Willis Newton’s Initially Coach Theft – 1914
On December 29, 1914, Willis robbed his very first coach, at age 25. He experienced just been launched from serving time in jail and satisfied up with an aged close friend, Red Johnson. The two experienced absent to Uvalde and whilst there experienced broken into a hardware store to steal some Winchester 30-30s and ammunition for a pistol Willis was carrying. They decided to go to Cline, a compact settlement west of Uvalde, by foot the day right after Christmas with the intent of robbing the Southern Pacific Selection 9 passenger teach that handed through the station all-around midnight.
In his very last job interview in 1979, he described his first prepare robbery:
“Just after Christmas, me and Red Johnson set off for Cline (Texas) by foot. I knowed the Selection 9 train arrived in there about midnight and took on water. So I informed Crimson, ‘Let’s rob that coach tonight.’
“That night time we went down to a very little freight home in close proximity to the depot. Though we was waiting around we took the linings out of our massive overcoats to go over our heads and use as masks. When the practice arrived in that evening, we hit the back again of it.
“An aged brakeman hollered at us and explained, ‘Hey! You can not get on listed here!’
“I told him, ‘Like hell we can’t,’ and I jabbed that pistol in his tummy and he transformed his tune. He failed to give us no trouble. We went in to the to start with automobile that was a exclusive automobile for the superintendent of the Southern Pacific Railroad, previous person Watkins. He was in there with one more fellow. Watkins had a massive old thick pocketbook and we imagined we experienced a wad of dollars. Damned if his pocketbook was not total of them railroad passes and 40 measly bucks!
“We went on up through the Pullman cars. We ain’t under no circumstances been in a Pullman car so we didn’t know about them berths upstairs also. We just bought the ones on the base and went via two of them. If we come up on a lady by herself we allow her go.
“When we come via the to start with motor vehicle, we didn’t know there was a drawing home in there with a wealthy aged Mexican driving with his daughter. Positive more than enough, they had numerous thousand in funds and $15,000 in jewelry in a small bag up there. They was in a compartment auto and we failed to know absolutely nothing about that so we handed them up.
“Getting near to Spofford, we pulled the wire, stopped the prepare, and acquired off. In a several minutes we was hightailing it through them prickly pear flats headed toward Crystal Town. In two days we were being in Crystal City, sitting down in my mother’s kitchen.
“We bought $4,700 off the teach extra cash than we experienced at any time viewed. I give Red 50 {5be0972a10a00bb621c1a18de1a801d58662e556d02921cebb422beac5e5b2fe} and we went down to the resort and had us a massive steak supper.”
Alongside with the tales of ringing in the New Calendar year, the Texas newspapers had been ablaze with entrance-page accounts of the “daring coach robbery.” The San Antonio Convey quoted a selection of to start with-hand accounts of the train robbery that vary from Willis’ edition, especially in how they handled the travellers when they demanded their dollars and valuables.
Two Bandits Awaken and Rob Passengers on Southern Pacific Obtain $7840 And Many Valuables Neglect $16,000
Robbers Boarded a Practice close to Spofford And Escaped Right after 18 Minutes’ Lookup of Passengers.
Are Headed for Mexico
Posse in Pursuit Subsequent 3 Clues In Hope of Effecting A Capture Before Robbers Cross the Rio Grande-Mexican Who Will save His Fortune Reimburses These Robbed.
… More than $7,840 and a variety of watches, jewels, guns and other valuables were being taken and $16,000 in gold was missed when masked men robbed the two rear sleepers of the Sunset Central Convey train amongst Cline and Spofford about 2:30 o’clock yesterday early morning. The robbery necessary eighteen minutes, all through which time the bandits took the belongings of 14 passengers in the San Antonio sleeper at the rear of the prepare, and employing W. F. Kendall, brakeman as a shield continued component way via a different Pullman as the coach neared Spofford, when the bandits retreated to the rear Pullman, pulled the bell wire and escaped.
While posses structured by Ranger Phelps and R. C. Watkins, division superintendent of the Sunset Central of this metropolis, one of the victims, were structured at Spofford and Del Rio right away right after the robbery, no trace of the robbers has been uncovered.
Two adult males found in a instrument dwelling on the Eagle Move department of the road have been arrested and released. As the length to the border is only about 30 miles by rail and about 33 miles by immediate route, it is thought that the guys are generating an exertion to attain the boundary line and cross into Mexico.
Jose Martinez, a wealthy mine proprietor of Durango, Mexico was neglected by the bandits and remained the pleased possessor of about $16,000 in funds and several hundred dollars’ worthy of of jewellery. Martinez and his wife and daughter, occupied the drawing space in the entrance stop of the previous sleeper. They knew nothing of the existence of the bandits until eventually aroused by the Negro porter, John Dunmore, who told him robbers have been likely by the coach and that they experienced improved conceal their dollars and valuables.
The warning was heeded and the trio waited nearly breathless for the overall look of the masked pair to look for their compartment. Minutes that seemed like hrs passed and eventually Martinez returned to stick his head out into the automobile and learned that the bandits experienced completed their mission.
Irrespective of whether because of to their unfamiliarity of Pullman cars or to their haste, the drawing home was slighted in the holdup sport, as ended up those people occupying higher berths. Two adult men in the rear sleeper occupying upper berths ended up not disturbed by the bandits and a person hardly ever knew everything about the occurrences until later aroused by the victims when inquiring about his reduction.
He produced an stock and uncovered his purse that contains $200, his gold watch and other valuables had not been molested and ended up below his pillow exactly where he experienced place them up on retiring.
Overjoyed with having escaped the robbers, Martinez summoned the porter who had warned him and his loved ones of the risk and handed him a roll of payments as a reward.
Finding out of the plight of some of the travellers who had been relieved of each cent they experienced and most of them of everything else of worth, Martinez made the decision to share his excellent luck and wealth with his fellow vacationers. To every single he gave income in sums ranging from $25-$100 in proportion to their losses and other situations as he realized by personal investigations.
The newspaper write-up went on to depth how Willis and Red roughed up the travellers to get them to hand over their valuables. Contrary to Willis’ self-explained chivalry towards women, the report dispelled any uncertainties he was a lot more than prepared to accost gals as nicely as gentlemen when it arrived to demanding all of their valuables.
… The bandits were being explained by travellers as brutes and have been extremely rough at situations in the dealing with of their victims. While numerous passengers were being struck by the butts of guns in the hands of the robbers and a lot more or considerably less seriously wounded, not a shot was fired. At least four people expected professional medical awareness immediately after the bandits had taken their departure, and a single girl whose title could not be uncovered, experienced an unattractive gash in the head, which demanded 11 stitches to close. Exasperated at the views of parting with her valuables, she to start with pleaded with the bandits devoid of avail, and then she resisted their attempts to decrease her of her cash and jewellery, when a single of them drew his gun again and struck her across the head, inflicting an ugly gash and serious bruises.
One woman traveling with her four-month-previous child escaped brutal remedy and managed to save $185, which she experienced secreted underneath her bed. Occupying a reduce start in the rear motor vehicle, she became hysterical when woke up and, searching out observed the masked bandits demanding funds from the travellers. Time was worthwhile to the robbers and losing tolerance in their attempts to tranquil her, one particular of the adult males named out:
“Oh, permit her go: she’s nothing at all but a newborn,” and the pair moved to the upcoming delivery with orders to the brakeman to hurry and rouse the travellers.
A single guy who appeared slow in receiving his income and time piece jointly was offered a tricky jab with the perilous end of a gun and he dropped his money in this aisle of the auto. A different rap from the gun and he was produced to jump out of his delivery and obtain up the income and handed to the brakeman, who speedily passed it to the robbers.
One male who was a seem sleeper came inside an ace of waking up in eternity when he unsuccessful to reply promptly to the shaking supplied him by the brakeman.
The robbers ended up not inclined to tarry and when the sleeper did not come across they were being about to strike him a fatal blow, but the brakeman succeeded in rousing the sleeper and impressing upon him the seriousness of the condition just in time to preserve him from a beating.
One particular lady fainted and was quickly relieved of her money, jewelry, and purse containing her railroad ticket in advance of she was revived.
This instance appears to awaken a strain of humor in the makeup of a single of the holdup guy, for he remarked, “If we could only put them all to snooze as easy-this would be the life.”
Seemingly, some of the passengers were more than ready to exaggerate or completely fabricate their recollections of the robbery to reporters covering the holdup. In one case, a passenger identified himself as getting the brother of the past president of Mexico.
… A person of the very first tales of the holdup received from an eyewitness came from Walter Grimmer, an personnel of the electrical light-weight plant at Del Rio. Mr. Grimmer was a passenger out of San Antonio. He was riding in the day mentor and declares emphatically that the two robbers boarded the teach at San Antonio and sat almost directly throughout the aisle from him.
Mr. Grimmer says he was attracted to them pretty much as shortly as the teach remaining San Antonio by their suspicious actions and unusually rough physical appearance. He claims a Ranger occupied a seat specifically in front of him and that the adult men evidently figure out the officer and appeared to stay away from his eyes anytime he appeared in their direction.
According to Mr. Grimmer the two gentlemen waited right up until basically all people in the working day mentor was asleep, when they left their seats and walked via the coach. Mr. Grimmer states he was awake at the time, viewed the guys stroll by means of the working day coach and noticed them cross the platform and enter the initial Pullman. He says he got a very good appear at the robbers and would effortlessly be able to determine them. Just one he described as a gentleman of exceptionally major develop.
He claims after likely by the Pullmans the males signaled the educate to prevent and jumped to the floor on the moonlight facet of the educate. The aroused passengers saw them plainly as they ran. Equally guys are mentioned to be People in america.
Benjamin Madero, brother of the late President of Mexico, is considered to have been 1 of the travellers in the upper berths who escaped attention. He arrived at the Sunset Station way too late to get a reduced delivery and was consigned to the upper number five. Madero is intended to have saved his belongings, although all of the other individuals and excepting the passenger in the remaining higher, and the Martinez household in the drawing place, have been robbed.
George Miller, a cattleman from Marathon was a single of the travellers in a decreased beginning, and was robbed of his valuables. It is intended that a number of hundred pounds ended up observed in his possession.
Mr. and Mrs. L. T. Wood of 217 San Pedro Ave. lost their income and valuables when the brakeman awoke them and instructed them that the motor vehicle was becoming robbed and to flip over everything they had.
Superintendent Watkins, who was asleep in a reduce beginning about the middle of the teach, was just one of the to start with to be robbed. He was relieved of $25 and pass textbooks. Sam Scammahorn, a property grasp at the Sunset Station, missing his revolver, view and the pocketbook.
F. H. Bednarak, main dispatcher lost his observe and some revenue. The three railroad males were on their way to a position on the Eagle Go department to hunt significant recreation, but they joined the posse on the path of the bandits.
C. D. Woodward, the Pullman car conductor in cost of the rear sleeper in the train, was not ignored and the robbers relieved him of $156 like his personal and the company’s income.
Following this report that gave a vivid account of the pistol-whipping some of the travellers knowledgeable in the course of the maintain-up, the San Antonio Light ran this front-web site reward discover on January 2.
$500 REWARD
The G. H. & S. A. Ry. Co. gives $500 reward for the arrest and conviction of the two adult men who robbed the passengers on educate No. 9 on the night of Dec. 29, 1914 involving Cline and Spofford, Texas, by get of Superintendent R. C. WATKINS
Apparently, the reward provide worked the January 21 version of the same newspaper ran a daring front-webpage headline.
Two Males Are Arrested As Educate Bandits
Sheriff Johnson of Uvalde Is In San Antonio With
Suspects.
The article went on to explain the arrest of two adult men who were being functioning on a ranch around Uvalde. 1 was a lately launched convict who had served time for burglary. Operating on a idea, the Uvalde County sheriff sent two males to the ranch to surreptitiously identify the two males:
… Superintendent Watkins and W. C. Cox, both of those whom had been travellers on the educate, went to Uvalde and, so as not to excite suspicion, went on a hen hunt to a ranch eighteen miles west of Uvalde, where by the two suspects ended up doing work. Both equally declared there could be no question as to a single of the adult men and they thought they could discover the other as perfectly.
As it turned out the reward was never ever paid to the informant the situation fell apart when just one of the eyewitnesses, a woman, could not positively establish the redheaded guy. The regulation stayed on the circumstance for a couple much more months and then slowly but surely let it fade away.
Willis was in no way arrested for the maintain-up. For some explanation he concentrated on financial institution careers until 1921 when he and his gang reeled off a few educate heists during that year. Then in 1924, the Newton Gang strike the grand slam, ripping off more than $3 million from an convey mail teach near Rondout, Illinois.