, 1889-02-08
NEVADA ROAD AGENTS.
A STORY OF THE EARLY DAYS
OF STAGING OUT WEST.

WIN heihys On buillon IN n Cash
of Moiasscs for Safety.
'Stnge robbing was almost a Iegiti-
mate business in early days." said an old
Comstocker.
1.-THE express company lost a great
deal Of money in that way, and at last
James Cannon was sent up to Virginia
to break up the business. He was a
shrevd man, and he devised more
schemes for outwitting the road agents
than you ever heard OF. He sent treasure
In sacks of potatoes, which were loaded
on prairie ~schooners, and ever the drivers
never suspected that they were carrying
anything more valuable than potatoes. /
have known him to drop n bar of bullion
into a cask of molasses and send 1t
through safely, when he knew the agents
were watching for 1t. 1t was Cannon
who thought of sending shotgun mes
sengcrs on the stages, and he made them
carry their guns with the muzzles rest
ing on their toes, so that they didn't dare
to fall asleep. He broke up stage rob
bling as n branch Of the general mer-
chandise business by making it too
risky.
A RECKLESS l D
while was keeping n saloon in Vir-
ginia City, Glenn Lee and three other fell
lows, whose names have slipped my
memory, came into the camp and started
a big faro game close TO my place. They
had SEQ, 200 in the drawer, and | think
they had got hold Of the coin by holding
up n stage. They did n big business and
were making plenty of money.
at was the custom then to close up
the games at 10 o'clock on Sunday night.
Glenn and N of his partners came to
mo and asked me to mix them up two
bottles of cocktails. He wanted them
in champagne bottles and had the labels
scratched off. / wondered what all that
meant and 1 found out later. l also no.
ticed that Glen Lee had borrowed q
light ovcrcoat from Charlie Dexter.
"As soon as their place was closed,
Clcm and his partner mounted their
horses on D street and rode out of town.
Glen was riding n horse that no hired
from the chief Of police. All tho ami
mails werc good, and MS soon as they
were u of town they had n chance to
show their speed. Tho four horsemen
spurred down the Geiger grade in the
darkness at n terrific rate. If you have
been over that road, you know what n
gallop down the grade on n dark night
means. 1t is n steep and winding road
through the mountains. The turns are
sharp and, where it runs through Dead
Man's Gulch, n slip over the edge would
send horse and rider TO kingdom como in
no time.
THE four gamblers flew over that
road to Washoe faster than anybody
ever went before, and made the thirty
four miles in less time than l would dare
to tell. At Washoe they had four good
horses staked out, and it did not take
them long to shift saddles, try my cock
tails, noun and start off again. They
Knew what they werc after, and they did
not miscalculate time or distance.
"ln those days the stage companies
had good stock, and when the Reno
stage came along six horses were making
1t spin. Four men sprang into the road,
and one of them shouted to the driver to
stop. The driver could not pull up short,
and the men had barely time to spring
aside and avoid the wheels. Glenn Lee
leveled his revolver and fired, and one
of the leaders fell dead. The other
horses tumbled over the one that was
down, and the stage was stopped, but
not before n deputy sheriff on the box
had pulled n gun and sent a ball through
Clem's partner, Dick.
THE MARK on CLEm's COAT.
1.-THE passengers were ordered out and
ranged in line, the driver threw down
tho box, and while the plumber was be-
ing gathered up one of the robbers said
to the disarmed deputy sheriff: 4 think
we ought to kill you, my friend Glen
Leo interfered and said: No; there's
been enough bloodshed. Let him alone
The stage vas put to rights, everybody
got aboard, and it was driven away,
covered while in sight by the robbers
guns.
1.-THE three gamblers buried their dead
pal, but where they dug his grave no
body knows. Then they mounted their
horses, rodo at desperate speed back to
Washoe, changed horses there and
pushed on up tho Geiger grade to Vir-
ginia City, where they arrived at 0 O'Clock
in the morning and Immediately went to
bed. They felt pretty safe, as nobody
would suspect them of having made such
a trip in SO short n time. They could not
have made it without n relay of horses,
md even then they had to ride like
devils.
but there was one little circumstance
that was insignificant in appearance and
fatal in fact. When Glenn Lee sprang
aside to avoid the stage he raised his
right arm and covered the driver with
his pistol. The forward wheel of the
coach grazed the under side of his arm
and ground into the sleeve n streak of
mud that nothing could wipe out. A
lady in the coach was looking out of the
window, and as the coach passed Lee she
saw the mark made by the wheel on his
coat sleeve.
when she reached Virginia City,
and, with the other passengers, was
questioned by Cannon, she said: Look
for n man with n wheel mark on the
sleeve of his light o~vercoat. That mark
was made by n rapidly turning wheel,
and no brush ever was made that will
take it out
Cannon strolled up C street, I'd
Charlie Dexter came along with his
l,-1t y-Aro,a -, r. L.. 80.