Short Fiction · Chapter
Holding Up a Train explained
A former outlaw recounts the methods, ease, and dangers of train robbery in the Old West, describing his first holdup in 1890, the importance of surprise, the psychology of passengers, and the constant threat of betrayal by former comrades
What happens
A former outlaw recounts the methods, ease, and dangers of train robbery in the Old West, describing his first holdup in 1890, the importance of surprise, the psychology of passengers, and the constant threat of betrayal by former comrades turned lawmen.
Themes in this chapter
Crime and Consequence
The narrator details the practical aspects of train robbery and the inevitable betrayal and danger that follow.
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
Passengers' exaggerated fear and the contrast between the outlaw's luxurious hideout and the newspaper's false report of their death.
Characters to notice
- Jim
Narrator's partner in the 101 Ranch incident and train robbery; shot a deputy marshal.
- Unknown Narrator
Former outlaw who tells the story of train robbery in first person.
Key passages
“Most people would say, if their opinion was asked for, that holding up a train would be a hard job. Well, it isn't; it's easy.”
Contrary to popular belief, train robbery is not difficult.
The narrator sets up the central argument of the chapter.
“Five out of six Western outlaws are just cowboys out of a job and gone wrong. The sixth is a tough from the East who dresses up like a bad man and plays some low-down trick that gives the boys a bad name.”
Most outlaws are unemployed cowboys who turned to crime, while a few are Easterners posing as desperadoes.
Explains the typical origins of train robbers.
“If you have ever seen a horse that has eaten loco weed you will understand what I mean when I say that the passengers get locoed.”
Passengers become irrational with fear, like a horse that has eaten locoweed.
Describes the psychological advantage of the robbers.