The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-05-29
THE WILD WEST
A Lady Passenger Describes
Her Adventure
WITH A BOLD STAGE ROBBER.
How the Banditti Acted, and
What They Stole.
From the San Francisco examiner.

always felt n great curiosity as to just how it
would seem to be "stood up" by highwaymen
in the course Of her travels. Duty and inclina-
ton calling her many times over the stage lines
running into Lake county from Calistoga and
Cloverdale, she has heretofore felt somewhat
injured and sighted that certain gentlemen Of
the road have always managed to arrange their
little interviews with the stages either just be-
fore or just after she has passed along. Every
other courtesy had been rendered most gener-
ously by the hospitabe people within the Dor
ders of this romantic and charming region.
Now. why did the road agents use her SO
slightngly? This question has troubled her
very much 1t doesn't bother her any more.
Her curiosity is satisfied to her hearts content.
Why? Because she has been there, knows
lust how it is done and can now die happy.
The stage from Cloyerdalc to Lakeport
swung around the corners Of the former viii
lage and took the road over the mountains,
the other day, bearing three passengers be-
sides the driver. The seat beside the driver
was occupied by a lady with hand-bag-in
fact between you and me-your modest cor
respondent. The other seat on the upper deck
was kept in place by Santa Rosa gentleman
and one passenger was inside the coach. The
air was nectar to our souls as it came laden
with all the odors of the mountain woods and
blossoms. The sun was as warm and ardent as
one of Joaquin Millers heroines, and, in fact,
everything was bowling along after the most
approved fashion. The "only lady passen-
ger' was reeling off mentally lot of
verses suitable to the occasion and half
listening to the driver and the other
outside passengers who were swapping lizard
stories The driver was in the midst of
graphic account of section of Arizona, where
the heat was so intense that the lizalds were
compelled to shed their caudal appendages to
keep cool The poem protoplasm had reached
the formation stage as far as the line, "The
glory of an emerald earth, o'erhung by sap
Ihire skies" The drivers lizards had every
mothers son of them, dropped his tail, the
outside passenger was getting green with envy
that the lizard story discounted his, when the
coach swung around little turn, about three
miles from Clovcrdale and passed between
two great rocks called, from the position, the
Devils Gateway" The name seemed to US
very appropriate on this occasion, for just in
the gateway we encountered, on either side OF
our wheeers, two gentlemen in black masks
bearing whole arsenal in their hands and
about heirpersons.
"HatW commanded the leader.
"We're in for it," remarked our driver.
However, we halted. 1t seemed Il good
place to do so. The horses were, perhaps,
tired, and would be better for little rest. At
any rate we halted. 1t would, perhaps, make
ono feel like doing so to suddenly find his gaze
turned down the barrels of three loaded and
cooked guns, one of them being rifle, said
barrels held in range of his head. 1t gives you
queer little feeling, to be sure, and, although
it was my first appearance on any stage IL that
role, I tried not to be awkward. sl
dump out the box" commanded the
leader. 4
"All right" replied the driver, who realized
that the horses might get over the road better
II they did not have the express box to carry
In getting out the box he threw a heavy
mailbag on an upper-deok seat occupied by a
carefully tended package containing an extra
hat, freshly trimmed with bunch of butter
cups, belonging of course, to the lady passen-
ger.
"Oh," cried the owner, utterly obivious of
circumstances, whatever you do, don't mash
my flower"
You may threaten womans life with guns
and pistols, you may bring her face to face
with all sorts of trials and suffering and dan
ger, and she will meet them with heroism and
courage but Just interfere with her millinery
il you wish to upset her self-control and wiring
her soul with anguish.
''Now hold up your hands," ordered the
captain. All hands went up, and we assumed
the attitude of the minister at at the closing
of his sermon when he says: "Now let us
pray"
cd the leader to his comrade
tom, in endeavoring to obey orders and at
the same time keep his cooked reYolvers
aimed at us, stumbled badly, waving his fire
arms around with a looseness that caused little
drops of cold perSplration to trickle down our
spinal columns.
"Get down and unhitch your team, was the
next order to the driver, who obeyed with a
promptness that was admirable.
"Tom, attend to the passengers; go through
that man" indicating the inside passenger.
Now, this was passing the boundaries of the
romantic and getting serious. Your CORE
spondent was not at all frightened, but she
suddenly remembered that she had important
business in Lakeport, and really could not nj
ford to be fooling away time in this way She
wanted TO go home. She reached for her
watch to see what time it was, when sudden
| sense of the position of things caused little
| chills to wander around in various places over
| her. and instead of taking out her watch she
| let go its moorings from the second button hole
| from the collar of her dress, and allowed it to
| slide down into mysterious depths unmoleSted.
| She thought of her mother, and of childhoods
| days in the classic lands of Missouri, when, in
| order to train her up in the way she should 90,
! that mother had found il necessary to clear al
| most half an acre of hazel brush lust back of
| the house. switch 10y switch. Those days
! seemed positively heavenly. Couldn't she say
| something to these men to change their minds
| about going through the passengers? OF course
| GO through that woman's handbag" was
| going 10 be the next order Think of all the
| mysteries of a lady's toilet being exposed to
| the cold gaze of an unSympathetic road agenti
| Think of the perfumery bottles. powder boxes,
cold creams etc, left TO perish by the roadside
! a wild, desperate resolve came in with tho
| thought of her mother. That mother had never
| in her life been to Lakeport but she would
! like to be il she knew what pretty place it
was, SO your correspondent piped out, plead
| ingly:
please gentlemen, let us go on. l have a
| sick mother nj Lakeport waiting for me. She
may be dead before / can get there"
"1he dear old mother, by the way, enioys
/ excellent health, but she would have been
dreadfully sick could she have seen her child
| at this moment gazing into the depths Of three
| gun-barrels aimed at her head. So it was not
as huge a lie rs it might have been, although
/ pretty large and unusual for a newspaper cor
| respondent At this point the driver added
! his persuasive voice, and our guards, maybe
/ thinking they We're consuming too much time
/ gave him permission to Glitch MP and drive
/ on which order, YOU may be sure, was obeyed
/ with cheerful dispatch the pistols and guns
/ keeping us in range until We turned the first
curve in the road, which took Us cut Of sight
. Of our friends.
We drove on in silence for some time Then
/ the Santa Rosa man Eiowled out:
This rs the way You get TO Lake county,
is jtG"
Nhcreupon your spaudeut. who rep
] lescutS Lake county Whenever and wherever
she can 0o SO, snapped back;
81. aN.# q