Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-06-17
A CAREFUL GUARD.
A story or an OId-Time western
Coach Robbery.
ISan Erancisco Call. |

y
pose you newspaper fellows like that kind
OF stories better than any others. In the
DAYS before rail and telegraph, staging,
Of cOurse, was WeIls-Fargo's bust
ness, and they selected the best men
they could find for what was hazard
OTIS business. | can tell you. Inc
staging from Sacramento TO Marys-
vile vas easy, hut the route from Marys-
vile TO Shasta was tough. II was a long
journey, and the coach was always freight
ed with passen gers-the men inside, ana
the women out on the box with the driver
and the messenger. And here comes in
the Incident Of eXprcss-Inessengerl lie ina,
j have laughed over when il turns up In
my mind, occasionally. | wasn't the sub
Jet Of II, thank God and | do not remem-
Der The name Of the party who hgurea
there. ! remember the incident, though
very well. You have seen these messengers
tTh' cling on stage cOacues in the interior;
scat with the driver. Of course, with n
cooled double hnrrelicd shotgun across hlN
sncC. Well, once upon time Wells
Fargo Lad a stage stopped somewhere be-
tween Chico and Oroville, ADD the road
agents got away with $4,000 or more. not
wiilsiandIug the messenger was there IN
the morning ~ the bright liyht, sitting
Will thc driver. armed and equipped,
n HE ,Xrres, company directed. with
his doubl~barrelei shotgun cut OIL
in the barrels to facilitate han
ding. and the usual sufiicercy Of wire
bUcishot cartridges. The gun lay across
his tnce', half-cOcked, undisturbei, while
he lighwaymcn helped themselves to the
m a'ufe-b0y ard il contents. As soon a.
the new, Of this affair reached hcadquar-
tefs. which Il was not long in doing, the
Inpssivr messenger was Sent for 70 come
r. the Office ~ san Francisco. No delay.
when he arrived, Bos- Mclean took him
into the private room and put lot OF que>-
tiop> To- him.
"Nherc was your gun at the time the
robbers halicd youI'
".Ncro., my knees. Tue usual place
"'Whv in - didn't you shoot the
sCo.ndIel> Why didn't you o. least make
arovement!
80 What. and get killed: Not much
"Thc Superintendent was Wild with
rrce. and lost hi, usual cool manner a he
LOOKED ~ the mon who Vs., more careful OF
his Iic than Of the company's money.
d" Afraid you'd ct killed, ehI'
".ThCy'd a-GIillcd m" in a minute II I'd
a'Nhkcd.'
- " Nv. - lilh lhAifN NV NhI'Al
tendan;. what did we hire You for =
81 he boy from the country shrugged
BIZ shoulders and passed out. But | no.
ticei he didn't do much good for himself
artrward. | couldn't understand it right
Is. nut somehow whenever he got job he
never held on 10 it very long. Somebody
gave him q hint that he had better emsrate,
and think he left the state"
4 81 tho tt-nl IN nrl1p
fhcmsclyes'on their courage and devotion
10 n, interest Of the company"
so they did; but thar exceptions TO
al rul>.. YOU know. The boy from The
country was an exception. Why, sir,
tel! YOU the cXpressmcu Of the old times
were heroic. You can bet al your lead pen
cil, ou that. Perhap- the messengers nova
daJs are pets; but la The time, I'm taking
about il was a case Oi win or Jose your lie,
whether by bullet. knife, or wafer. some
tine, the steamboat messenger would iling
a mailbag for the p0ny-WaSpn driver To-
ca,ch. SAW one OF them do il when ! was
on the wharf. The bag siru,k pie and
Zen in the water. old Charlie 'Ouloourn.
iLs GrNer of the pony-Wagon, wen; over
l,ld !or that bag on the instant. Couldn't
SWIM = stroke, but it made I'D difference
totL, VT. II was an express bas and had
;o w. >.Atd. lie saved IL, but camr neli
downing while doing 80. WcllS-Far-o
gave hlm . watch AID chain for hi-
lmNcry.
Don't ycr remember tn s'oamcr-night,
at ll.c old " cli--Fargo ol.rc ON MOntgom-
oly ,tr,t:" be- continued. There was
no raj in these day. You know, no track
LAYERS nor uaMps. Steamboats, were or
stgon- suit, and tht night before Panama
-t,"u hip sailed there were lively times al
tho corner 81 California and Montgomery.
Tie office was tlron.'d about 10 o'clock
I'm tht evening or thrrcabOIt-. all waiting
iCr the Sacramento mai and for expected
Irmi.taucs- 20 90 forward by the ocean
steiner. VI la; mellow, Jolly, lively lot
they were, 10 be sure, The time 81 wait
ing Wa- Thiltd away by Invitations to drink
IN q ncghborin. saloon, or "A boss
~;oT,-tcltr would cOnyulse the crowd with
tan, II the last practical joke, or y good
yam about the time be- was mining up at
Mormon Bar. Al hearts seemed 20 be
hrmmrg over with life and good nature
and Inst va, the time when the poverty
stricken and unfortunate made their best
strikes. Plenty Of poor people then, aS
low, Notwithstanding the golden dnys. But
nobody ever made an appeal IN vain, il
seemed 90 ~. o. The ging assembled IN
Neil.-Ear.p'> office on ,tclmer-day.
Sometimes p4lefaccd woman with \
lur 4 lmsry-ooL hid- would slide
through the crowd; she had NJ 0c-
,l,,Cn 90 SAY anything. The ready
thumb and foreiinger dipped INTO thr
yCst.pochtt for handy com 20 relieve her
suffering, which WA apparent cnou ;h.
Nobody carried purses in those day; Il
va, Away, the y.>t-pochct that Wa re-
fcir,d to when . coin WIS wanted. won
der" ldGrl the cX.mc>>engDr, at the same
lIt following Gp a yasrlnt tWO-Dlt piece
in i. own vest. III that, the reason the
old pioneer, who reunin to-day don't have
any money. Il va, too easy 90 get At, |
. reckon, H. the first place
The rXIr,-> boys, in the Old days. were
% elias, iy themselves, were they not: 4
Kind u transit ari-toCracY, 80 10 speak, and
ruled every roo-t where they happened TO
Iut up
W Ell. yc,: the Institution l., q little
',hriyclicd now, as 1t wa> phrlsed in last
sundays eau; hut in The old days there
Ha, m army Of prime fellows in Wells
Fmeo's service. 4 few bad eggs, Oi
.our.e; but the majority were grand lot
81 GOOD fellows two good for their own
benefit porhaps. But TN let that pass.
. Tie Toys, il they did not affiliate, did not
oppose one another. The Ply WAS go)d,
ne discipline Wholesome from he head -
DE tot Of the list. Al. the old wr.l-ce.
UD...I.d faces. There were the old ines
s,G-c.- Buchanan VINO was on The south
.IuI,ItcWh,u DJitll, y james, Tom
ID-,y-sll gore OYER the biz river from
which there is uo returning wave.
And don't FORGET 'Catp,.' Who il
With ihcoiLcr yet. Then old Les. FENDER
ea,f: ! wonder ldrDullyj whore d, J..
tucked away. II. could ten you heaps Il
recv stories about Portland and Victoria in
tie earlier ard better DAYS. Ned Tracy.
go. DID YOU ever met Lim! Npl Al.
you ought 10 bayC known him. Hld You
.vcr net old Nod Ir.cy YOU would have
seen nan with warm heart and whit
-uui-,Ee nohlc>t Roman of them ALL
Thee are 'ot 81 tie Tracy somewhere.
elk ILd ibeo. among tac rc-;, a'i first
rate aeu. I'm not Advertising them; only
'ell.D. yoU lbJu, tLcn As 1 knew EN-.
80, #hy dom; you lind ont Hank and I'll.
Norton. Who Used 10 belong 10 the express
brigade hey are fellow, Of infinite hu-
nor. add f..i II the huuOr, and The ,tJr.c>
4 the old times.
There vas time. De ran 90, "when
Freeman ran OPPOSITION 70 Wclls-Far-'-
II wa UP .n IT, morning and wide awake
th.n / con assure you. u wa~ sight %
see the two cXpre,s-wggons tearing down
Montgomery street from tie corner Of
Broadway TO the cOruer OF California. The