The Cochise Train Robbery

Around midnight on Saturday, September 9, 1899, the westbound Southern Pacific passenger train stopped at Cochise station in Arizona Territory. Two armed men took control of the express messenger and engine crew, separated the forward section from the passenger coaches, and used explosives to open the Wells Fargo safe.

The robbers escaped with gold and currency. No shots were reported fired, and the passengers were not robbed. Some slept through the holdup. Within hours, officers were organizing a pursuit, but the first reports left basic questions unanswered: who were the two masked men, how many accomplices did they have, and where had they gone?

The Arizona Republican published a substantial account on September 11 under the headline “Bold Train Robbery.” A follow-up published the next day described the expanding search. Together, these reports record the robbery and the first efforts to identify the men responsible.

An Armed Man at the Door

Express messenger Adair opened the door of his car to throw out a box while the train was stopped at Cochise. An armed man confronted him and ordered him down, addressing him by the wrong name.

That detail is explicit in the September 11 account. The newspaper stated that the name the robber used was not Adair’s. For a moment, Adair thought he might be dealing with a case of mistaken identity. He nevertheless came down as ordered.

A second armed man appeared with the engineer and fireman under his control. The two robbers brought the crew and messenger together and proceeded to separate the express shipment from the passenger portion of the train.

The newspaper printed two versions of the holdup. They agreed on the central events but differed in some particulars. In the main account, the robbers ordered the train cut in two behind the express car. They then mounted the cab with the engineer and fireman, taking Adair along as the detached section moved away.

In the second version, the engineer and fireman initially had trouble uncoupling the cars. A passenger came out of a coach and helped release the connection. When the men aboard the engine called for their guns, he took shelter between two cars. He was later discovered and sent back toward the passenger section.

The reports establish that the robbers took control of the forward portion of the train and left the passenger coaches behind. Their differences make a precise reconstruction of every movement less certain.

Two Explosions

The detached section traveled roughly a mile before stopping. The robbers then attacked the express safe while keeping their captives under guard.

According to the main account, one man guarded the crew and messenger while the other worked with dynamite. The first charge failed to open the safe. A second, heavier charge succeeded, opening the safe and damaging the express car.

The men gathered the money, taking gold and bills while leaving the silver. The engineer reportedly watched one robber struggle to lift a sack onto his shoulder. Its weight made an impression on the witness, but the report supplied no dependable figure for the value of the stolen property.

The two explosions were also heard by people farther back along the line. The main account described a quieter blast followed by a louder one. The second version said the heavier explosion was audible at Cochise station.

The robbery did not develop into a gunfight. The robbers controlled the men they had captured with threats and firearms, then used explosives to reach the money.

Returning to the Train

After the safe was emptied, the robbers directed the engine crew to return to the passenger cars. The main account said Adair was told to hurry back on foot.

The engineer later described his fear during the holdup. His hands shook and his teeth chattered. One robber reportedly assured him that he would not be hurt if he followed instructions. The newspaper also recorded threats against Adair in its second version of the incident.

The main account stated that the robbers went away in a northerly direction. That observation described their departure; it did not establish a continuous trail to a known destination.

Back at the passenger coaches, the extent of the robbery was only gradually understood. The newspaper reported that occupants of the sleeper and rear day coach had slept through the disturbance. Some people who were awake had noticed nothing they recognized as a holdup.

Several passengers had stepped outside earlier, then returned to find the forward section gone. One initially believed the activity involved trouble with the engine. The explosions and the crew’s return made the situation clearer.

Among the passengers mentioned were G. W. Brown, F. W. Sheridan, B. A. Fickas, and C. W. Pugh, who were traveling to Silver City, New Mexico, for an A.O.U.W. grand lodge meeting. Their presence gave the newspaper accounts from men who had been aboard the train, although each had seen or heard only part of what happened.

The passenger coaches were not searched for valuables. The robbers had concentrated on the Wells Fargo shipment.

An Uncertain Haul

The September 11 article acknowledged that the amount stolen was a matter of conjecture. It discussed the express company’s shipping practices and repeated a rumor about a substantial government shipment, but it did not establish that such money had been aboard this train.

The fact that the robbers took gold and bills while leaving silver also drew attention. The newspaper suggested that they might have known something about the shipment. That was an interpretation of their conduct, not proof that they possessed inside information.

The same caution applies to suggestions about advance planning. The robbers selected a station stop, separated the express car from the passenger coaches, and carried explosives. Those actions were reported. Claims that particular accomplices had waited nearby, or that the men knew the exact contents of the safe, remained unconfirmed.

Descriptions and Possible Leads

Witness descriptions offered officers a starting point. The main account described one robber as tall and slim, wearing a square-cut coat and blue overalls. Both men reportedly concealed their faces with large red handkerchiefs. The newspaper estimated their ages at between twenty and thirty.

The second account supplied somewhat different impressions of height, dress, and manner of speech. The masks limited what witnesses could say about their faces, and the early descriptions did not identify either man.

Two robbers were seen carrying out the holdup, but the possibility of additional participants appeared almost immediately. The newspaper suggested that horses or accomplices might have been stationed near Cochise. It did not confirm either arrangement.

Another lead came from a young man traveling toward Tempe. He described two men he had met aboard the train who looked like cowboys and carried considerable baggage. They reportedly said they were brothers, came from Fort Dodge, and owned a ranch south of Benson. He had seen them at Deming but not after the robbery.

The newspaper included that recollection among the possible leads. It did not establish that these travelers were the two masked robbers.

Officers Take the Trail

After the holdup, the Cochise station operator tested the telegraph wires and found them working. Messages went to Willcox, Tucson, and other communities along the railroad. Posses were quickly organized.

The September 11 report stated that the Willcox party was headed by Deputy United States Marshal J. P. Welles, who had been aboard the train.

Recent rain had left the ground around Cochise wet and muddy. The newspaper discussed the possibility of finding tracks and following fugitives toward the surrounding country. Its optimism about an eventual capture was not a report that the robbers had been located.

A follow-up appeared on September 12, with a Willcox dateline of September 11. Its subheading stated that the robbers’ identities had not yet been learned.

The dispatch repeated a report that five men had ridden through the edge of Willcox heading north at a rapid gallop, about an hour after the robbery. It supplied no names and did not establish that those riders had participated in the holdup.

Constable Alvord and Deputy “Styles,” as the newspaper spelled the name, had left Willcox that day to take the trail. Sheriff Scott White of Cochise County was also pursuing the robbers. George Scarborough and his son had arrived at the robbery scene the previous day and were assisting in the search.

The investigation had therefore expanded beyond the first alarm. Several officers were working on the case, but the reports still distinguished between a robbery witnessed at Cochise and sightings that might or might not lead to its perpetrators.

The Search Remains Open

The September 11 Willcox dispatch said many people believed the robbers were residents of the vicinity. It offered no confirmed identification to support that belief.

At that point, officers had accounts of two masked men, uncertain descriptions, possible accomplices, and a report of five riders moving north through Willcox. The stolen money had not been recovered in the reports, and no capture was announced.

The first phase of the story ends with the train back together and officers pursuing leads. As of the September 11 dispatch, the men responsible remained unidentified.

Sources

The Arizona Republican, September 11, 1899, page 4, “Bold Train Robbery,” including the accompanying account headed “Another Story of It.”

The Arizona Republican, September 12, 1899, page 1, Willcox dispatch dated September 11, with the subheading “But Their Identity Has Not Yet Been Learned.”

Source note: These contemporary accounts contain conflicting details and unconfirmed leads. Neither clipping establishes a specific point at which officers lost a confirmed trail. This post ends with the investigation still open, as reported on September 11.