GOLD DUST--THE MUNCIE BUSINESS.
"Scores may be found whose errant-time
Know not one hour of rest;
Their lives one course of faithless crime,
Their every deed--unrest."
Muncie is a little wayside station on the Kansas Pacific Railroad,
not many miles from Kansas City, in Wyandotte county, Kansas. The
situation, surroundings and small importance of the place in other
respects, were not calculated to give it a wide-spread fame; and
yet Muncie has become a place of historic renown, as the scene of
one of the most daring exploits of the most renowned outlaws of
modern times.
It happened one dreary December evening in the year 1875. On that
occasion the programme which had served at Gadshill was carried
out at Muncie. A band of armed men, well mounted, and keen and
alert, had waited until the east-bound passenger train on the great
thoroughfare between the rich mines of the West and the centers of
commerce in the East arrived near their chosen lair. The topography
of the region, and other favorable circumstances, rendered the task
one of easy accomplishment, though it involved an exhibition of
daring which few men care to manifest.
In some way the bandits, of which Frank and Jesse James were
chiefs, had information that a large amount of silver and gold was
in charge of the express messenger on that train. It has been said
that this information was transmitted to them by Jackson Bishop,
who had been a noted Guerrilla in Quantrell's command, and who,
subsequent to the cessation of hostilities, had journeyed to the
"Far West," and entered into business as a mining operator in
Colorado. Be that as it may, one thing is certain, the knights of
the road had information that the express company had treasures in
trust that trip, and these they were ready to appropriate.
In due time the train approached Muncie. There was no sign
of warning, and when the engine came to a standstill at the
wayside station, in obedience to a signal, it was immediately
taken possession of by seven men. The engineer and fireman were
carefully guarded. The passengers were admonished and intimidated
by the presence of armed men on the platforms of the cars, whose
formidable pistols seemed to be pointed at each individual
passenger, and the harsh commands of those men were obeyed with
alacrity by the surprised passengers. But the robbers were generous
that evening. The treasure in the express car was what they sought.
Individual possessions were as "the small dust" compared to that.
The express messenger was immediately confronted. Demands were
made upon him with which he was compelled to comply. The safe was
opened, and then the robbers proceeded to examine the contents of
that treasure box at their leisure. The gain was worth the daring.
Their reward was _thirty thousand dollars in gold dust_. The
contents of the car were further examined, and a large amount of
silver and other valuables were secured.
On this occasion the bandits were content with the spoils of the
express car, which, it is said, amounted to about _fifty-five
thousand dollars_. The passengers were, therefore, not subjected to
the manipulations of the robbers.
As usual, the news of this fresh outrage by bandits was flashed far
and wide. The country was aroused, and in an incredibly short space
of time many bands of men were abroad in all directions, hunting
the robbers. All their efforts proved vain. The shrewd raiders
escaped with their booty.
A few days after the great train robbery at Muncie, a police
officer at Kansas City, in the discharge of his duty, arrested
one Bill McDaniels, charged with being drunk on the street. When
he was brought to the station and searched, articles on his
person were identified as having been taken from the express
car at Muncie. Every possible effort was made to induce Bill
McDaniels to designate his confederates in the train robbery. But
to every proposition he was deaf, and finally, in attempting to
escape, he was shot dead, dying without revealing the name of his
confederates. The bandits escaped.