Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-02-12
NEVADA ROAD AGENTS,
A STORY OF THE EARLY DAYS
 OF STAGING OUT WEST.

A STORY OF THE EARLY DAYS
 OF STAGING OUT WEST.
 A Millionaire's Son Traced by Wheel
 Mark Overcoat-A Wild Ride
 with elays-shippins Bullion in a Casl l of Molasses for Safety.
 Stage robbing was almost legiti. mate business in early days" said an old l Comstocker.
 "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 shrewd man, and he devised more schemes for outwitting the road agents than you ever heard of. He sent treasure ill sacks of potatoes, which were loaded on prajrieschooners and even the drivers never suspected that they were carrying anything more valuable than potatoes. I have known him to drop bar of bullion l into a cask of molasses and send it through safely, when he knew the agents were watching for it. It was Cannon who thought of sending shotgun mes- sengers on the stages, and he made them carry their guns with tho muzzles rest Ing on their toes, so that they didn't dare to fall asleep. He broke up stage rob- ping as branch of the general mer- chandise business by making it too risky. --.a..
 A RECKLESS RIDE.
 While was keeping saloon in Vir- 1 ginia City, Glenn Lee and three other fel- lows, whose names have slipped my memory, came into the camp and started big faro game close to my place. They 1 had S20,0o0 in the drawer, and think | they had got hold of the coin by holding up stage. They did a big business and 1 were making plenty of money. ''1t was the custom then to close up the games at 12 o'clock on Sunday night Glenn and one of his partners came to | me and asked me to mix them up two bottles of cocktails. He wanted them ill champagne bottles and had the labels scratched d off. I wondered what all that | n' Int, and found out later. also mo- ticed that Glenn Lee had borrowed q light overcoat from Charlie Dexter. ''As soon as their place was closed Glenn and his partner mounted their horses on street and rode out of town Glenn was riding horse that he hired from the chief Of .pclice. All the ami mals were good. and as soon as they were out of town they had chance to show their speed. Tho four horsemen spurred down tho Geiger grade in the darkness at a terrific rate. If you have been over that road, you know what a gallop down the grade on dark night means. It is a steep and winding road through the mountains. The turns are sharp and. where it runs through Dead Mans Gulch, a slip over the edge would send horse and rider to kingdom come 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 I 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, mount and start off again. They knew what they we, after, and they did not miscalculate time or distance.
 ''In those days the stage companies had goo, stock, and when the Reno stage came along six horses were making Ao oi'iii' NtSh AliSii pl stIlS IulO t11C 4OdOs and onc 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 levelrL lis revolver and fired, and one of the leaders fell dead. The other horses. t,,3nhlel over tho one that was down. ;.;:s! the stage was stopped, but not t"..-orr a deputy sheriff on the box had ru!ie,l |. gun and sent ball through Glenn 5 partner, Dick.
 THE MARK ON CLEM'S COAT.
 'The passengers were ordered out and ran@eu i.1 line. the driver threw down the box, and while the plunder was be- ing gathered up one of the robbers said to the disarmed deputy sheriff: I think we ought to kill you, my friend.' Glenn Lee interfered and said: No; there's been enough bloodshed. Let him alone The stage was put to rights, everybody got aboard, and it was driven away, covered while in sight by the robbers guns.
 pal, but where they dug his grave mo- body knows. Then they mounted their horses, rode at desperate speed back to Washoe, changed horses there and pushed on up the Geiger grade to vir- ginia City, where they arrived at 9 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 a time. They could not have made 1t without relay of horses, and even then they had to ride like devils
 "But there was one little circumstance that was insignificant in appearance and fatal in fact. When Clem 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 a 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 alnpva