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N0KFQ > TODAY 06.12.14 20:01l 49 Lines 2103 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 41637_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Dec 6
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Sent: 141206/1855Z 41637@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.62
Dec 6, 1868:
Train robbers reach the end of the line
A guard, who had been shot by brothers Frank, William, and Simeon
Reno during a train robbery in May, dies of his wounds. His death
so infuriated the public that a group of vigilantes yanked the
three brothers from their Indiana jail cell five days later and
hanged them. Although the Reno gang_which included another
brother, John, as well_had a short reign of terror, they are
credited with pulling off the first train robbery in American
history and are believed to be the inspiration for criminal
copycats like the legendary Jesse James.
On October 6, 1866, the Reno brothers committed their first
heist. After stopping a train outside of Seymour, Indiana, they
stole $10,000 in cash and gold. But they were unable to break
into the safe; William Reno vainly shot it with his pistol before
giving up.
Though fast on their feet, the Reno brothers didn't have much
luck evading the authorities, probably because they committed
almost all of their crimes in the Seymour, Indiana, area. After
the 1866 heist, railroad companies hired Pinkerton detectives to
find the perpetrators, and at the end of 1867, John Reno was
captured. In January 1868, he pled guilty to robbing a county
treasury in Missouri and was sentenced to spend 25 years in
prison
In his absence, the other Reno brothers continued to rob banks
and trains in the area. On May 22, 1868, they stopped a train
near Marshfield and beat a guard with pistols and crowbars before
making off with $96,000_which was more than the James gang ever
managed to score. In an attempt to lure the predictable criminals
in, Pinkerton detectives floated a rumor about a big gold
shipment and then nabbed the Renos when they stopped the train.
Although Frank and William went rather quietly when the
vigilantes hanged them on December 11, their brother Simon put up
a bitter fight. He even managed to survive the hanging itself for
more than 30 minutes before finally succumbing to the rope.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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