Great Train Robberies of the Old West PDF Download

Author: R. Michael Wilson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1461748488
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
During the 1800s trains carried the nation's wealth throughout the east, but no one thought to rob a speeding train until 1866. In 1870 the first western train was robbed in Nevada and within hours a second train was robbed. Railroads made every alteration to their cars and changed every procedure they could imagine to thwart the robbers, but to no avail. Robbing trains became epidemic over the next five decades, even when the legislatures made train robbery a capital crime. A few of the hundreds of train robberies stand out as thrilling and dangerous affairs, and the greatest of these (15-20) are included in this book.

Author: Michael Crichton
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307816443
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Jurassic Park comes classic historical thriller about Victorian London’s most notorious gold heist. London, 1855, when lavish wealth and appalling poverty exist side by side, one mysterious man navigates both worlds with perfect ease. Edward Pierce preys on the most prominent of the well-to-do as he cunningly orchestrates the crime of his century. Who would suspect that a gentleman of breeding could mastermind the extraordinary robbery aboard the pride of England’s industrial era, the mighty steam locomotive? Based on fact, but studded with all the suspense and style of fiction, here is a classic historical thriller, set a decade before the age of dynamite—yet nonetheless explosive…

Author: James B. Hume
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786456248
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
In January 1, 1885, Wells, Fargo & Company's chief detective James B. Hume and special agent John N. Thacker published a report summarizing the company's losses during the previous 14 years. It listed 313 stagecoach robberies, 23 burglaries, and four train robberies but included little or no details of the events themselves, focusing instead on physical descriptions of the robbers. Widely circulated, the report was intended to assist law enforcement in identifying and apprehending the criminals believed still to present a danger to the company. The present volume revisits each crime, updating Hume and Thacker's original report with rich new details culled from local newspapers, personal diary entries, and court records.

Author: Stan Sauerwein
Publisher: Heritage House Publishing Co
ISBN: 9781554390496
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
A cunning and formidable opponent of the law, Bill Miner, a.k.a. The Grey Fox, spent half of his life behind bars and the other half planning and executing robberies to fuel his love of fancy clothes and the good life. Described as the master criminal of the west, this dashing thief carried out Canada's first train robbery in 1904.

Author: William L. Carlisle
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1789126606
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
Bill Carlisle was the last of the Old West’s real outlaws. But, unlike many of the other famous characters of the early days, Bill was not the gunfighter type. Bill never shot or injured anyone in his hold-ups; further, he never robbed a woman passenger. He had, like most old-time cowboys, a wholesome respect for women—all women. This story of his life reads like the dime-novel fiction of an earlier day, but every incident of his daring and gripping exploits is a matter of record throughout Wyoming and all Western states.

Author: Marshall Trimble
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625855303
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
True stories of the wild and dangerous world of the Arizona Territory—includes photos. A refuge for outlaws at the close of the 1800s, the Arizona Territory was a wild, lawless land of greedy feuds, brutal killings and figures of enduring legend. These gunfighters included heroes as well as killers, and some were considered both. Bandit Pearl Hart committed one of the last recorded stagecoach robberies in the country, and James Addison Reavis pulled off the most extraordinary real estate scheme in the West. But with fearless lawmen like C.P. Owens and George Ruffner at hand, swift justice was always nearby. In this collection of true stories, Arizona’s official state historian and celebrated storyteller Marshall Trimble brings to life the rough-and-tumble characters from the Grand Canyon State’s most terrific tales of outlawry and justice.

Author: Rick Miller
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1491717823
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Rube Burrow, Desperado is the factual story of a prolific train robber in the 1880s and 1890s who briefly captured national attention through his daring deeds. His robberies ranged from Texas to Arkansas to Mississippi and Alabama, the state where he was raised. He topped off his criminal career with a cold-blooded murder that triggered a major manhunt. Burrow managed to pull off a number of amazing escapes from his pursuers, finally resulting in the inevitable violent end. Various writers attempted to write about him and his deeds, but often getting the facts wrong. Through diligent research, Rick Miller has laid out the true story from primary sources, correcting the many errors written about Burrow and his cohorts. While Burrow did not achieve the lasting notoriety of Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, or Billy the Kid, his story is as exciting and interesting as his outlaw counterparts.

Author: W.C. Jameson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493046098
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
One of the most colorful parts of American History is the time of train robberies and the daring outlaws who undertook them in the period covering from just after the Civil War to 1924. For decades, the railroads were the principal transporters of payrolls, gold and silver, bonds, and passengers who often carried large sums of money as well as valuable jewelry. For the creative outlaw, trains became an obvious target for robbery. Willis Newton has never enjoyed the recognition and fame of the better known train robbing outlaws such as Frank and Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, the Daltons, and the Doolins, but he was the most prolific and successful train robber in the history of North America. Newton stole more money from the railroads than all of the others put together. During his lifetime, Newton robbed six trains and an estimated eighty banks, pulled off the greatest train robbery ever, netting $3,000,000, yet remains virtually unknown. So unknown was he that, despite all of his success as a robber, he was rarely identified as a suspect. Following his greatest heist, Newton and his gang member, composed of his brothers, were arrested, tried, convicted, and sent to serve long terms at Leavenworth Prison. When they were granted early release for good behavior, they lost no time in returning to robbing banks. Willis Newton’s life and times as America’s greatest, and last, train robber has been gleaned and developed from extensive interviews he granted during the 1970s when he was in his eighties. In addition, newspaper reports of his numerous train and bank robberies have been obtained and researched for precise details of robberies and pursuit.

Author: Rachel Dickinson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493026402
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
The true story of the world’s first robbery of a moving train, and the real origins of the Wild West They were the first outlaws to rob a moving train. But from 1864 to 1868, the Reno brothers and their gang of counterfeiters, robbers, burglars, and safecrackers also held the town of Seymour, Indiana, hostage, making a large hotel near the train station their headquarters. When the gang robbed the Adams Express car of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad on the outskirts of Seymour on October 6, 1866, it shocked the world—and made other burgeoning outlaws like Jesse James sit up and take notice. The extraordinary—and extra-legal—efforts to take them out defined the term “frontier justice.” From the first report of the robbery, Allan Pinkerton’s operatives were on the scene, followed by kidnappings, lynchings, and an extradition from Canada to Indiana that caused an international incident. In the end, ten members of the Reno Gang were hanged, including three of the Reno brothers. And no one was ever charged with the murders. The Notorious Reno Gang tells the complete story for the first time, revealing how these gangsters, Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency, and the little city of Seymour ushered in the Wild West.

Author: R. Michael Wilson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1461748461
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Stagecoach robbers evolved as a consequence of the discovery of gold or silver, or some other mineral treasure, and a town would "spring forth from the earth" overnight. Roads were soon built and stage lines began operating. A "pitching Betsy" would take out bullion and dust and bring in payrolls, always through country that was rough and isolated. The temptation to get rich quickly was too great for some, and the demand, "Hold! Throw out that treasure box!" was heard all too often in the Old West. Most robberies were never solved, but many robbers were caught, indicted, tried, convicted, and sentenced. This book includes a collection of 15-20 of the most thrilling stagecoach robberies from 1875-1905.