The record-union., 1893-10-04
MILTON SHARP, THE BANDIT.
An Interview With the Once Notorious
Stage Robber.
He VIII Be in Carson This Morning
to Resume His Term for Many
Crimes Committed.

Milton Sharp, the notorious stage
robber Of Nevada, was here couple OF
hours last evening. He did not have the
freedom of the city, however, only of a
cell in the police station.
Sharp was brought here by Sheriff Bo-
CART of Tehama, who captured him in
Red Bluff a few days ago, to meet War
den Bell of the Carson Penitentiary, by
whom he was to be taken back to the
sagebrush country to begin anew his
twenty-years' term of imprisonment for
stage-robbing, and the wounding OF
officers.
While the officers were here awaiting
| the East bound overland train a RECORD
| UNION reporter had an extended inter-
! view with them, and their prisoner.
! Sharp is anything but typical highway
man in appearance or manner. tie is
small man of about 130 pounds, and short
Of stature. He has pleasant face, which
/ breaks into natural smile as soon as he
! speaks, and he appears to be OF most
| genial temperament.
1t is only when his features are in re-
/ pose that they show that quiet determl-
nation and air of self-control for which
! he is famous. His thin, classical features,
! sparsely covered with a curly black
| beard, give him-especially when talking
the appearance OF mild-mannered
voice is as soft and musical as that of a
woman.
The noted bandit talked freely. He said
! he had been suspected of having killed
/ Messenger Tovey, his old enemy in ANA
| dor County, but that he could prove by
/ persons for whom he has worked that he
was in the northern part of the State
when Tovey was killed. He smiled
/ softly when the reporter suggested that
! he made great mistake in not leaving
! the coast after he escaped from prison
! four years ago, and remarked: es,
! suppose | did, but it'S too late to think OF
| that nOw."
! Sharp is the man whom Messenger
| Tovey wounded while he and his pal
were robbing a stage coach in Nevada
many years ago. His pal was killed by
| TOvey, and the latter was wounded by
| Sharp in turn. He was sentenced for
twenty years, and had served eleven of
them when he escaped. He had quite a
sum of money to his credit in the prison
when he lett the proceeds OF some OF his
| stage rObberies.
Sheriff Bogart states that one day last
week he was looking for man north Of
Red Bluff, when he met two men travel
| ing from the mountains toward that town
| in an old wagon. One was an old hunter,
| but the other struck him as being some-
one he had seen, or whose photograph he
! had encountered among his collection of
| criminals pictures. He had often studied
Sharp's picture, and 1t struck him that
! there was a strong Semblance.
On returning to town he consulted his
rogues' gallery, and then his suspicion
was quite strong that the old hunter s
companion was none other than the man
whose personal acquaintance he long had
! sought.
! He soon found the wagon and the trav-
elers, who had tied up their team and
separated. He followed the suspect
about, being careful to make no mistak 9
in attempting his arrest, as friend who
had known Sharp warned him that he
would be hard man to arrest unless
| taken by surprise.
Bogart saw him enter a shoemaker's s
/ shop and sit down in chair while wait
| ing for some mending he had ordered.
| The officer stepped in and Selling the
man by the arms prevented him from
making any defense, as Sharp is not
| physically strong.
The prisoner asked Bogart quietly what
| he meant, and who he was. Bogart re-
piled that he was the Sheriff, and wanted
him as an escape from the Carson prison.
The man turned to the shoemaker and
said, quietly:
You needn't mind putting in those
pegs-I guess | won't need them"
Bogart searched his prisoner and found
| two big pistols on him. one about a foot
| long. Sharp asked the officer to go with
him to the wagon, as he had left some
money there. This proved to be true,
and the sum was upward of $500. He
said he had earned it by hard, honest
! io l,o
seat was third pistol, Smith IL Wesson
hammerless pocket weapon of the latest
improved pattern.
Sharp denied that he was the man
wanted, and employed lawyers to sue out
a writ of habeaS corpus in his behalf He
was discharged but Bogart had another
warrant ready and rearrested him. Again
/ the court ordered him released, and again
! Bogart arrested him.
| While these proceedings were in pro-
gress the officer was telegraphing for De-
! tective Hume to come and identify him.
| Hume at first replied that Sharp was in
! Canada, and that the prisoner could not
! be him, but Bogart persisted, and finally
the detective condescended to go to Red
| Bluff.
| The moment he and the prisoner met
the recognition was mutual and that
! ended SharD's attempts to invoke the aid
! of the habeas corpus. He then owned
up and gave the officers long and de-
! tailed account of his wanderings since
/ his escape, always insisting that he could
4 prove he had led an industrious, honest
/ life during the time.
Bogart accompanied Warden Bell last
night to see that his slippery prisoner did
not escape. After boarding the train the
officers put on an "Oregon boot" and
shackles in addition to the handouts
Sharp wore from the police station to the
! jail.
On seeing the prisoner at the depot a
railroad conductor says he could almost
swear that about three weeks ago the
man was passenger on his train from
/ Lathrop to this city, but Sharp said he
! had not been as far south as this since he
| left Nevada.
Denis Kearney Tonight.
| At Fourth and K streets this evening