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Show jSj SLAIN BY BANDITS I htx EDDING, Cal., March 31. Three masked men held up the Oregon Express H O' at Copley, ten ,milfcs north of here at 11 o'clock tonight, killed Express jl Messenger O'Neill and carried off the contents of the treasure box. IH ( The train Is known as No. 1C and stopped at Copley, a small station, for The robbers blew up the car and killed the messenger before getting tho IH The highwaymen forced the train crew to uncouple the front engine and IH compelled its engineer to draw them to Keswick station, five miles south, where they disembarked and disappeared. According to the story from Keswick tho robbery occurred shortly be-fore be-fore 11 o'clock. As the train, which wan southbound, reached Copley, near Keswick, three men jumped on board and cut the train In two, taking the en-glne en-glne and cxpro-ss car down the track, a short distance. They stopped the engine and demanded that Messenger O'Neill open the ' express car. He refused, whereupon they blew up thc express car with dyna-mite dyna-mite and deliberately killed O'Neill by shooting him through the head. Th bandits then robbed the express? car of its contents, but It is not known how much they got. IH After robbing the express car thc men cut the car loose, and getting on th engine, compelled Engineer Joe Sink to go ahead. When near Keswick tho men dropped off the engine and disappeared In thc night with thelnplundcr. Messenger Killed by Bullets. WM REDDING, April 1. W J. AD'Nolll. the messenger, was killed by bullets. IH Presumably tho three masked men attempted to rob the express car and the lr-esfcnger mnde a fight. The first that Engineer Joo Sink knew of the hold-up hold-up was after O'Neill was killed. He and his fireman, J. F. Stury, were compelled to dismount from the en- ' glne. They, with E. A. Blsrell, engineer of the second engine; A. Raymond, , .H a fireman; Jack Depangcr, conductor of the train, and a brakeman, were com-polled com-polled to march back to the express car, where they saw O'Neill dead. jH The robbers tried to force O'NcIU's helper, who was in the baggage car when O'Neill was killed, .to open thc- safe, but the helper iihowed that he could I not do so. I n Then the robbers compelled thc parly of seven to place six slicks of giant f ' powder on ton of the safe. Then they had a heavy box set on the dynamite, to which a fuse was. ordered attached. . , j jH Then all but one of the robbcr.sleft the car. He lighted the fuse. The J V party had just reached the- locomotive when the explosion occurred. , J It wrecked the entire car. Engineer Joe Sink is not certain that the rob- ) bora got any plunder. He wa made to got up on his engine and' stay there I until further orders' came for him to carry the highwaymen soutlu Ills cnglnn h had been uncoupled. He knows not by whom. He compiled with the order, ' but was not allowed to even take his firemen along. Tho robbers stood at his back on the trip down, their rlfies pressing against him, and he dared not J look around. He says if they hnd any plunder he did not see It. , J At 12 30 o'clock he. started back with" his heavily armed crew. There being neither telephone nor telegraph communication possible with Copley, thc de- tails -of the killing of the messenger cannot be learned until tho train that wm held up pulls south ' mmm ! |