The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1888-07-13
Battling Road Agents.
Eighty Of the Gentry Routed BY Forty Deputy
Marsh&4s.

Eighty Of the Gentry Routed by Forty Deputy
MarshA4s.
Road agentsin the border States rebecom-
ing extinct. 1t seems like a long time ago
that the daily press gave almost daily ae.
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 the States and Territories Of that section,
and many an express agent and driver met
death while doing his duty to the company
herepresented.
1t required courage, bravery and a thor
ough knowledge of the use of firearms by the
agents of the express companies to stand off
a squad OF road-agents, and there were brave
men needed when an effort was made to cap
ture a band Of outlaws. One of the latest
and probably the most notable capture made
was that in Arizona in 1881, In that raid a
band Of eighty hard men was thoroughly
broken up by an armedposse of forty Deputy
United States MaFshals 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 element
and since that time there has been but little
holding up Of stages by large and thoroughly
organized road agent gangs,
AN oLD-TIME EXPRESS AGENT.
Denver Republican reporter met Mr.. C.. A.
Bartholomew, the man who was in command
of the posse of men here referred to.
The reporter approached him with a desire
/ IN laopn cpvnathfpp nf fba. aop4,,ra - Abar1,3
agents and the robbery which lead TO it.
Well, this was one time, at least, that /
was licked, said Mr.. Bartholomew, referring
to the hold-up, "b1U / got even finally. 1t
was the only battle l had to fight during the
five years / was 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 a hold-up on the Hubbard
stageIine, running from Tombstone to Bic
bee copper mines, in. which a driver and a
passenger were killed. Twas at that time a
messenger for the Wells, Fargo Company on
the Kerns & Griffith line running rom Yuma
to Tuscon. Th company ordered me to the
Tombstone-Bisbee line, and during the three
months our stage had run along without any
attempt being made to hold us up. We
usually had o large treasure, but weshad ex-
ceedingly good luck, and / had begun to
think ! should escape the road agents.
/ al. III ObEeUlDtF. 1CCO however, IlbIe OE~
Cured o little trouble in Tombstone which
gave me some fears that it might be my
turn next. The three Clanton boys and two
MacElroys, 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. Yirg Earp-one of the carp
brothers-was Town Marshal, and when he
needed deputies would call upon one or more
of his brothers or Doc Holiday. The Mar
shall knew that if he demanded the guns of
these men he would have TO stand a fight.
He deputized his brothers, Wyatt and Morg,
and Doe Holiday to assist him. The Clan
ton gang refused &c = urrender and a battle
resulted, in which the three carp brothers
were wounded and Billy Clanton and the two
MacElroy boys and Ike Clanton were killed.
"This band of road agents and all of the
rough gambling n thieying element in
Tombstone were enemies ofthe 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 at 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
b~ling-houses and their accomplishments,
/ while on the other side the stores and better
class Of people carried on their business. The
carp brothers and Holiday, AID many o
that class 81 men who were we'll behaved
sporting men, boarded at the Cosmopolitan
hotel, while the thieves and thugs made their
rendezvous atthe Grand"
What had this fight and the enmity be-
tween the toughs and the better class OF men
to do with the holding-up ofyour stage?'
asked the reporter.
"Well, it had this to do with it. The ac-
ton of these boys indicated that they were
l opposed to the thieves and hold-ups, and
their talk was proof enough that they were
friends of the Wells-Fafgo company. These
outlaws were determined to exterminate Hol-
laday and the Earps if possible. A few weeks
after this fight they again shot and wounded
Yirg carp while he was passing along the
street.
IDIhad been warned y good citizens that |
would be attacked, and was urged to keep q
careful watch on the road. Many a time, es-
pecially at Tucson, crowds of men would
gather around the stage as we were ready to
start and make lets upon my coming back
alive or dead On the 9th day Of January,
when we had saade about half Of the thirty
1 eight miles TO Bisbee, ] noticed the dust from
horses feet and also wheretheirtr tracks ceased
to appear and appeared again IN theroad. ]
remarked to the driver hat I 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 ont from the brush and
fred upon us. They did not command us to
halt. nor did they utter any words. 1 was
armed With q double-barreied shotgun, fur
niehed me br the company, and my own long
ranged rife. turned loose with myehotgun
and the driver turned his leaders o to
20 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 a distance ] exhausted
an my rife cartridges except one. The vii
lains kept Themselves hid BY the brush, 90
that / only got one Of them and killed one
horse.
nThe firing ceased and the road agents
sent a Mexican to ask me to surrender. l
sent them word to go to the devil lie re-
turned and reaeated his request and l gave
49, fAe sans1 fanlx- The driver and pasBen-
GERS bepned me 10 consider their lives, re-
mindihg mo that ! had only one rife car.
fridge and that my SHOTGUN would not reach
the attacking party, while they beng armed
With rifles. could remain where they vert and
kil the driver and myself and thea approach
and kill the passengers il they desired. con
eidefed the matter awhile and concluded AZ
would be better IN the end 10 give up the
$4,000 in gold IN the treasnre-boN thhn 20
49, ~. 80 A..r.I4wfn4 anHEawo