The Great East Henderson Train Robbery: And the mystery of the missimg gold.

A plot based on "The Ballad of East Henderson," by Josh Reinitz. A never-before-told e-Mystery appearing exclusively on Chatter.

Have you read - or heard - Josh Reinitz's Depot Creek Stringband perform "The Ballad of East Henderson"? It's the story of a long-ago train robbery in East Henderson: How three men decided to hold up a train carrying a shipment of gold. The ballad tells us the men stole the gold and headed up Miller Hill Road into the night. Little more.

On this Chatter e-Mystery we'll tell you the whole story, picking up with who the men were; how they plannned and pulled off the heist; what occurred in the ensuing days, months and years; and maybe...just maybe...what happened to the stolen gold.

The story will appear thrice-weekly, quick-to-read installments only here on Chatter. You can read Reinitz's "Ballad of East Henderson" in my book, Growing Up In Henderson: One More Time. (page 151)

Return with us to the days when East Henderson was a bustling center of commerce; when the railroad was young and the sound of steam locomotives echoed across the valley; and the Great East Henderson Train Robbery captured everyone's attention.

To be continued...

Chapter 1 - Prelude

The year was 1899. The railroad was still new to the Minnesota River Valley, having arrived in the mid-1860s. The first passenger train stopped at the depot in East Henderson on December 11, 1867. Unfortunately for Henderson the railroad bypassed the town. Crossing the river proved an insurmountable barrier in those years. For a time East Henderson prospered and attempts to build a separate line from East Henderson, through the town of Henderson to the western border of the state failed.

But there was a flaw in the construction of the first rail bed between East Henderson and Le Sueur. The tracks were laid along the base of the bluff to keep it out of the flood plain. This resulted in mud and snow slides since the hill was immediately alongside the tracks. The tracks were frequently blocked causing delays and costly expenses. In 1899 a major rebuilding of the rail bed took place in the spring and summer months. The new line was built in the flood plain with fill hauled in to create the raised rail bed.

To do the work, workers were hired and housed in a "railroad camp" located along the east bank of the river a half-mile west of the depot. The Henderson Independent reported that the work crew attracted "a lawless set of horse thieves, murderers, and vagrants and, in fact, everything imaginable but humans." Strong words and the ingredients for trouble.

Such was the setting as our story begins.

To be continued...

Lottery Dream: rebuild this Depot and restore the Peavey Elevator as a historic site or fancy schmancy restaurant/antique mall. Or now that it's all wildlife refuge around there, a trails/river center. C'mon, powerball!

Chapter 2 - The Cast of Characters

Among the workers who found their way to the East Henderson "railroad camp" were three men who are central to our story: Jimmy Sullivan, Frank Walston and Bob Larsson, known as "Swede" to all who knew him. Facts gathered in the ensuing years differ on where the men came from or much about their past.

Jimmy Sullivan was the most unpredictable of the group. A happy-go-lucky Irishman, Sullivan was one to act before he thought, but you had to like him. Frank Walston was a moody man and easily led by stronger personalities around him; a trait that often got him in trouble. Bob "Swede" Larsson was a leader by nature, street-smart and very aware of what was going on around him. A tic in his left eye causing it to twitch was a tipoff when he was troubled by something.

Many of the men in the railroad camp were running from their past. What little we know about Jimmy, Frank and Bob is that they shared a fondness for whiskey and, on occasion, the "ladies of the night," who rode the train from Minneapolis on weekends to "socialize" with the men after pay day. When not at work, or asleep at the bunkhouse at the camp, the trio could often be found at Nye's Saloon in East Henderson, where proprietor Wilhelm Nye purchase his whiskey by the keg and poured a generous ounce-and-a-half shot for a dime. Some folks figured Wilhelm must have been adding a touch of river water to sell a shot for that price. Others said, no, Nye was a church-going man and would never stoop to watering his whiskey. On more than one occasion the burly proprietor had to physically assist in the removal of the boys from the premise.

It was in Nye's one night, when the boys were well lubricated, that they came up with their crazy scheme.

To be continued...

Chapter 3 - A shipment of gold...maybe?

It was Jimmy that night at Ney's Saloon who said he'd heard a rumor that a shipment of gold was coming through East Henderson on a train bound for Minneapolis. When he spoke the words there was a moment of silence before Frank blurted, "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin?" Swede, the only one of the group who could be described as clear-headed jumped on it. "Damed fool idea if you're thinking about a heist. A jackass idea!"

"But think about it, Swede," Frank said, "No more pick and shovel work for the railroad. We could be rich!"

With his left eye twitching nervously now Swede responded, "First off, we don't know if there's any gold at all...or just a damned rumor...but if there was, the train would be crawling with "dicks." [Note: railroader slang for detectives.]I say it's a stupid, jackass idea."

"Hey, Wilhelm," Jimmy shouted at proprietor Nye, "Pour us three more." Then he turned to the others, "How about this: we snoop around, ask some questions, keep our ears open. If we knew for sure there was gonna be a gold shipment it could be our retirement ticket out of this godforsaken mosquito hole to sunny California. What do you say?"

Low, whispered talk continued at the table for some time before it was interrupted...

"Okay, guys, closin' time. Bottoms up," Nye said.

"Ain't no harm listenin' and thinkin' about it, you think, Swede?" Frank said as they headed out the door.

"Yah, no harm. Ask around, listen up...but keep your trap's shut," Swede said as they walked back to the railroad camp.

No one noticed that telltale twitch in his left eye.

To be continued...

"proprietor Nye,"

Knute was the first one to change his name from Ney to Nye.After serving in the army in WW 1, he tired of military mispronunciation of Ney, so he legally changed his name from Ney to Nye

Chapter 4 - Loose Talk at Ney's Saloon

A week passed and Jimmy was hanging out at Ney's one night and struck up a conversation with a railroad dick, who, it seems, had been fired that week. Drinking on the job. After a few of Wilhelm's dime shots Jimmy piped up. "You know about the gold shipment, I suppose?" The man fired back at him, "How do you know about it? That's a hush deal." Jimmy sensed an opening and pressed further. "Heard it from a banker friend in the cities. Said it was first of the month."

"You got that part wrong," the man stammered. Next Thursday night. Gold needs to be in the bank by the weekend. That's all I'm sayin'...even if I don't work for the 'road no more."

Jimmy could hardly contain his excitement. He couldn't wait to get back to the camp and share the news.

To be continued...

Chapter 5 - Maybe not a jackass idea after all

The following morning Jimmy excitedly told his friends what he'd learned from the fired dick at Ney's. "The shipments on for next Thursday. What do you think?" Frank spoke up, "Let's go for it. This is our big chance. What do think, Swede?"

Swede stroked his chin thoughtfuly, finally offering, "Maybe...just maybe. First, though, we need to find out what we might be walking into. Too much we don't know yet. The big thing is how many guards are gonna be on the train. We could be stepping into a hornets nest."

He was quiet for awhile, finally, "Jimmy...go back to Ney's tonight...see if that dick's still around and what he might know about guards on the train. Frank and me...we'll keep our distance."

That night Jimmy was back at Ney's and the detective was there...half in the bag already. Jimmy ordered two shots, gently easing one in front of the dick, and struck up a casual conversation. After a second drink, with his heart pounding, he asked, "You know...we were talking last night about the shipment next week. I suppose you got buddies that'll be workin' the train that night, huh?"

Bleary-eyed, the now inebriated man slurred out, "Nah, only a few guys from the bank's what I hear. No reason to expect trouble."

No reason to expect trouble...sweet music to Jimmy's ears!

Jimmy left the detective, who was now mumbling incoherently to himself, and headed out the door and back to the railroad camp.

To be continued...

Chapter 6 - Full speed ahead: The Plan

With Jimmy's report that few guards would be on the train the men made the decision to go for it. "We gotta keep our cool, guys." Swede warned them. "No slip-ups. From now to Thursday, no hangin' out at Ney's...no, hear me, no drinking between now and then. Too much at stake. You got that?" His left eye twitched more than usual. The two others nodded in agreement.

"Now," Swede continued, "here's the plan. We get three horses, so's to get away from the depot fast."

"Where'll we get the horses, Swede?"

"I thought of that. We borrow 'em...for a few hours. You know that pasture up Mueller Hill Road? East of the first bridge? The guys got saddle horses. After dark we bring 'em down to the depot...tie 'em up nearby."

"Okay," Frank nodded. "Then what?"

"When the train stops at the depot they take on water there. We get on through the caboose and make our way forward...to the car where they got the gold shipment. We surprise the guards, tie 'em up and gag 'em. NO killing, got that?

"Then we take the gold back to the caboose, load it off...and
ride the horses back up the hill fast as we can. It's gotta be quick!"

Jimmy was quick to ask, "What do we do with the gold? Place is gonna be swarming with cops soon as it daylight."

"First thing, see, we leave the horses in the pasture...take the gold and head into the Depot Creek hills on foot. I gotta plan for stashin' the gold, so it's safe for awhile. We gotta lay low after the heist so's not to draw suspicions. We hide the gold and head back to camp. We'll be in bed by the time all hell breaks loose."

Swede went over his plan for hiding the gold.

"Dagnab it, Swede," you're an absolute genius. Nobody'll ever think to look there," Frank said grinning like a Chessy cat.

"Come morning we'll act as surprised as anyone," Swede said.

To be continued...