WELCOME TO
BENTON COUNTY, WASHINGTON
in the heart of the Columbia Basin

page 23, Tri-City Herald, February 12, 1961

By BURTON 0. LUM
Tri-City Pioneer

Thieves Were Active Too/
Steep Pull on ‘Relief Hill’

In the late 1880’s and early 1890’s the steepest grade in the Northern Pacific Railroad’s 
main line was located about five miles west of the west portal of the N.P’s bridge that
 spanned the Columbia.  The railroad track curved south and westerly, for about a 
quarter of a mile from the west portal of the bridge, then made a bee-line for the foot of
 a plateau, then veering easterly, climbed to the top of the plateau now known as 
Kennewick Highlands.  At the top a siding was put in paralleling the main line.  This 
siding was called Relief because from this point west the terrain was quite level.  The 
tired, coal shoveling fireman also received a relief for a few minutes.  The hill that had
 been climbed was called Relief Hill.  It could also have been appropriately called Fuel Hill,
 as many of the early settlers supplimented their sage-brush fuel supply with lump coal,
 which oddly enough, somehow or other, got out of the gondola coal cars and rolled
 down the embankment, off the railroad right of way.  Where it would be seen today
 and gone tomorrow.  Because of the steepness of the hill the speed of all trains
 traveling west were reduced to a few miles per hour.  They were easily boarded by 
anyone on foot.  This was well known to all hobos and tramps.  Many of them 
“hit the rods” at this location. The train crew were always so busy keeping up steam 
to avoid stalling.  They were unable to kick off the free riders.  About 1898 the Northern
 Pacific Railway was losing a tremendous amount of freight in transit.  Its freight cars 
would be boarded, broken open and looted while the trains were traveling.  The 
special agents of the N.P. were confident that the trains were looted at Relief Siding.
  They tried many ways to trap the robbers without success.  The thieves would cease
 when the special agents put pressure on their operations but would resume when
 it was released.  The gang had many hideouts.  The whole bleak area near Relief
 was dotted with empty cabins of the early homesteaders.  They used pack horses 
to carry their belongings and loot, never a horse-drawn vehicle which would leave
 a tell-tale trace that might be followed.  In the daytime they would travel in pairs, 
thus avoiding suspicion.  All of them wore beards trimmed in the prevailing style.  
These beards left little of the face to be recognized.  The beards could be shaved 
off anytime in a few minutes, thereby altering the description of the wearer.  
The Northern Pacific had sought the aid of all the US Marshals and local sheriffs. 
 One day an alert Yakima County sheriff saw three bearded riders leading heavily
 loaded pack animals enter Yakima.  They stopped and tied their animals at a 
hitching post in front of a saloon, and went in for a drink.  The deputy examined 
one of the packs and found reported N.P. stolen goods.  When they came out of
 the saloon, he got the drop on them, disarmed them, marched them three blocks
 to the old Yakima County wooden court house and put them in its basement jail. 
 He then notified Northern Pacific.  Its officers came and examined the contents 
of all the packs in which more stolen goods were found.  A warrant was issued 
and the men held in jail.  The law enforcing agencies of the entire northwest were 
contacted.  A thorough search was made for other members of the gang without 
success.  These three men were tried, convicted and sent to prison.  A year or two
 afterwards, the warden of the prison notified the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office
 that one of the trio had died of tuberculosis.  The only confession he made before
 his death was that they had planned a Yakima jail break.  They had stolen pepper
 from the pepper shaker while they were being fed.  They had made a paper tube 
out of a newspaper, placed the pepper in the tube.  They intended to blow the 
pepper in the jailor’s face but he had never given them a chance.  

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