Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-08-16
ROAD AGENTS DIscoM.
FITTED.
How q Nevada Stage Driver
Protected the Cash Box.

\ rIIEDs
How q Nevada Stage Driver
Protected the Cash Box.
San Francisco Chronicle.
"'Tsint no use trying ordinarily to
save anything but your lives when q
gang of road agents as knows their bust
ness tackles stage COACH, remarked
Long Bill to \ reporter. "A party oil
men standing on the ground with every
thing ready, no horses to tend to, and
nothing to do but sight their shooting
irons and pleasantly suggest to the
driver to hand down the cash box, has a
big ed 20 in the game. The driver and
guards, or shotgun messengers, as we
call them in the mountains, can't help
being taken more or less by surprise;
and / may remark right here that until
you have been suddenly called upon to
look down the opening Of double
barreled shotgun which has read agent
with his hand on the trigger at the 9th
or end, you have no idea how surprised
you are capable OF being. have been
there. / have had a seven shooter
pulled on me across faro table. have
between my ribs. / have seen four
aces beaten by royal flush; but / was
never really surprised until / looked
down the muzzle OF adouble. barreled
shotgun in the hands OF road agent
Why, my friend, the mouth OF the Su-
tro tunnel is like q nail hole in the Pa
cific Hotel compared to shotgun, from
a certain point OF view. But this is all a
misdeal. was going to tell you about
the time l did see couple OF road
agents left. In '63 there was plucky
little stage driver running out Of Au
rors who had been stopped three times
on the road, but still driving, though
after a man is stopped twice the COM
pany generally lets him do something
else for living, without intimating that
he is any friend OF the robbers.
"Well, this driver | speak of-Dutch
Jake We called him-had worked for the
company for long time, and they knew
him to be q dead square man. Jake
felt dreadful bad about having been
stopped three times, and cleaned out
each time, and swore the shotgun mes
sengers he took along for guards were q
lot OF cewardly blowhards. The next
time Jake had consignment Of bullion
in his box he begged hard not to have
to take along any messengers with him.
At that time you could almost count on
an attempt being made to rob every
stage with bullion on board. The Au.
rora bullion was just the kind the road
agents liked. 1t was run In small bars,
and so rich in gold that it had the yell
low color, not like the heavy white brick
you see on the ComstoCk now. Jake
declared solemnly he had scheme to
fool dose dam roat agents so the stage
manager agreed not to send any guards
with him. When the time came to
hitch up for the trip 10 Wellington's, on
the Carson road, Jake went down TO the
stable and insisted upon having the
ugliest pair of mules that ever winked
death with hind leg put in as lead
team. 'I'll chow how a mule vas more
smart as guard said Jake confident.
", as he whipped out OF town, with
myself as the only outside passenger.
III we get call tonight, Phil, shust you
drop down in te boot, cause me and
dose mules vas goin' to hal some fun.
noticed that Jake had shotgun cock
ed and pointed straight ahead, and told
him if he was stopped and attempted to
raise the gun he would get shot sure.
He said ne did not propose to make
such a fool OF himself, and when / asked
him if he thought the robbers would
carefully place themselves in line OF the
gun, which appeared to be pointed at
the lead mules ears, he said:
"Neier you mind, Phil; nose dose
mules. II we gets call, you drop into
de boot; dots ALL Well, sure enough,
we got call. We we're jogging along
over an easy bit OF road. when, about g
o'clock, couple of road agents sprang
out from some chaparral. One grabbed
the bits of the lead mules and the other
walked toward the coach with his gun
leyeled, and said: Throw cut that
box Just as he got opposite the hind
legs of the lead team Jake's shotgun
went of, and we both dropped into the
boot. l thought every bone in my
body would be splintered before Jake
crawled out, gathered up the reins and
finally got the team quieted down. At
the pop of Jake's gun the mules and
horses had started off on mad run land
we must have bumped, ratified and drag
ged over ten miles of road before Jake
took the reins again. The only damage
was to the mules. Jake had shot away
the inside ear of each mule"
"But what became OF the two rob
bers2" asked the reporter as Long Bill
stopped in his story.
"The robbers? Well, don't know
The company would have buried them,
suppose, if enough of them could have
been seraped of the chaparral to put in
a coffin. Those mules always were con-
sidered high kickers."