The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-08-16
YARNS BY A HIGHWAYMAN.


fornia ITO Dig Gold-Robbing the Over
land Coach-NeatIy Captured by Wom-
an-Surrendering to an Empty Pistol.
1t is the proud boast of Jim Smith
that he has passed thirty-three Christ
masses in the California Penitentiary at
San Quentin. He is not, perhaps, the
only '4Ger in State Prison, but he is
probably the only one who has been in
State Prison for some portion of every
year since 40. He came West with the
Argonauts, and never for a moment,
Notwithstanding his long penal servi-
tude, considers himself unworthy to
rank with the best of them. He thinks
they were the most remarkable men of
the century, and his modesty does not
prevent him from declaring that he was
with them. Jim Smith is the patriarch
of the prison. He is the guide, philoso-
pher and friend of the younger con-
victs. He is model prisoner. So far
as anybody has been able to discover,
he has but one fault. He can not leave
stage coaches alone. Once put him in
q place where no stages are to be found
and he is an exemplary man.
Smith has not been q prisoner at
San Quentin steadily for thirty three
years He has been out many times,
but has returned again so speedily,
convicted on the same old charge. that
he has not in all that time missed
Christmas dinner behind the bars.
They gave him sentence the last time
which will keep him in retirement con-
sidelably longer than usual, but no one
entcrtains the thought that he can ever
be broken of his habit while stage
coach runs. His failing is so well
known that Jokes are sometimes
cracked with him on the sub ,ect, and
when he is permitted to converse he
will refer to some OF his exploits in q
way which shows that no amount of
punishment can ever convince him that
the stopping of q coach and the rob
berry of the passengers is anything to be
ashamed of.
Having little extra liberty on the
Fourth of July, Smith found time, and
his callers gave him the casion to talk
freely OF his past life. He had heard
of some recent exploits of highwaymen
which filled him with disgust. In the
course of long conversation he said;
''It is enough to make u '4Jer's blood
boil to hear about the operations of
these sneak thieves who are now work
inc these little country roads. There
amt one in fifty of them that has the
sand i'll him to hold up a thoroughbred.
I've pinched members Of Congress,
Judges OF the supreme Court, eX-Gov-
ernors, argonauts, and big men gen
orally more'n once, but these fellows
don't know anything about men of that
quality-only to dodge them. Staging
ain t what it used to be anyway. When
the overland stages were running it
took good man to stop them. In the
first place they were driven by the
most reckless men you ever see, and
the. men inside of them We're true
Americans. If they gave up it was
because they had to-that was all. The
fellows who t,avel nowadays amt cot
the spirit of 40, or these fellows who
are in the business now neYerd get q
color.
81 remember once early in the six
ties went out in Calaveras County
with two partners to see about stage
that was due ,ust about then. We all
had good guns, pistols and knives, and
we got them ready to use, for in those
days things of that kind were not car
ried for ornaments. The overland
didn't show up as soon rs was expect
ed--some accident had happened to it
in the mountains-and when it did
come it took US little sudden. We'd
been fooling around for several DAYS,
and got little careless, must admit.
One day it was warm and sunny, and
we'all got scattered, though we had an
understanding that, wherever we were,
we were to keep an eye on the road
all the time, and if any of us discovered
the stage, the one dong so was to fire
q shot or two as an alarm signal. Along
about the middle of the afternoon |
heard gun, and a minute later there
came another report that sounded like
a yolley of musketry. 1t puzzled me
little, but | grabbed my shoot NC
irons and made for the road. l had
just got a good position when | heard
another shot little nearer, and then
another volley good deal louder than
the other. Then came the clatter Of
horses and the roll of wheels. 1t was
the stage. | could see her a-coming
You don't see driving like that
these days. She was on two wheels
half the time, and when she
SOb Htdl ChOuSh w AuV dhtl Ilc uuSU
lifted a little could see the gun barre s
a-sticking out of her like quilts on a
hedge hog. The drver-a hard man
thai knew mighty well had the lines
for his leaders in his teeth and those for
the wheelers tied to his brake, and he
had pistol in each hand. Inever saw
grander sight in all my life. wanted
to stop that outfit single handed, Just
for the sake of seeing who was in 1t,
but she had got up trement Gus mo-
mentum by the time she came abreast
of me, and as she fairly shook the earth
when she tipped past where l was
hiding, just ducked my head and let