River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1884-02-21
A CHAT WITH 4 HICHWAYMlN.
A Bold Stage-Robber Who Found Ready
Victims in Every Coach.

VICTIMS III EVERY (oaCu
Reno Letter to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Talking about brave men," Stage
Robber Marshall said one night in Jail,
''the idea that it takes a man of great
nerve and daring to rob stage is a
great mistake. | can take the softest
tenderfoot you ever saw, and, after fix
ing him up in the right style, SO the
stage will know his profession the min
ate they set their eyes on him, I'll bet I
can scare the life out of the best Con-
FORD load you ever see. This notion
that we hurt people, or threaten to hurt
them, and that we are rough and all
that, IS all nonsense. We just lay for
the stage in lonely place. and when
bhe leaders heave In sight we level our
guns, and maybe fire a shot or
Two in the air, to make the horses
Jump and rattle the driver a
little. Then, when all hands are look
ing out of the windows, with their eyes
popping out of their sockets, we yell,
Hands upr Nine times out of ten
that's all we have to say or do. The
fellows in the coach get out of their own
accord, and we Just stand them up in a
row. and, while one of us holds pistol,
the others go through their pockets and
take what little keepsakes they may
happen to have.
''The trouble with the people of this
country is, they rather like to be rob-
bed, / guess. It's eastern falling off
log. Why, a year ago last winter my
pard and I was walking along the
mountain road, not thinking of anything
in particular, when along came a couple
Of tenderfeet in a carriage. Before we
could catch our breath, one of them
threw up both hands, knocking the 9th
er's hat off, and hollered For Gods
sake, don't shoot.
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 of 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
tenderfeet never to let us to catch them
on that road again, for it was our'n.
They thanked us so warmly for sparing
their lives that / felt a little uneasy
about it. In fact ] was half tempted
after we'd let them go to foller them up
and kill one or both of them, for some
how they gave me the impression that [
hadn't done my full duty"
He smiled grimly for moment and
added: "Now, what on earth could [
DO under such circumstances? | didn't
rob those fellers. They made us pres
ents of what they had. Yet, when they
got to Wadsworth, they told the people
that they had had an all-day fight with
them, and that they had surrendered
their valuables only at the last moment,
finding themselves overwhelmed. These
things are all believed, too, even by the
Old-timers, men who ought to know bet
ter Il and my pard have robbed the ST
ezra valley stage three times now at the
same place. I'll tell you how it was
done. Pard had a Winchester and l
had pair of Colts in my belt, but the
Job was done every time with an old
powder and ball pistol that had no load
in it, and wouldn't have gone off If
there had been one, for [ didn't have
any caps Pard would fire his
Winchester as close to the ears
Of the horses as he could with
ont dropping them, and / would swing
the old blunderbus in the air and holler.
Every time it happened just thesame,
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 if we didn't get enough
to pay for our trouble. Every moth
er's son of them would give up things
that we'd never have thought of looking
for or demanding. There was only just
my pard and I, but the passengers
would think they could see some of ou1
men behind every tree.
Zone Teller tainted dead away once.
We'd Just got them in row good
when this feller's knees commenced to
knock together, and he kept getting Out
of line l finally thought I'd scare hin
and the rest of them little, so / hol
Tered, pretending to give orders to the
boys hidden behind rocks and trees.
"'Boys, bore hole in this gentleman
| with the light overcoat on if he moves
an inch. or any of the rest of them
''Just then big Teller, the second ont
from the limber-legged chap, had chill
like, and his teeth came together will
such a noise that the other felle1
thought somebody was cooking rifle
and with wild whoop he dropped in {
dead faint. The rest of them though
he had been shot dead. They were too
scared to notice that there had been ~
report of gun. Well, we came nea
OVERRIDING the thing that time. They al
got so faint and sick that it was hard t.
find their valuables. 1t is a great con
venience to a stage robber to have tn,
passengers hand their stuff right out.
Speaking about weapons, why,
have robbed stages up in California anC
over in Utah without any weapons q
all. You don't need any I'll bet
tenner that l can take an old-fashionet
tin candlestick and hold up the bes
stage-load that ever came over thu
mountains. The driver is generally a
badly frightened as any of them. HI
is always looking out for agents, and h,
sees them behind every bush. [ hav'
robbed stages all alone and made thu
driver and passengers give up thei
arms, their watches and money, ant
then dance for me- They thought
had any number of pards back in tn,
rocks, and they didn't dare say peep
Well, of course, that's the grea
advantage we have in our business
We scare them to begin with
and then they see everything double
One man is just as good as fifty in thi
line. He don't need to be hero, eth
er. He just wants little nerve and al
imperious air. IF had alw VS. worke,
alone I'd have been a rich man to-day
and l wouldn't be here either | mad
my great mistake when / commence,
working in partnership. 1t will run
any man in my profession. If / eve
get out of this scrape I'm going to juml
the country The business isn't wha
it used to be years ago. It's to easy
There is nothing exciting about it an,
more. 1t makes me sick sometime
when | think of the tenderfeet | hay
robbed. [ ought to have gone into tn
train racket long before this.
A Maiden's idea of Marriage.