The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-12-08
A STAGE ROBBER.
Reno Letter.

Keno Letter
 The popular belief that 1t takes brave man to rob stage, is rudely dispelled by John Marshall, highwayman, now in lail here awaiting trial for stopping the sierra valley stage few weeks ago and compelling the passengers to give up their valuables. Marshall is not formid- able looking man, but he has neverthe- less reckless air about him that makes man whom he threatens to shoot feel that he is likely to keep his word. Since his arrest, being reasonably certain that he will pass the next ten or twenty years in some prison, provided always that his career is not cut short by lynchers, he has devoted much of his time to "reminiscences of his adventures on the road. IL Is sus- peeted, now that he IS at bay, that he takes some delight in casting ridicule apon his numerous victims, but the opin- lon also prevails that there is some ground for il. Every man who has had experience with tram ar stage robbers shows the effects of his fright for years ...,erward.
 Talking abou@assAsse men" Stage s<o6ber Marshall 8lsH.one night m lall. he Idea that II yakeT man of grea, k mistake. can take the sof,est tender ;oai you ever saw. and after txlng him up n ,he right style so the people m the sage will know his profession the minute taey SC, their eyes on him, I'll bet can scare the life out of the best concord load you ever see. This notion that we hurt people. or threaten to hur, them. and that yge arc rough and all that. IS all nonsense r.. d. place, and when the leaders heave m sigh, we level our guns and maybe ire >ho, or two Tn the all to make the horses amp and rattle the driver a little. Then when all hands are looking out of the ".ndows, with ,heir eyes popping out of tnelr sockets. we yell. Hands up" Nine times out of ten that $ all we have 70 say or do. The fellers Tn the coach se, out of their own accord. and we just stand them up in a TOW, and while one of Us holds pistol the others go through iheir pockets and take what few little Aeepsakes they happen to have handy"
 Marshall whittled off an enormous piece of plug tobacco, and. after locating II satisfactorily, resumed: Why. I've been in more'n dszen hold-ups. and in only one were there more'n two of us. When the things got into the papers, though, II was always said that there were dozen fierce highwaymen, all armed to the teeth, and that they shot the stage and the passengers clothes all full of holes. Il was all a lie, of course. The trouble with the people of this country. IS, they rather like to be robbed. guess. It's eastern falling off log. Why. a year ago last winter my pard and l was walking along the mountain road, no, thinking of anything in particular, when along came couple of tenderfeet in a carriage. Before we could catch our breath, one of them threw up both hands. knocking the others hat off. and hollered. For Gods sake, don't shoo,.'
 Well, now, we hadn't any idea of shooting at all, and didn't know those fellers were in those parts; but when they sort O reminded us of our business by commencing to unbuckle their watches and weasels, why, we just took them in charge, of course. and told the ienderfeet never to let us catch them on tha, road again for it was our'n. They thanked us so warmly for sparing their lives that felt little uneasy about 1t. In fact, l was half tempted after we'd le, them 20. to foller them up and kill one or both of them, for somehow they gave me the impression that l hadn't done my full eu,y.'
 He smiled grimly for a moment and added. Now. wha, on earth could 1 do under such circumstances didn't rob those fellers. They made us presents oi what they had Yet. when they %, ,o Wadswor,h they told the people they had had an all-day fight with road agents that the woods was full of them, and tha, they had surrendered their valuables only at the last moment. finding them. selves overwhelmed. These things are all believed, too, even by the old-timers men who ought to know better and my pard have robbed the Sierra valle, stage three times now at the same place I'll tell you how was done. Pard had a Winchester and had couple of Colt. in my belts, but the job was done every time with an old powder-and-ball pisto that had no load in it, and wouldn't have gone off there had been one. for didnh have any caps. Pard would fire hi. Winchester as close to the ears of the horses as he could without dropping them, and would swing the old blunder. buss in the air and holler. Every time il happened just the same. The chaps climbed out, begging that there should be no bloodshed, and we would say there wouldn't be any if the yield was good but that we would have to kill somebody five didn't get enough 10 pay for our trouble. Every mothers son of them would give up things tha, we'd never have