The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1886-02-24
ROAD AGENTS.
0perati,z Of IIighwaymen on the Pacific
Coast.


Coast.
Mr.. J. b. Hume, chief of Wells, Fargo 4
Co s detective staff remarked to reporter
recently that stage robbers were about as
difficult class of thieves to capture as any
species of crooks in existence. There were
several reasons for this, the principal ones
being that they were always disguised be-
yond power of description and doing their
work mainly in the mountains and at dis
lance from towns, they invariably had q
start of pursuers in country where they
could not well be tracked. Another point
in their favor was the closeness of their
corporations" In former days they
travelled in gangs of four or five or half
dozen, and Systematically went through all
the passengers. or late there is never more
than one or two men to job and passen.
gers are seldom molested, doing away Will
q good many of the opportunities of
chance recognition for subsequent quarrel
over division of the spells that might lead
to a squeal in case of nm arrest on sus-
picion.
stopping stages is on the decrease, Mr..
Hume?"
Well, yes, although this years business
would indicate to the contrary. The boys
have been called on to put on the brakes
pretty often, but the aggregate loss has
been much smaller than for long time.
Stage robbing would die out faster here il
longer sentences were piled on our cap.
lures but even rs it is think few year,
will see it entirely at an end.n
g For what reason-because the risk is
too great?"
the fact that the business don't pay For
merly the mines made almost daily ship
ments of bullion, and good haul would
enable an operator to lay of in comfort for
O year or SO. Now the mines are not doing
SO much and shipments of bullion from of
the line of the railroads are ON the decrease
all the time. This is notably the case up
Bodie way, where, you can see, there has
not been robbery this year. Besides, in
the districts remaining, where large ship.
ments of coin and bullion are made, there
is either a daily messenger or one every
time there is heavy consignment. These
men are always picked for their fighting
qualities, and as their scatter shotguns,
well primmed with buckshot or slugs, never
leave their hands while on the road, the
boys don't care much abont running against
them. Then, again, the Offices OF agents
are not as open as formerly, and the rob
beers don't have chance to spy on what is
being put in the box. This, of course,
makes the stopping of stage kind of lot
terry, and after cracking two or three boxes
and not getting more than the price of
days work of less dan serous character q
road agent is apt to get Disguised and throw
up his position for more profitable business
Some don't though. Constant disnppoint.
ments only serve to make them more per-
sistent, and they keep ON in the hopes =
making haul until they are finally brought
to grief"
"Are your petsn lissipated class Of mon,
as rule ~
mo; the contrary is usually the case
A man has got to have steady nerves to stop
stages successfully, especially when he makes
business of it, as Bhlck Bart did. He had
40 other occupation, AMI in tina seven years
aud half that he was operating he lived
wall on the proceeds of twenty-seven rob-
berries. M. A. Sharp aud Billy Jones, ALA,
Dow, were two men of Black Bart's stamp.
They neither smoked, drank nor gambled
and saved the money that rewarded theii
ventures. Sharp was on understood man
of about thirty-eight years, but was as full
Of nerve and courage as he could well be.
They operated principally in Placer and
Nevada counties in tho summer Of 1880,
and robbed six stages, making an average
of 81 200 from each before being finally
brought TO grief. On the morning Of the
9Th of September, 1880, they stopped the
stage between Bodie and Carson, on which
occasion the box was guarded by Mike
Tovey, one of the companys messengers.
Mike. attempted to pull on them, when
Jones fred, but only succeeded in killing
one OF the stage horses but he never re.
pented the shot, for Mike filed him SO full
OF bullets the next minute that Jones never
knew who killed him. Then Sharp got to
work and shot one of Tovey's arms off, after
which he pretended to run away, Tovey
started for farmhouse few miles away
on foot, intending to get another horse, and
ne had not been gone ten minutes before
Sharp ran back and made the driver give
ap the box, which contained about 300.
He shook Jones and called to him rs II he
were only asleep, but finding him dead
pocketed the treasure and skipped off. He
was captured soon otter, however, and got
twenty years. To show you how frugal he
was, the proceeds of the six robberie,
amounted to little less than $1,000, and
We recovered his unspent half of it, amount
ing to $3.000.-San Francisco Attn.
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