Train Robberies Train R o b b er s O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O “ The Ho dup Men A DDRE S S BY I LLI N K N W A M A . P I E RTO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 lntermtium Assoc iation Chiefs é kd’ A M E S T O W N , V A . 1 9 0 7 . C o mm H I E N I S o r W I LLI M A P I K E R '] A . N ON C h ic a g o ” A . P I N KE RTON N at Y rk R OBE RT o . N o v E M B E R 1 , 90 7 ‘ ( un I ) t l I W x ' m n A . I Rm m wr A . P l s u mc ru x P h lm n a m ! N u , g e w Y rk . P I N KE RTON . W I LL I A M A . I ’ ‘ ON . O P I N K E R I T h e l a t e R BE RT A H A N DS E RE TOFORE my addresses have been upon sub w hic h u s jects with most o f are familiar and , while I know there are among those present , members o f this Association who have had more or less to “ " d o with the apprehension o f the train robber or hold - up ' ot he r c ount r criminal , a product we have that no y has ex cept as our fugitives ; I believe some reminiscences of ill these outlaws w be o f interest . As the detective agents throughout the United States o f many railroad , express and stage companies and o f the ’ c o - W o American B ankers Association , and e operating ith p o ffic ial s t ff lice , United Sta es marshals , sheri s , railroads de t ec t ives and various other law en forcement authorities , for o ver fi f t y years our agency has b een engaged investigating many o f the robberies o f railroad trains , banks and stages by this desperate robber ; my father , the late Allan Pinker t on I , my brother Robert and , o ften in these years person a lly taking part in running down this now almost extinct outlaw . It is somewhat remarkable as will be noted throughout my talk , that in many instances brothers were no t abl t he members o f individual bands , y Reno brothers , ‘ R e it enhouse John , Frank , Sim and Bill ; the brothers ; the K. Miles brothers , James and Joe , all o f Indiana ; the Farrington brothers , Levy and Hillary , o f West Tennes r see ; the James brothers , Frank and Jesse ; the Younge o hn s brothers , Cole , Jim , J and Bob ; the Logan brother , , Lonn t h e C o llins Harvey and y ; brothers , part of the Sam Bass gang , Joel , Will iam and Albert ; Bud and Willi am M e Daniels , part o f the Jesse James gang ; the Dalton brothers , B ill , Bob , Emmett and Gratton o f Kansas ; the S Burrows brothers , Rube and Jim o f Alabama ; the ontag brothers , John and George o f M innesota ; the Gates brothers o f M c C art h r Cal i fornia ; the Jones brothers ; the y b others , and Tom and B ill o f Colorado ; the Cook brothers , Bill Jim o f Arkansas , who were part o f the Dalton gang and the Carver and Kilpatrick brothers o f Texas . ” The hold - up robber originated among bad men of the s. gold mining camp Unsuccess ful as a prospector , too lazy to work , and with enough bravado and criminal instinct fi rst to commit desperate crimes , he robbed prospectors en and miners route on foot to stage stations , o f their gold d ust and nuggets , becoming bolder , looting stages and “ ” - u eventually a fter the railroads were built , he held p rail way trains and robbed express cars . we also h nd them from the dare - devils o f the Civil War , those from the Southwest who engaged in guerrilla warfare , where , as the pride o f the States which sent them to the front and , because o f their ambuscades , raids and lawless acts during the war , they were received as heroes w hen they returned to their homes . The James boys , the F Youngers , the Renos , the arringtons , the war giving them t he reckless li fe they longed for and experience fi t t ing them for the li fe o f crime they inaugurated immediately a fter . I n the early days o f the plains , the cowboy , with criminal b V ' inclination , noted for deeds o f daring , began his career “ " cattle rustling and horse stealing , and then became a Ms1 5$§ - u of hold p stages and trains , committing the most of 1 these robberies since 875. Also certain sensational newspapers and publishers o f ” yellow covered literatu re , by exploiting and extoling the cowardly crimes o f these outlaws and fi lling the youthful mind with a desire for the same sort o f notoriety and ad “ venture are responsible f o r many imitators o f the hold ” u p robber . “ The hold - up man operated as the footpad does to —day ! V m concealed in ambush awaiting his icti , suddenly pouncing upon and commanding him to throw up his hands , “ ” covering him by thrusting a revolver in his face , then relieving him o f his money and valuables . Usually the “ - u i hold p man to avoid identif cation and arrest , covers hi s face below the eyes w ith a triangular cloth or pocket hand c kerchie f , tied back o f the head , wore a so ft hat well lown over his eyes , although in many o f the great train and bank robberies shortly a fter the war , no masks o f any kind were worn . The average train robbery band formerly consisted o f fi v e in . reeent from to eight men , but years success ful rob b eri e s have been committed by from three to fi ve men and in a few instances by a lone individual . Usually in these train robberies , one member o f the band , with red lantern or flag , at a lonely spot would signal the train to a standstill , or one or two would board the “ blind end ” o f a baggage or express car and nearing the r point selected for the robbery , would climb over the tende “ ” fi rem an . into the locomotive , cover the engineer and while others o f the bandits uncoupled the express or money car and forced the engineer t o c arry them a mile or two a n distant , where the ears and s fes would be forced ope with dynamite . Resistance usually resulted in the death of those who interfered . Our study o f the murders com m itt ed by these desperadoes shows fully 90 per cent to be assassinations , those killed generally being de fenseless , or the outnumbering desperadoes by pouncing on their V ictims x when least e pected , giving them no chance for their lives . Tn Escapes were u sually made w ith horses waiting , in charge o f a con federate at the place o f the robbery , and r c ov o ften with elays o f horses previously arranged , for fi ve : ering or six hundred miles , until they arrived at the r homes or hiding places . There is no crime in America so hazardous as ” b l t - u - o l p robbery . Over two thirds o f those who have been engaged in these crimes , were killed e o r whil operating , or in resisting arrest , from their “ ( wounds , lynched by posses , or as is known lied with ” h on i t eir boots , while nearly all others were e ther captured or sentenced to long terms o f imprisonment or driven from the United States , becoming exiles in distant foreign climes . Those at large are constantly in fear o f arrest , l iving se cluded l ives , and risking no chances o f discovery by com m un ic at in g with friends . S ho rt l v a fter the close o f the Civil War there was an epidemic o f train robberies in Indiana , especiall y between I ndianapolis and New Albany on the Je ff ersonville and R R Indianapolis . , now part o f the Pennsylvania Rail r way System . My father , rep esenting the Adams Express a i Comp ny , who were the principal losers in these ra ds , and “ ” had - u l l fl who determined to disband this hold p band , ( l er ok d iffic ul t o this t task . It was early determined that the robberies were perpetrated by a desperate gang who made Seymour and the adj acent town o f Rockford th e ir h d t he ea quarters , practically under the leadership o f Reno t bro hers , whose parents , hard working and respectable had settled on an Indiana farm years be fore and raised a family fi ve o f boys , John , Clinton , Sim , Bill and Frank , and a girl . f h e Laura . During the later part o f the Civil War all o t “ brothers , except Clinton , known as Honest Reno , began i R e t enho use s K.