A Feilding Man in America.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 110, 6 November 1895, Page 2

A Feilding Man in America.

o- — By a letter which came to hand by the last 'Frisco mail, dated August 26 to a friend in Feilding, Mr J. W. F. Halcombe gives an account of a novel and somewhat startling experience he had en route to his new home at Grand Rapids in the U.S.A. He says : " I don't know that this train robbery will be of any more interest than any other train robbery excepting for the fact that I was one of the passengers on the train and was sitting in the smoking car next to the baggage car— the one robbed. We were running on time and when the train came to a standstill we were in a cutting. Tbe first thing we knew several bullets started flying. We surmised we were " held up " and I at once stuffed my watch and money into the cushion of the seat. There was then a loud explosion as the door (side) of the car was blown open with dynamite, then as the conductor came out of the baggage car, one of the robbers jumped on the platform and fired two or three shots at him, and told him to put up his hands, which he did. The man on the platform kept the conductor and baggage man covered while another of tbe gang blew open the safe. Tbe whole business took about fifteen or iweaty minutes and all that while tbe robbers outside kepi tip a fasilade alongside the train to keep the passengers inside. I don't want to be in any more " hold ups." One is plenty for me. Guess a good many of the lady passengers and not a few of the men were pretty badly scared. One of the brakemen got shot in the side, and a lady in one of the cars had a narrow shave as a bullet passed through one of the windows just passed her head. A few of us gentlemen in '* the smoker" saw the whole affair and I cannot say now lam sorry I was in it. Two of the robbers— the one that stood on the platform and the one who blew up tbe safe — were spotted, on one of the trains going north, and Detective Powers in attempting to arrest them got shot dead, and they escaped, but yesterday (Aug. 25th) the one who shot Powers was shot by two sheriffs and I guess the other one will soon get caught." Mr Halcombe concludes his letter by sending his kind regards to the " boys in the company " Manchester Rifles.