News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-09-06
HELD UP BY ROAD AGENTS.
VETERAN KNIGHTS OF THE BOX TELL
HOW 1T WAS DONE.
The Summary Methods of Black Bart
Talk Between Robbcr ana RO5bed-,The
Man with II Bead on the Driver-A Con-
stable in the Same Box.
from the San Francisco Examiner

e anu MIS-. OiLCOD III" Va AC'tIl
i cisco-a tall man with white cloth Over
: his face sprang into the road from be
D hind bunch of manzanita, and, polling
8 a shotgun right up toward me, cried
, Hold upl'
: 81 held up mighty sudden, and when
he said, Hand out that box, boy
} didn't lose any time, but handed out
that box sorter spry and cheerful, MS
: though [ was anxious to accommodate him.
He did not modest me or the two passen-
gers, or examine us to see whether we
had any money or not, but took the ex-
press box and carried it out of the road
to low point where, as we afterward
found, he opened it. He obtained about
$3.50 in cash, a watch, and diamond
ring, valued by the shipper to the COM
pany ut only 800, but which was really
worth $3.50. The lady passenger got off
very luckily. as she was carrying down
from Quincy about 81, 100 in gold coin,
and this, of course, the robber missed.
''The tall man was none other than the
famous Black Bart, as he left his usual
note in the empty box with his name
signed to it. The diamond-ring man
tried to hold the express company for
the full value of his ring, but received,
of course, only 500.
81 was stopped a second time near
Bangor, in this county, while driving
between Marysville and Laporte. In
this instance there were two of the stage
agents. I was driving through little
gully, and just as the team camo up out
of it two men sprang out from the bush
rs and cried Stop They had the drop
on me, and / stopped instantly. Two
passengers were on board. The robbers
took some stage money I had and So
that man at Bangor had given me to
take his wife and daughter from down
the road further, to Marysville, to see a
circus. had about $25 in back peck
ct, and this the fellows did not find.
They took my watch, but I said, "you
better give that back; you don't want
it," SO one of the men handed it back
The two passengers were made to get
out and hold up their hands. One of
them only held up one hand. When tho
foot pad poked him in the breast with
the cooked pistol and cried, up with
! that other hand it went up in hurry.
| The passenger said: L haven't anything
that you want but the fellow searched
him and pulled out purse that looked
as though it had a large amount of mon
ey. That is something said the rob-
Der. They went through the wagon,
shook the mail sacks, but did not cut
them open, and took what change they
found on the other passengers. This
done, they said, Now drive on, and |
struck out in hurry. The man with
the big purse didn't seem to feel bad,
and finally told me that he only had
$3.50 in silver, and the purse was filed
up with some quartz specimens of no
value The foot pads obtained from rs
all less than $40. We found out shortly
afterward that it was Red Antoine and
one of his men, as they were captured,
tried and sent to State prison within
three weeks from the time of the rob-
berry"
SAID Frank Morse: ~ have during
the psst sixteen years been stopped by
stage robbers no less than ten times. In
these robberies only upon one occasion
did the footpads trouble me or the pas
sengers or rob the mail The men gen
orally had flour sack masks or some
thing of that kind, with holes cut i'll the
same to see through, and they were not
inclined to talk any more than it was /
absolutely necessary. In almost every |
instance they sprnng out into the road
from behind n convenient rock or bunch /
of bushes and cried Halt! in terms that
We're not to be disreanrded, especially as
long as the command was backed up by
shotguns leveled directly upon us
---ss)noe -st-4EfStE--IlS A114a&>I-S-IsS4aS.l
stopped me with a rifle and cried:
Throw out that boxl' l did not work
quite fast enough to suit him, and he
yelled ont: hurry up, or [ will blow the
top of your head off replied: Don't
be in q hurry; will get the box in good
time On one occasion | was robbed |
by four Mexicans, and another time by
one Indian; but the other times it was
white men who stopped the stage. The /.
biggest haul waa 81, 800.
"Upon one occasion when George !
Hackett, the express messenger, was on
board, we saw a man hide behind tree, |
with gun in his hands. Both he and !
Hackett fired at the same minute, and |
Hackett was struck in the face with some !
of the Shots The man broke and ran,
and in the thick brush it was impossible |
to find him. This was the second time
that Hackett had been interviewed that !
day, and ON the upper end of the line
the noted Black Bart had attempted to
stop the stage, but was slightly wounded .
by Hackett; at least, so Bart afterward
told the detectives
"Though have been driving most of
the time since 1872, said James Parker,
81 have never been stopped but once,
and that was on the fourth day of De
cember, 1886, in Bidwell Bar canon,
near where the Gassoway family robbed
the Quincy stage many years ago. L
had expected George Hackett, Wells,
Fargo q Co. 8 messenger, to come down
on this trip, but he did not reach Quin-
cy in time. The only passenger was
Mr.. N. D. Plum, former Sheriff of
Butte county, was letting the team
wollr mn q forottv Io1.Yo Mitch No,
row canon, when a man jumped into
the road with gun in his hand, and
cried: Hold up, there!' pointing the
gun at me. Tell those passengers in
side to get out said he. There are no
inside passengers, / answered. Get
down off there, old man, W. his next
command to Mr.. Plum. Plum started,
but moved rather slow on account of
rheumatism. Hurry upl cried the
robber. He replied, Il will, but give
me little time - you'll hurry
up there, say Get move on you
AS Plum started to climb down 1 no
ticed for the first time a second man
in little gully to the left, Wi h shot
gun pointed at me and resting on top OF
the stump. The first man now called
to this one to come out, and asked me if
my team would get scared if there was
any excitement.
''T don't know, replied, 4 never tried
them He said, Wind your lines round
the brake and get down AS l started
to get down on the off wheel he said,
Here, come down over this wheel, and
come here and hold the leaders
asked him to let me put rock under
he wheel of the stage, All right was
this reply, chuck it under
''As L then came up to hold the horse,
/ tried to get look at him so as to idens
tify him. He saw this and cried out
look the other way. Don't you look Mt
me- Then to the other man he said,
Get your chisel and cut the iron box
out of the stage Then to me. Have
you an iron box2' No. said I, it is Il
wooden one Get up and throw it
down, said he to his partner.
'The box and mail sack we're thrown
out and then the second robber took
chisel and hammer and broke open the
box. This took him longer than the
first one thought it ought to and he said:
Cant you get it openl' Yes, was the
reply, Il can open it alone / thought
he would be watching the other man
breaking open the box and tried again
to look at him, but he saw me and sud:
If you look at me again 1 will blow
bo1a throro,I ,yo,, |