Hysterical Journey To Historic Places

---

A TALE OF JUSCTICE IN PLACER COUNTY

By 1881 the big nuggets had about played out and gold prospecting had become hard work. Ed Steinigal and his pal, George Shinn, decided to give it up and rob a train instead. Ruben Rogers, Henry Frazier, and John Mason agreed to help them. On August 31 they set their plan in motion. A rail was loosened and sure enough they crashed the Eastbound Number 1 at Cape Horn, but by the time the train had arrived they were too drunk to rob it. Frazier mistook some approaching passengers for soldiers and the robbers all fled empty handed into the night. The trail of clues led officers to Mason; he was arrested on September 9, and quickly rolled over on the others. They all lawyered up with top dollar talent convinced they could beat a train robbery beef because the train wasn’t actually robbed. The railroad brought in their top law dogs too, and the proceedings quickly got expensive. Steinigal came up to bat first, was convicted in December and sentenced to 13 years at San Quentin. It was learned during his trial that the railroad was in default to the county for ninety thousand dollars in back taxes. In June of 1882 Shinn was also convicted and sentenced to San Quentin. The legal expenses continued to toll up and Rogers and Frazier were tried together in September. Steinigal agreed to testify against them and was brought back to Auburn for the trial. He managed to escape custody and was heard from nevermore again. Taxpayers, sick of the expense, failed to convict Rogers and Frazier. Mason, on state’s evidence, was granted immunity from prosecution. Shinn was a model prisoner and became a trustee, but on December 1, 1887 he escaped with another prisoner. They returned to a life of crime, but were recaptured in Chicago in 1890 and returned to prison. Shinn was released in 1899 and disappeared. The photo shows the site of the failed train robbery at Cape Horn.

---

Photos

A TALE OF JUSTICE IN PLACER COUNTY
The Capehorn Robbery site is on the railway mainline about 1.5 miles northeast of Colfax, CA. Take Rollins Lake Rd north of Colfax to Carpenter Rd. Take Carpenter Rd east to a gate on the east side of the freeway. The dirt road above the gate wil go to the railroad tracks. Follow the tracks south past the tunnel to the horseshow bend. That is Cape Horn. The robbery took place at the east side of the horseshoe bend. Nice view of the American River from there. The robbers had a cabin on the river below Cape Horn.