When the candle burned beyond
a certain point its weight decreased suf
ficiently to release the suring and let the
dumbbell fall.
Perry put the apparatus In place one
eight after his keeper had left him. The
nails destroyed the sight of one eye In
stantly, and Perry completed his total
blindness by rubbing the other eye with
fine bits of glass.
The kindest thing one can think of this
unhappy man is that he was Insane from
boyhood. But whether he was or not the
miserable existence ho is now draggihg
out at Matteawan is another powerful ex
ample of the fact that crime does not pay,
and this is why I could not afford to
neglect telling his sad story.
And now I must tell you about some of
the remarkable exploits of John Brady and
Samuel Browning?as desperate a pair ol
robbers as ever rifled an express car and
shot helpless men in cold blood
Late one stormy night a track walker
named Kelley was speeding along a lonely
stretch of railroad near Davisville. Cal..
on his track tricycle.
Suddenly two men leaped out of the
underbrush at the side of the track and
stood directly in his path. To avoid run
ning them down he brought his tricycle
to a sudden stop.
At once they sprang upon him, dragged
bim to the ground and bound and gagged
him so securely that he could neither
move nor speak. After emptying his
pockets of a little money and taking his
red lantern and a box of railroad torpe
does, they demolished the trlcyclo by
pounding it with stones and threw the
broken pieces of the machine down under
neath a culvert. This done they disap
peared in the darkness.
These two men were Browning and
Brady, and their attack on the track walk
er was the first step in a long series of
daring crimes which finally brought one of
them to a horrible death and sent the other
to prison for life.
Two Famous 1 'Hold-Up" Men
A few minutes later the whistle of a
fast overland train sounded in the dis
tance. As It drew near the spot where the
helpless track walker lay the engineer
was startled to see a red lantern -waving
across the track and to hear at the same
instant the sharp report of two torpedoes?
the customary signal that there was dan
ger ahead.
As the train responded to the air brakes
Rnd slowed down the robberB?wearing
black masks and car.rying revolvers?
climbed up on either side of the cab.
They made the astonished engineer and
fireman hold their hands above their heads
and walk back to the third car from the
engine?a Wells-Fargo express car. *
"Uncouple that," said Browning, shov
ing his revolver Into the fireman's face,
and pointing to the coupling betweeu the
express car and the one behind it. The
fireman, with trembling hands, obeyed.
Still covered by the robbers' guns, the
engineer and fireman were marched back
to the engine and ordered to pull the
three cars several miles down the track.
When they finally came to a stop the
engineer and fireman were again taken
out of the engine and made to accomfxtny
the masked men back to the express car.
But Paige, the express messo-nger, had
suspected what the trouble was and had
locked the door and barricaded the win
dows as well as he could with packages
of freight.
When the robbers pounded on the door
and commanded him to open it he refused
and announced that he would shoot the
first man who attempted to enter.
"Tell him that if he doesn't open that
door we're going to shoot you full of
holes," said one of the bandits and he
emphasized his words by firing a bullet
so close to the engineer's head that it
ploughed through the visor of his cap.
The engineer was in terror of his life.
Shaking in every limb, he added his picas
to the profane throats of the robbers.
"Think of my wife and babies, Paige,"
he begged, "and let these men in before
they kill me."
The express messenger was between two
fires. If he did his duty to his employers
and kept the robbers out he would be
bringing death to his friend, the engineer.
Was it worth sacrificing a man's life to
protect the company's property? And, If
he did not open the door, would they really
carry out -their threat?
Just then the engineer cried out In ter
ror as another bullet whistled by his ears.
Quite evidently the robbers were going to
be as good as their word, thought the
messenger, and he reluctantly unbarred
the door and slid it open.
The contents of the safe? $53,000 In
bags of gold?were quickly emptied Into
their sacks, and the robbers made the en
gineer and fireman carry the plunder <tn
the engine.
The englno was uncoupled, and with a
few parting threats the robbers entered
the cab, pulled the throttle wide open and
sped away Into the night.
Their Last Crime
After going about three miles they re
versed the engine and Jumped to tha
ground. The "wild engine ran backward
until it crashed into the cars It had left,
making such a bad wreck that pursuit o!
the robbers-was delayed for hours.
The loot taken from the express car
was so heavy that It could not have been
carried any great distance without attract
ing attention and the detectives were
convinced that it must have been burled
near whdre the robbers abandoned the
engine. A vigorous search, however,
failed to reveal Its hiding r^ace until years
later. But that Is another story which I
a 111 give you In these pages some day soon
The inevitable end of the career of this
reckless pair of criminals came when tbey
undertook the robbery of an express train
near Marysville, Gal.?and all, as I will
tell you, through 'the presence of mind of
a negro sleeping car porter.
The train was stopped in the usual way.
Several well aimed shots frightened the
messenger Into letting them into his car.
P.ut the safe was locked and the messen
ger protested that lie was not in posses
sion of the combination. After bullying and
threatening him for several minutes tho
robbers became convinced that he was
telling the truth,"and, having no dynamite
and not being experts at solving combina
tion locks, they decided there was nothing
of value they could get In tho express car.
"Well." said Browning, with an oath,
"we must pay expenses, and' if there's
nothing here for us we'll have to see what
the passengers have to offer."
Seizing an old pair of overalls, he tore
off the legs, and by fastening tho ends
together made two rough bags. One of
them he handed to t'he fireman, the oth^r
to the engjneer. Revolver In hand, ho led
the way to the smoking car.
"Hand over your valuables!" he shouted
as he strode down the aisle. "Hand over
everything you've got or you're dead men."
Behind him came the engineer and fire
man, unwilling assistants In this crime,
holding out their bags to receive the
watches, pocket books and pieces of Jew
elry which the passengers produced.
Brady brought up the rear, threatening
with his revolver any who hesitated and
making sure that no victim escaped.
When one man refused to part with
his wallet, Brady hit him over the head
with the butt of his revolver and snatched
his valuables from his pockets as he fell
over senseless.
After stripping every man in the smok
ing car of his valuables, Browning led tho
way into tho first of the sleeping cars. At
sight of the masked men and their weapons
several of the passengers started to run
out of the rear door, but quickly returned
when Drowning fired a shot over their
heads.
Right -here something unexpected hap
pened?one of those chances which even
the cleverest criminals cannot wholly
guard against, and just such a one as I
have, of ten seen spoil the most carefully
planned robberies. It proved the one
thing necessary to bring the careers of
Browning and Brady to an end.
Tho first person they met as they en
tered the sleeping -car wa3 a negro porter,
his teeth chattering with fright Browning
shoved him down Into a seal and took
away Mb gold watch. *
That was what proved a fatal mistake.
Had Brady not taken tho darkey's watch,
he and Browning might tave gone on loot
ing the train unmolested and made their
escape Just as they had so many times
before.
But that watch was the negro's dearest
possession?he bad been saving money for
a year to get It, and this was the first
time he had worn it. Frightened as he
was, he began to turn over in his head
plans for recovering his precious property.
Suddenly he remembered that J. J. Bo
gard, the Sheriff of Tehama County, was
a passenger on the train. He was a fro
quont traveller on this train, and the por
ter had Been him board a rear sleeper at
San Francisco on this trip.
If anybody could recover his watch,
thought the darkey. Sheriff Bogard waa
the man. Ho had a reputation all over the
Pacific Coast for bravery, and the porter
had once seen him single-handed subdue
a party of cowboya who were "shooting
up" a railroad station.
The Price They Paid
Thoughts of his lost watch made the
negro hold. When the robbers readied I
the middle of the car he slipped out ol
the front door and ran alongside the train
to the very last car, where the Sheriff
lay -In his berth ignorant of the trouble
ahead.
"Oh. Mr. Sheriff," tho excited darkey
called, "the train is full of robbers, and
they've atolen my new watch!"
The Sheriff hastily dressed and, pis'ol
in hand, rushed through the train and ?
boldly faced the robbors. His first shot
pierced Browning's heart, killing him in
stantly.
The next instant Brady fired?killing the
Sheriff and seriously wounding the fire
man. Without stopping to gather up any
of the booty he backed out of the car, emp
tying his revolver promiscuously ns he
went, and Injuring several passengers.
Brady "escaped on the bicycle on which
he had ridden to the scene of the robbery.
The wheel Browning had used was found
hidden in some underbrush nearby. With
this bicycle as a cluo the detectives iden
tified tho dead bandit as Browning and1,
finally succeeded in running Brady to
earth. He is now serving a life sentence
In San Quentln prison.
These are only a few of the thrilling
train robbing incidents I could tell you.
but they aro enough for my purpose?to
show you thai- this variety of robbery u
as profitless as every other crime.
For every train robber the final resuit
Is innvitably the same?death or impris
onment for a long terra of years. And bo
cause of the bloody deeds he has to do io
gain his ends the remorse which eventu
ally overtakes him Is even keener than
for other criminals.
Most of the train robbers who ara liv
ing to-day are in prison, and of those who
ore at liberty I know of nono who has any
of the money that his crimes brought him.
If they speak the truth they will add their
testimony to the overwhelming weight of
evidence which has proved to me beyond
question that CRIME DOES NOT PAY
SOPH IE LYONS
Next Sunday Sophie Lyons will Reveal the Secretc of the Amaiing
Career of Mark Shinburn, the Uncrowned "King of the Burglars," the
Most Scientific aod Expert Cracksman Who'Ever Terrified Bank Official*
and the Police.