Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-10-27
THORN AND SHIHH.
THE NOTED DEsPERADoEs EN- ROUTE
TO SAN QUENTIN.
They Are Interviewed by a "Record
Union Representative--Dete
Hume's Brilliant Work.

A week or so ago the REcoRD- UNION
made mention of the fact that Charles H
Thorn, alias Dorsey, and George H. Shinn
two OF the most daring desperadoes known
to the history of the Pacific coast, had been
captured at Chicago by ]. B. Hume, Wells
Fargo & Company's chief detective. Men.
ton was also made at the time of the de-
parture OF Captains E. A. Reddy and G. N
Fish, of the San Quentin State Prison
armed with acquisitions to bring the des-
peradoes back to the prison, whence they
escaped on the LIST of December, 1887.
The overland train yesterday morning
carried the party through this city. en- route
to San Quentin.
Full details of the crimes of Dorsey and
Shinn haverecently been published. Thorn,
or Dorsey, is an old criminal with long
record, and has the reputation of being one
of the most desperate men with which the
officers of this State have ever had to deal.
He stops at nothing evidently, as his
Moore's Flat
STAGE RoBBING EXPLOITS
Goes well TO show. It was on the 1st of
September 1879, that Thorn and his part
ner Ia crime-a man nsmed Patterson
stopped the Moore's Fiat stage while it was
on its way to Nevada City. They presented
two cut. of shot-guns, loaded with buck.
shot, at the heads OF the driver and
passengers, and compelled all to get out
of the stage and stand in row on the
road. Among the passengers was an
elderly banker of Moores Flat. named
William Cummings, who had $4,000 or
$4,000 worth of gold bars, which he was
taking to Nevada City. Thorn stood
guard while Patterson gathered up the
spoils. When he came to Cummings, the
old man resisted, exclainling: This is my
property and you can't have it," He
grappled with Patterson, and the two rolled
over and over on the ground. Thorn
walked along the line of passengers,
deliberately placed his gun to Cummings
head and blew the whole top of his head
off, killing him instantly. The Mortified
passengers offered no further resistance,
and the robbers, after taking everything of
value, departed.
MYsTERIoUsLY DISAPPEARED.
Although the officers of the law secured
the country far and near, nothing more was
heard of the desperadoes until over a year
laler. Both were captured in the East,
brought back to California and tried. Pat
terson was hanged, but in the case of Thorn
an obstinate juror hung OUT until the
other eleven agreed to verdict of imprison-
ment for life.
Dorsey and Shinn were unacQuainted at
this time, and they did not meet until
Dorsey was confined at San Quentin.
Shinn was there to serve twelve years for
robbery committed in Placer county, hav-
ing been sentenced in 1882. During the
previous year he, in company with four
other men named Mason, Steinagle,
Rogers and Frazier, who had been mining
near Iowa Hill, made an attempt to
ROB THE EAST BOUND OVERLAND
Train at Cape Horn. They drew the
spikes out Of the fish plates and moved the
rails in so that when the train came along
it ran off the track. Two of the men COW
cred the engineer and fireman with shot
guns, while the others attacked the ex-
press car. The messenger got down his
rifle and refused TO open the door and the
robbers became frightened and fled.
Railroad detective Burke of this city
captured Shinn on ranch in Colusa
county, and detective Hume and others
captured the other four. Mason turned
States evidence. Steinagle was sentenced
to fourteen years Imprisonment, but es-
SoPCd 4AOA4 ShCAiAA 4BOESo W hCll hAO ldttCi
was bringing him to Court to testify at
Shinn's trial. Rogers and Frazier were
liberated after two juries failed to agree
upon verdict.
THEIR DARING ESCAPE.
The escape of Sh'nn and Dorsey from
San Quentin was a neat piece of work.
Late in the afternoon of December l, 1887,
Shinn, who was prison trusty, was driv-
ing a team out of the yard. Over the
wagon was a tarpaulin, under which
Thorn hid Shinn drove out of the gate
toward the old ferry landing, and when
clear of the Enclosure, the two men fed.
A heavy rainstorm and the darkness aided
the escapes. A day or so later q row. boat
which belonged at San Quentin was found
across the bay on the Contra Costa shore
showing which way the escapes had IN
doubleday fed. They were never heard Of
again until the recent Developments came
to hand.
Detective Hume, however, never, gave
up hope of some day bagging the men
and traced to the end every little clew thai
presented itself. His perseverance was
finally rewarded, and his feat now stand;
at the head of the list of brilliant detective
achievements.