Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1884-08-07
A SHOTGUN MESSENGER:
How One Wan Guarded an Express
Company,s Treasure.

The San Francisco ALtG, OF recent
date, records the death from consump-
ton, of Eugene Blair, a native Of Au-
gusta, Me-, at the age of thirty-eight
years. Mr.. Blair, our informant says,
was for many years in the service of
Wells, Fargo & Co. as shotgun messen-
GER on stage routes, and was well known
throughout Nevada, Utah and Montana
He was held in the highest esteem by the
officers Of the express company for his
fidelity and bravery, which were often
put to severe tests. The following ac-
count of two encounters he had with
highwaymen will be interesting to the
reader and express fraternity generally:
About o'clock P. NJ, February 27,
1877, the stage from Hamilton to Ward,
in White Pine county, New, had reached
q point about two miles out from Ward,
when, without warning or order to stop,
two parties began to fire their guns into
and at the stage. Themessenger, Eugene
Blair, who was on the seat with the
driver, and always fixed for company,
returned the fire Of the party on the left
with a "Wells-Fargon shotgun, loaded
with large buckshot, shattering the rob
ber's right arm near the shoulder and
sending two buckshot into his right side
between the fourth and sixth ribs.
Blair them jumped from the seat to the
ground, when two shots were fired
at Ihim by the other robber Blair re-
turned the fire, when the robber broke
and ran, Blair following and shooting
at the retreating form until he was out
of sight. Returning to the stage, Blair
heard the wounded robber calling that
he would give himself up and that he
was in dying condition Blair assisted
him to the stage and took him into
Ward, where, on the next day after hay
ing his arm amputated, he died. The
coroner's jury found that his name was
John Carlo, a native Of Ohio, aged
twenty-three years, and that the shooting
by Blair was justifable, as it was done in
the defense Of property intrusted to his
care, and while Carlo was engaged in the
unlawful act of highway robbery. I'm
mediately after the inquest, Blair started
in pursuit of the other robber, James Craw-
ford, and soon struck his trail, which he
followed for ten days, capturing the man
in Southern Nevada. Blair brought him
back to White Pine, where he pleaded
guilty and was sent to the Nevada State
prison for term of years. The robber
died in prison January IS, 1881.
On the 4th Of September, 1877, there
was large shipment of money to be
sent by Wells, Fargo & Co., from Eu-
reka, New, to Tybo, to pay off the
miners at the latter place. Eugene Blair
and Jimmy Brown were the shotgun
messengers who were to guard the
treasure through to destination. 1t was
generally known in the region that about
the first of each month such shipments
were made, and that the stage which
carried the messengers would be certain
to have also the treasure on board. A.
J. Davis, alias "Big Jack Davis" (who
had recently been discharged from the
Nevada Stgte Prison at the expiration Of
term for robbing the express on the
Central Pacific train near Verdi, Nov 6,
1870, be being the leader of the band }
Thomas LAURA, ian ex-convict), Bob
Hamilton, (an ex-convictD, and his
brother, had agreed upon plant to take
in the stage at Willows Stage station
whenever they had reason to believe it
was carrying the Tybo money. The
stages left Eureka late in the afternoon
and were due at the Willows station
about o'clock in the evening. Jack
Davis, Bob Hamilton and brother were
to be near the Willows station, and
LAURA was to remain in Eureka until
stage with messenger on board should
leave, when he was to go to the summit
of high mountain about ten miles
from Eureka and at fixed
place build as many fires as
there were messengers on the stage, so
that the fires could be distinctly seen
from the station. As soon as the stage
with the two messengers on board left
Eureka on the afternoon of the 4th of
4 September, 1877. LAURA mounted horse
and rode to the place designated, built
two bright fires as per agreement, and
returned to Eureka without his absence
being noticed. AS soon as darkness
came on so that his confederates could
see the fires they rode up to the station,
and leveling their guns at the hostler
and a raneher, who happened to be al
the stable at the time, demanded a sur
render, which was Immediately complied
With. The two men were bound and
gagged and laid away in stall in the
back part Of the barn, being admonished,
at their peril, to give no alarm when the
stage approached. In about an hour the
stage ratified up to and stopped in front
of the open barn Doors as usual. Blair
was on the end of the seat next the barn,
with the driver, and Brown on the
dickey seat just behind them. AS the
stage came to stop voice yelled out
from the darkness near the stable door.
s'Eugene Blair, surrender" Blair took
ct for d joke, and did not move until the
second command to sect down off Of
there and surrender" Blair Immediately
jumped from the stage, with his short