Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1888-07-12
Battling Road Agents.
Eighty Of the Gentry ROutea by Forty Deputy
Marshals.


Marshals.
Road agentsin the border States are beeom-
ing extinct 1t seems like long time ago
that the daily press gave almost daily at-
counts Of the depredations of this class Of
outlaws But in reality it has been but a
very few years since some great battles were
fought between armed officers and the des-
peradoes whose sole aim was robbery, and
principally the robbery Of express and mail
on the stage lines OF the Western States from
Colorado TO California. Stage robberies ten
years ago were of daily occurrence through
out heStates and Territories of that section,
and many an express agent and driver met
death while doing his dtty to the company
herepresented.
Ii required courage, bravery and thor
ough knowledge OF the use of firearms by the
agents of the express companies to stand of
q squad OF road-agents, and there were brave
men needed when an effort was maae.to cap
ture u band of outlaws. One of the latest
and probably the mostnotable capture made
was that in Arizona in 1881. In that raid
band of eighty hard men was thoroughly
broken up by an armed posse of forty Deputy
United States Marshnls formed in Tomb
stone. The speedy and fatal work done by
the law and order men in that attack struck
terror TO the hearts of the robber clement
and since that time there has been but little
holding up OF stages by large and thoroughly
organized road agent gangs.
AN oLD-TpiE EMPRESS AGENT.
6 Denver Republican reportermet Mr.. c. A.,
bartholomew, the man who was in command
of the posse of men here referred to.
The reporter approached him with desire
to learn something of the capture of theroad
agents and the robbery which lead to it.
We'll, this was one time, at least that |
was licked, said Mr.. Bartholomew, referring
to the hold-up, ''but | got even finally 1t
was the only battle | had to fight during the
five years | wac in the employ of the Wells,
Fargo company but it was battle enough.
This was on the 9th of January, 1881 and
some three months previous to that time
there had been hold-up on the Hubbard
stage-hne, running from Tombstone to Bis
bee copper mines in which driver and u
passenger we're killed was at that time a
messenger for the Wells, Fargo Company on
the KeFns 4 Griffith line running from Yuma
TO Tuseon. The company ordered me TO the
-Bisbee line, and during the three
months our stage had run along without any
attempt being made to hold us up. We
usually had large treasure, but we had ex-
eeedingly good luck, and | had begun to
think should escape the road agents.
'ln December, 1850, however, there oe-
curred little trouble in Tombstone which
gave me some fears that it might he my
turn next. The three Clanton boys and two
MncElroys, whom | believed to be of this
gang of eighty road agents, came into town
armed. There was a town ordinance forbid
ding the carrying of firearms, and when any
of this gang of outlaws came into town they
were quickly disarmed. Upon this occasion
the Sheriff told these fellows not to give up
their arms Virg Earp-one of the Earn
hrpf hstsa hal ,NI,a bo
needed deputies would call upon one or more
of his brothers or Doc Holladay The Mar
shall knew that il he demanded the guns OF
these men he would have TO stand Il fight.
He deputzed his brothers, Wyatt and Morg,
and Doc Holiday to assist him. The Clam
ton gang refused to surrender and battle
resulted in which the three carp brothers
were wounded and Billy Clanton and the two
MaeElroy boys and Ike Clanton were killed.
This band of road agents and all of the
rough gambling and thieying element in
Tombstone were enemies 6fthc carp brothers
for the reason that they stood in with and
assisted the law-and-order people of the
town.
"The town was divided in the way that
frontier towns usually were in those days,
and still are Mt present, except that in Tomb
stone this division was probably more
marked than elsewhere One side of the main
street was occupied by rough saloons. gam
>.
while on the other side the stores and better
class of people carried ON their business. The
carp brothers aud Holiday, and many
that class of men who weie well behaved
sporting men, boarded at the Cosmopolitan
hotel, while the thieves and thugs made their
rendezvous at the Grand"
What had this fight and the enmity be-
tween the toughs and the better class of men
tn do with the holding-up ,ofyour stage?"
asked the reporter.
'sWell it had this to do with II: The ac-
ton of these boys indicated that they were
opposed to the thieves and hold-ups, and
their talk was proof enough that they were
friends of the Wells Fargo company. These
outlaws were determined to exterminate Hol-
laday and the Earps if possible A few weeks
after this fight they again shot and woanded
Nirg carp while lac was passing along the
street.
Il had been warned by good citizens that
would BE- attacked, and was urged to keep "a
careful watch on the read Many a time, es-.
pccially at Tucson, crowds of men would
gather around the stage we were ready TO
start and make bets upon my coming nack
alive or dead On the 9Th day Of January,
when we had made about half OF the thirty
eight miles to Bisbee, ] noticed the dust from
horses feet and also where their tracks ceased
TO appear and appeared again in Their road |
remarked to the driver that | thought we
should catch it that day. We had passed
both stations, Charleston and Hereford and
were within eight miles of the end of our trip,
when five men rode out from the brush and
fired upon us. They did not command as to
halt nor Gid they utter any words. was
armed with double-barreled shotgun, fur
nshed me by the company, aud my owuiong-
ranged rife. | turned loose with my shotgun
and the driver turned his leaders around 10
go the opposite way. The horses were
wounded and limping and three of them fell
down before we had proceeded far, and after
wards died. While at n distance exhausted
all my rifle cartridges except one. The vii
lains kept themselves hid by the brush, SO
that | only got one of them and killed one
horse.
"Thc firing ceased and the road agents
sent u Mexican TO ask me TO surrender.
sent them word TO go to the devil. He re-
turned and repeated his request and ] gave
him the same reply. The driver and passen-
gers begged me to consider their lives, re-
minding me that had only one rifle car
fridge and that my shotgun would not reach
the attacking party, while they, being armed
with rifles. could remain where they were and
kill the driver and myself and then approach
and kill the passengers if they desired. / con
,sidered the matter awhile and concluded it
would be better in the end to give up the
$4,000 in gold in the treasi re-box than to
give up our lives to these numbering robbers.
felt satisfied that the result would be the
sending out of a posse of men who could and
would clean up this whole band of road
agents. | gave the driver the privi-
lege of signaling them to approach
My determination to let them have
the treasure almost forsook me when |
saw those five mounted men take the box and
move on. ] felt like giving the leader thelast
rifle ball, but knew it would be death to all
ofus, and the hope ofcapturing them in the
future kept me from doing so.
What was your next moye?"
There was but one move to make then.
That was to move on into town on foot, for
our horses were dead. When | told the story
the business men and mining superiutendents
started in to raise posse of men to capture
the road agents. in which they were endorsed
by the United States district attorney, and |
was given command. | gave Wyatt carp
charge of ten of the forty men and | took the
Others. He acted under my orders, | never
saw a drawer nor a more efficient man than
Wyatt carp. He was gentlemanly and
kind in his conduct toward his men and rem
dered me very valuable service"
.'ls it not probable that Wyatt carp was
urged to his good work by spirit ofrevenge
or is it a fact that his brother Morg was
killed before this posse started out2'
1T is probable that the death ofhis brother
was an incentive to harder work, but Wyatt
Earp is man who believes in right and JUS
tice, and he was ready ut any time to render
his assistance in a WARFARE upon thieves and
holdups. Now, want to say to you that
Wyatt carp and all "a his four brothers were
men of principle, aud they were fighters who
were not afraid of man or devil. They were
all valuable men upon occasions of this kind,
and their unwillingness TO associate with the
tough element of Tombstone was a sufii-
Gent guarantee to me that they did their
work because they believed in the right and
were anxious to see the right on top.
know some people have different view but
/ know what am talking about and shall
never have anything but the truth to tell of
them"
did you not?''
I've captured about thirty-five of them and
killed those to whom | was compelled to de-
liver the treasure-box, and we ran the bal
ance of them out of the country. On the first