The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1893-11-18

"A W weps papsF a says paeb 5Aef ef
cowards," said the man in the seat
ahead, as he turned himself round.
but, doesn't it look that way to a
man up tree?" said in reply,
VERY likely, but there's where your
eye deceives you. You've read of these
stage-coach robberies quite frequently
haven't you?"
s'Yes."
Its always where from four to eight
men are held up and cleaned out?''
Most always"
We'll, let me tell you there's another
side to it. I've been right on deck on
several occasions when hold-up didn't
work worth cent. The papers never
seem to get hold of the other side,
though"
Lets go and have cigar and talk
rbout road agents If you have been
held up, give us the particulars. -
eyes, I've been held up" he said, as
we got seated in the smoker. My first
experience was about twelve miles
from Tuscarora, New. There were
seven men in the coach, and every one
of us had shooting irons and sand
enough to use them. We were stopped
Just where we didn't expect it, and
that was the trouble. Before we knew
what was up a fellow had us covered
with two revolvers. 1t wasn't his guns
that made us take water SO much as his
general demeanor. You had only to
glance at him to realize that he was a
devil and held human life as cheap as
dirt He could keep all of us covered
but we had no show at him If one of
us had fired and missed he'd have
lowned the whole crowd before he
stopped shooting. l believe that any
one of us, if alone in the stage, would
have pulled down on him, but as it was
each one feared to draw his vengeance
on the rest. He took watches, rings
and money to the value of five thou
sand dollars from our crowd. He had
rs stuck up for half an hour, and there
wasn't a second in that time he didn't
have his eye on every man and hold
himself ready for shot That chap
stopped over dozen stages before he
got hls dose"
And you spoke of several failures
''Yes, I've witnessed several OF all
the road agents in the West for the last
twenty years not more than five or six
had any business to take to that line
The others We're chumps and failures.
Why I've been from Cheyenne north
when we'd pass three or four dead
bodies in day, corpses of chumps
who'd tried to make a hold-up and got
left. One day, about ten miles south of
The Platte, when there were five of us
in the stage, fellow jumped out and
yelled his yell. Every man in the stage
knew he was galoot by his antics and
the trembling of his voice, and we
weren't n BIT surprised when the driver
out with his gun and dropped him
without checking the gait of his
horses. Another time on the same
road, about nine o'clock of "a pretty
dark night, the driver sees something
ahead of him and pulls up and calls
out:
Who's there, and what 'ye want?
"Im Jim Rich; and holdin' of this
stage up, came the answer.
''You git along!
"'Hold up yer hands or ri shutter
1.-The driver shook his lines and yelled
at his horses, and Jim Rich was knocked
down and run over. He had IL broken
leg, and ! was one to help pick him up
He hadn't sand enough to hold up a
coyote, and the driver knew it the min
ute he heard his voice. At another
time fellow overlook us on horseback
and commanded the driver to halt.
This was also at night, and he rode up
SO close to the right-hand door of the
stage that ] reached out of the window
and got him by the leg. One of the
other passengers came to my assist
ance, and we pulled him off his horse
and held him dangling against the door
for good three miles Then we got
down and gave him the boot and drove
MIN into thicket. He wasn't worth
shooting. He cried and begged like a
boy of ten, and we felt that he deserved
to live on and enjoy his own miserable
society,"
''Then a man has got to be good
one to make successful hold-up?" /
asked
There's where you hit hardpan," he
answered. There may be towards
travelling around out west. but never
met any. The idea that five or six we'll
heeled men are going to submit to be
cleaned out by one II there's show to
atop him is all bosh Its all in the
man and his way of doing business. II
he's got voice with sort of laugh to
it--if he's got gnn in either hand and
keeps 'em moving about like the heads
Of snakes travelling through the grass
II his eyes seem TO be looking right
through you and watching every body
else At the same time, don't make a fool
oe YOURSELF
X 'You mean give up your boodles"