Show KNIGHTS OF THE ROAD Iissouri Pacific Train Robbery the Work of Experts DElIIOLISHED TWO SAFES EXPRESS OFIiICIALS INSIST THEIR LOSS VTAS SMALL Seven Sticks of Giant Powder Exploded Ex-ploded ID the Express CuPio posed to BlowUp the Mesenger Believed That the Robbers Will I Escape CaptuleLeft Their Card Kansas City lto Sept 24Seen masked men held up the Westbound Missouri Pacific passenger train knOWn as the Little Rock and Wichita express ex-press in the woods between Leeds and Dawson seven miles from Kansas City at 940 oclock last night To prevent interference they first smashed the telegraph instruments at the Belt LIne station the junction of the Belt Line and the Flisco and malcbed th 011 I crator D lI Hisey before them tQ a point half a mile east While two men covered Hiscy the others nagged thl train as it appeared qUickly covered Engineer SIoctn and Fireman Vest011 I and compelled thcm to dismount and detaching the engine and the Pacific Express car ran them down the track a mile and a half toward Dawson The passengers were unmolested but the porter who attempted to interfere was quickly sent to cover by a shot At a desolate spot up the road the baggage car was quickly broken into great quantities of dynamite placed upon the through safe and the local safe placed on top of it So much explosive was used that the car was literally blown to splinters and the safes thrown wa to one side of the track This morning nothing but fragments pC the 10cLl safe could be found and the through box I was a wreck the top haYing been blown off and the door wrenched and otherwIse damaged TIle explosion which was of such force as to have oeen heard distinctly in Kansas City undoubtedly destroyed any valuable J that the safes may have contained f That the robbers themselves were not blown to atoms seems strang The express officials examhed thelI one remaining strong box this morning They absolutely refused to make a statement of their loss saying simply that it was small Superintendent Moore of the express company insists that the train carried but little treasure treas-ure A small army of detectives was at th scene early tIiis morning but up to Hi a m no trace or tangible vlue of the robbers had been secured The belief that they were old hands at the bus ness and are bv this time safe from capture ig general J Flying debris from the shattered express ex-press car carried down the telegraph I Wires along the FrIsco track wWct parallels the Missouri Pacific pt tlis point of the robbery and completed the stoppage of telegraphic communication begun at the Belt Line station It was therefore some time before the newsof the robbery became nown and still longer before a wrecking crew could begot be-got A new engine had to be secured as that which the roadmen had been using had been killed It was 320 this morning before the wrecked baggage strewn in all directions was gathered together the train made up and the trip south continued The express matter much of it ruined ruin-ed Vas takento Ossawatomie lCan Much excitement prevailed among the passengers during their long wait in the detached cars though but little firing was indulged in by the robbers The robber was undoubtedly one of the boldest that has ever been committed commit-ted in this locality so noted for holdups hold-ups J A special train left the city for the t scene of the robber about 1 oclock this morning carrying several railroad and express officials MESSENGERS STORY Express Messenger E L Hills told an interesting story of his experience tith the robbers 1 was working away said he when I felt that my car was starting without the Test of the train I looked out and saw some men I realized it was a holdup and ducked in They then came to the side door and beat on it with their guns Let us in or well blow you up they demanded I opened the door and three men got in They were masked and carried sacks over their arms One man got the drop on inc They cursed me and asked how much money was in the safes I lIed to them good and plenty The mask of one of the men slipped and I tried I to get a good lock at him Quick as a flash he hit me on the head with the butt of his revolver They put seven sticks of dynamite on the big combination combina-tion safe and set the portage safe on I top of the dynamite The car finally stopped and they set a fuse I saw u I match struck They jumped out leaving leav-ing me in the car I pleaded with them and they finally let me jUJIlP down We all moved up on the other side of the road It seemed an age as we waited The fuse had apparently refused I re-fused to work and they ordered me to uncouple the engine from the baggage car Just as I was doing it there was a flash and a roar I fell to the ground I stunned When I recovered sUfficiently to gain my feet someone said Git quick I started on thc run down the I 1 track toward the rest of the train 4 while tIe robbers who had come up t by this time made for the wrecked express ex-press car carLEFT LEFT THEIR CARD The police profess to belIeve that John Kennedy who was but recently Jesed on bail pending trIal ffIT murdering I mur-dering Miss Schumacher a grocery woman was connected with last nights I holdup To the officers today Operator Hisey gave a card which he asserts I was handed to him by one of the two j men who entered his office last night The card read We the masked knights of the road robbed the M P at the Belt Junction tonight The supply of quails was good With much love we remain JOHN KENNEDY BILL RYAN BILL ANDERSON SAM BROWN JIM REDIOND Redmond is anted for complicity with Kenned in the Schumacher murder mur-der Last winter Kenned was arrested ar-rested late at night loadOd down with arms He claimed to be going quail hunting but it was believed lift was bent on train robbery People in the vicinity of Dawson early this morning claim to have seen five men drive furiously away from the scene of the robbery in the direction of Kennedys home in the Crackerneck district Kennedys whereabouts today are not known |