Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1880-02-12


proceed a mounted Mexican be
gan firing upon them from th
other side of the road. His fir
was returned by Mr.. DobsoI
and the Mexican was unhorseC
Iwhereupon he beat a precipitat
retreat with two others who ha,
been concealed in the thicket
One of the occupants of th
stage, a lady, was killed, tire
others were wounded, and tn,
stage itself completely riddlec
with bullets.
The band ranged through tn,
foothills, chiefly in Yuba, Ne
vada and Placer Counties, am
terror was spread through th'
whole region. A favorite resor
was the Mountain House, KEEP
by Jack Phillips, between Au
burn and Folsom; another wa
the Western Exchange, OH the
Nevada and Sacramento Road
kept by Mrs. Cullers and he
three daughters.
Hodges, as a sergeon, was a.
Bile TO attend to the dressing of
any wound his men received, ant
he sometimes exercised his pro-
fcssion on those who were so I'M
fortunate as to be injured while
resisting him. Bell and a COM
panion named Bill Gristy, alias
Bill White, met a traveller going
from Downieville to Maryville,
and demanded his money. The
Traveller fired upon them and
fed, but was brought down by
Il bullet in the thigh from Girls
ty's pistols. Alter relieving
him of his cash, DIR. Hodges
dressed the wound and placed
the man in a wagon that hap
gened to come along, telling the
teamstcr to "drive slow and pick
your road" not however, until
he has prospected the drivers
pockets and "found COLOR" a
clear case Of "pocket mining"
Soon after this portion of the
band were attacked near Sacra-
mento, and all killed but Gristy.
Others were killed or captured
in various places. The whole
region was in arms, and Bell re-
allied that the place was getting
uncomfortably warm. He man.
aged, by threats and persua-
sions, to induce Mrs. Cullers to
remove 10 the -Four Greeks
country, near the Merced River,
where he soon followed. To
this woman he was known as
George Brooks. On Monday,
the 9th of October, 1856, Bells
career was brought to a sudden
termination. A party of nine
men, headed by Joseph Belt,
who were securing the country
in search of the outlaw, sudden
ly came upon him near the Mer-
ced River, which stream be had
just crossed on his way from
the rancho of Mrs. Cullers. Bell
was unaware that he was being
pursued, and was sitting care
lessly on his horse, his leg
thrown over the pommel Of his
saddle, conversing with a Mex
lean. The first intimaIion he
received that an enemy was
near was the summons to sur
render, to which, backed as it
was by nine rifles, he gracefully
acceded. He was told to pre-
pare for his final end, and, after
consuming four hours in writ
ing two farewell letters to his
family i'll Tennessee he said he
was ready 10 meet his doom. The
night shades had gathered dark
ly around the fores: trees that
skirted the rushing waters of the
Chowchilla and Merced, and
there, with none present but
omnipresent stars TO witness the
swift justice of his captors, his
lamp of life went out forever.
How many scenes of blood and
piIlage he had enacted, witness
ed by the silent sentiLels of
the night will never be known.
They departed, and the sad
winds sobbed a requiem over
the last resting-place of Thomas
Hodges.