Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1893-11-02
THE MAN HAD SAND.
Quickly Put up His Hands. Then Went
Hack aud .Got Them"


Rack aud .'Got Them"
II have travelled through tho
states OF Washington and Oregon.
and parts OF California, Idaho and
Montana for eighteen years, said "
Southwestern shoe drummer to Shoe
and Leather Facts, Ten years OF
that time travelled by stage, horse
back, steamboat and canal, and my
life has been fuller OF adventure than
that OF most travelling men, II has
been my misfortune To have been
twice held mp by stage robbers,
In both Instances my hands went
upas quickly rs those Of my fellow
passengers, have no patience with
these people who tell what they
would do II they met robbers, |
know what they would do. They
would fall into line with the rest Of
the passengers and reserve their
expressions of Indignation until later
in the day. There is no use talking.
the stage robber has killed and he
will kill again, and man never
realizes how dear his life is until it
Is in actual peril,
One day in October 1877, | was
staging 1t IN Northern California
There were six OF US in the coach,
Wo were talking about stage robbers,
suddenly there was halt, and one
of the party said Speak OF the devil
and he will appear Wen, we all
got out and stood in limo and gave
up our purses aud Watches, Tho
driver had thrown OH the mail bag
and the Wells-fargo safe. There
were two robbers, neither Of them
masked.
They were not polite like the
knights OF the road IN romance. hut
sworc continuously aud without artis.
tic effect One OF the bandits could
not get oaths enough between words.
so he interjcctod n fow choice speci.
mems OF profanity between the syl-
tables, and greatly shocked pro-
fossor from tho Smithsonian insiitu.
tion by the coinage of such words us
Decentralization. meaning hosita-
tion.
"Ihe job was done in about five
minutes. aud the robbers told the
driver TO go ahead, We did SO for
half u mile or 30, when ono of the
passengers, n silent man whom ! had
taken for II commercial man, said To
the driver, TO slowly aud wait for
me at tho ford, He then produced II
Winchester from tho bottom OF tho
a A. A..
alone. Who is he" we asked OF the
driver
"Wolls-Fargo man, ! guess; never
saw him before, but guess he knows
his business. II he comes back he
will have got them; II he don't,
they'll have got him" Twenty min
utes later we heard some rapid iil-
ing We stopped at the ford
"Neally an hour passed, and then
the man who had gone back appearo d
on the trail. lie walked slowly, as
If IN pain and II bloody handker-
chief was tied nround his head
'Drive back and get the box he
said to the driver did you get
'em asked the driver. both Of 'em.
he replied, We drove back In the
middle of the road whore we had
been hold mp beth men lay dead.
The Wclls-fargo detective. calculat-
ing that they would stop TO rifle the
mailbag and the strong box, divide
the plumber and then separate. had
quietly walked back.
Zone Of them he dropped with his
Winchester before he was suspected !;
the other got in one shot before he
fell and that had struck the bravo
man II glancing blow on the head.
! Our property was all restored To us.
We helped bury the dead robbers by
the roadside. The brave officer re.
fused To accept the purse we hastily
made up for him. saying; The com
pany will pay me, gentlemen