Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1885-10-03
MEANEST KIND OF A ROBBER.
He Induced George Sykes to Hold Up
Sage Three Times, But he Was
no Friend to the Road Agents.
A $3.50 Job.
[Placerville jCal.) Cor. New York Sun.

The recent stage robbery in Mon
tana, in which a man named Gordor
betrayed his partner, has a great in
terest to an inmate of the jail here
named Tom Kline. Kline is in trou
bic about stage robbery himself
and he claims to know all about Cor
don, who was represented in this
Montana robbery, as conspiring with
the authorities to get at well known
road agent named Jackson into trou-
bic. The Montana stage was robbed
by Jackson and Gordon of $1,000,
but, owing to the fact that the author
tiles We're quickly on their trail, both
were captured before they could Sc
crete the money, Jackson going to
jail, and Gordon receiving $500 and
freedom.
That's the way these fellows work, .
said Kline to-day. They have done
more TO break up the business than
all the detectives that were ever put
on the road You hear every once in
a while how some man goes into the
business alone Well, that's because
there is nobody that you can trust. It
is about the only way that man in
this line can have any safety at all.
Il knew Jim Gordon fifteen years
ago when he. was operating in this
State, and a meaner cuss never drew
breath. He has jugged some Of the
best men on the road When he first
began operations nobody suspected
him. In 1874 he was captured three
times over in Calaveras county, but
got away, though his companions did
not. We never thought there was
was anything singular about it, but
just attributed it to his good luck A
year or two later he was caught again,
and once more the officers failed to
make out case against him. Just
then he was thrown in my way. One
day he suggested that we ought to
be at work, and a more bloodthirsty
man I never saw. He wanted to kill
every passenger and driver on the
Mokelumne road, and was so desper-
ate that began to be afraid to oper
ate with him. Finally he cooled down
and we went into business together.
''We held up two stages in two days
running, and the third day we got
salted. He claimed to know that the
stage that day had big bullion box
on it, and said that the driver was an
old friend of his, who would stand in
with US When the wagon rolled up
to where we were. we jumped out, and
Gordon fired his gun. I got scared,
because [ thought he was going to
overdo the matter, and [ said some
thing of a warning nature to him. He
pretended that his gun went off acci-
Just then we discovered
that there was nobody in the stage,
and Gordon called the driver by name.
The latter said there was no use of |
killing him He had a bullion box,
and would give it up if we would di-
vide. Gordon winked and said Of |
course we would, but he must drive
on and trust to our generosity the
next time we met. He mounted and |
drove on, and Gordon and [ began to
break open the box. We had not been
at work more than ten minutes when
there was a whoop and a yell, and
about a dozen Regulators had us cor
raled. When we came to trial the |
attorney said he feared
he did not have evidence enough to
convict Gordon, and so he dismissed
the suit, but he sent me up for seven
years. I got to thinking about that
thing when [ was in San Quentin, and
I figured it all out Gordon had been
at work on me, and had done me up
for the benefit of the State [ resolv-
ed to kill him when I got out, but [
never found him
1.-TWO years ago I heard OF him
again in the northern part Of the
State. He then went under the name
Of Simmons, because all the boys
hereabouts had got him marked. He
played itup there on old George
Sykes in worse way than he did on
me. George had been in the business
ever since the State was settled, and
he rather prided himself on his abili-
ty to keep out Jail. He often used to
say that the detective hadn't been
born yet who could down him. One
day he fell in with Gordon. At that
time Gordon was passing himself off
as a member Of the Jesse James gang
who had been compelled to move
west because Missouri was too hot for
him. I don't believe any other dodge
could have caught old George. He
was great admirer Of Jesse, and
Gordon put him to sleep every night
for month with anecdotes Of that