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Show I JSSgESHR JSM, R0BBER WHILE IN ACT OF HOLDING UP STAGE COACHES IN YELLOWSTONE PARK wrcii ui u, reai nignway rubber while in tho very act of robbing rob-bing a stage coach full of people, wan that secured in the Yellowstone National Park by a young woman, Miss Anna B. Squire of Chicago, one or the vi. time The holdup occurred oc-curred on July 29. Knowing that none of the tourists tour-ists was armed, because of the government gov-ernment restrictions against carrying carry-ing weapons in the park, the bandit apparently felt perfectly safe. While he searched the purses hi.- rifle woe thrown on the ground, but within easy reach on orders of the robber rob-ber the tourists kept on the opposite oppo-site side of a little gulch from himself him-self so that he would have had ample am-ple time in which to recover his rille had there beer) any disposition disposi-tion on the part of the men in the party to interrupt the robbery. Miss Squire -was in the fifth coach that was robbed. They ar-rlved ar-rlved on the scene about 10 o'clock and were astounded to find themselves them-selves covered by tho bandit's gun. Following his instructions they .le-acended .le-acended from the coach and surren-I surren-I Mii rhnir ouraea. A f ,,. other tourists across the gulch on a bank overlooking the scene of thu robbery, When the first shock of ihe encounter en-counter had passed Miss Squire decided de-cided to take some pictures. Other tourists pleaded with her net to attempt at-tempt to secure pictures, but she decided not to overlook the opportunity. oppor-tunity. Concealed behind bushes xho pushed her camera through the foliage and snapped the holdup man until her roll of lilm was exhausted. ex-hausted. MI98 Squire gave a vivid account ff her experience. She and her party had a delightful time while In the park, she says, even including the Lime they were held up and robbed. On the day of the robbery they left ld Faithful at about 8 a. m. Having Hav-ing a seat up alongside the driver of the coach she chatted with him about the possibility of being held up. Whether from force of habit or not, the driver assured her that there was really a' holdup In the park every six years, and the last one was In 1901 The driver went on, while the people In the coach '"urh"(1 suiikested t.hal they ouin rin eijjnuJOi since the six years had passed. "Suddenly there was a commotion In front." said Miss Squire. "The surrey sur-rey ahead of our coach came to a sudden stop, and the white faced driver, turning in his seat, .shouted that we were held up In a moment a man came along by the surrey and coach with a repeating rifle under his arm, aimed in our direction. Simultaneously something inside of me took firm hold of my heart and elevated 'It to my throat. My strongest feelings were annoyance at the blackness and roundness of that gun barrel and a positive certainly that If I could get my throat from feeling choked I would be happy. "It was as though nature bad set the scene for this mountain thriller Back of m the road wound its way upward, flanked on one side by the sheer rises of rock and close by on the right by ravines, shudderingly deep. Tho road hero Is reallv nothing noth-ing but a shelf along the mountain realms can barely pass, could never turn around and only a skilled d.iv-er d.iv-er can handle a coach and four with safety. "But here, where we h id turned io inn leu at tne nanem s order, a mountain crevice, or gully, coming to Its outlet has widened the road Into almost a semi-circle, a stage w here the back drops were the mountains, where the audience must sit close or fall off. "And in about the middle of this outer curve of the semicircle, with the rise of the mountain at his back, stood a man, probably live feet eight inches tall, erect as an Indian, wearing wear-ing huge lumberjack shoes and BOCka, with a black mask over throe-fourths throe-fourths of his face. "The robber politolv but nrmly ordered or-dered us to 'pile out.' which we lost no time In doing. He then commanded com-manded the driver of the coach to ve on down the road and wait. "Waif There was nothing else to do it was nine miles to the nearest near-est station. "Bylng on the ground in front of the bandit was a sack. He ordered the tourists to pass in front of him and toss their purses on the ground a-s they passed, then to join those who bad previous) been robbed and were seated on the other side of the gulch. "The bandit was cool and tour- tcous anu gentlemanly In manner. He reassured those who wero more timid and tried to calm the women who were frightened. With the men he was more bluff and made them hurry in depositing their belongings. He explained very politely that he did not want Jewelry onl money. "When all the passengers of tho coach had passed him and paid their tribute he ordered them to sit down across the gulch and remain quiet. As this order was accompanied with a sweeping motion of the rifle bar-rel bar-rel in our direction, wo lost no time in complying with the request. Then he began to take the small purses from the bags and examine their contents. The large bags were left on the ground for the owner to recover re-cover later. "The robber had difficulty In opening one bag and said: 'This appears ap-pears to bo a handsome bag and full of money, but I am unable to open it. I dislike spoiling it by slitting it with my knife, so if the lady who owns it will be so kind as to open it for me I shall be very much obliged.' One of the ladles theu stepped forward and opened the bag and taking out the money he restored rt to her, thanking her graciously. gra-ciously. "And so It went on. Coach after coach, twenty-two in all, rounded the curve into tho little arena and faced the deadly rifle, the passengers passen-gers piled out and trte coaches went on down the road where they could neither turn around nor drive rapidly. rap-idly. The heap of money grew and the group of picked tourists also grew. "After we got our throats cleared of various choking sensations and really keev the situation, elements of humor appeared and were appreciated. appre-ciated. We remembered the Joyous Joy-ous start from Old Faithful in the early morning hours, the singing, the sightseeing. At one point our driver had pointed out the scene of the famous holdup of 1908. where sixteen coaches were robbed by one man; and had told us how things were tame now compared with the old days. "Yet let any one of us now make a move and the unwavering lino of steel with that unwinking circle of black stared you full In the eye "There was one intensely human moment. An aged woirvan trem- blinglv stood in the line and laid down her small tithe. As she straightened up she looked full in -that slit of cruel eyes and said: 'Boy, I hope your mother can't see you, now.' " Tit for Tat. A noted wag met an Irishman in the street one da , and thought ho would be, funny at his expense. 'Hello. Pat," he said. "Ill give you oight (In) pence for a shilling." Will ye. now?" said Pat. "Yes," he replied. The Irishman handed over the shilling, and his friend put eight pence into his palm in return. "Eight in pence," he explained. "Not bad, is it?" "No," answered Pat "but the y I shilling is!" Tid-Blts. A Contradiction. "So your husband kept house and cooked his own meals while you wore away. Did he enjoy it?'' "He says he did: but I notice that the parrot has learned to swear during dur-ing my abbenco.' |