The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1894-04-12
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ou the trigger, and gave the offend
ing nose rake that stopped the itch
ing in short order. Sometimes the
fun is not always on the side of the
road agents Occasionally shotgun
messenger has a little amusement.
This is a man armed with a short
barrel shotgun loaded with buckshot,
who is often sent along with load of
treasure, or when there is reason to
expect robbery. Such man has
been known to sit quietly in the dark
in the interior till the stage drove on
after being robbed OF the express box,
and then get out and steal quietly
back and, with a charge of buckshot,
interrupt the bandits at their work
of opening the box. About 3 o'clock
one September morning in 1873,
Charles Williams was driving the
Shasta Yreka stage up the south grade
of Scott mountain. John E. Reynolds,
the shotgun messenger, being inside.
About eighty rods from the summit
he was ordered to stop by three men,
one of whom kept him covered with a
revolver, standing fully within the
light of the bullseye lantern in the
front of the stage. Williams asked
the man to take his pistol off Of him,
as he was unarmed and did not intend
to resist. As soon as the revolver was
lowered Reynolds fired from the in
side and killed the robber instantly.
The team then began to run. lashed
by Williams, and quickly disappeared
over the summit. followed by four
shots from the two robbers left be-
hind. One of the horses was shot and
soon fell, but the two robbers fed.
The dead man was brought to town
and recognized His two companions
were soon caught and served a term
in the penitentiary. This is but one
Of hundreds of similar incidents that
have occurred on the thousands of
miles of star routes" throug ghout the
West
Among the road agents who made
their names famous was Joaquin Muir
iatta, he whose name was adopted and
made still more famous in less
bloody way by G. H. Miller, known
both in literature and real life as
Joaquin Miller. For several years he
ranged from Los Angeles to Sisikiyou
with band of desperadoes, until
finally laid low by Harry Loves rang
ers. Then there were Tom Bell, the
gentleman highwayman; the motor
ious Jim Webster, Tom Brown and
his brother, and of late years the mys-
terious Black Bart, or Bard. The
latter received his name from the
habit he had of wearing black mask
and writing a few lines of doggerel
on the waybill. He always worked
alone, his operations extending from
one end Of the Pacific coast to the
other. Having no confederates, and
changing his field so often, gave him
immunity for long time, but two or
three years ago stage robber was
laid by the heels in Nevada by Wells,
Fargo q Co. detectives, who claimed
he was the vertiable Black Bart. He
was taken back to California and sent
to the penitentiary. There have been
plenty of robberies by lone highway
men since, but none of them have
shown the ear marks of the myster-
ious Black Bart.
Nowadays the majority of stage
robbers are caught, especially if more
than one is engaged in the job. The
lone highwayman," who confines his
attention strictly to the express box,
has the best chance of getting away
with his booty. After any robbery of
consequence there is always a pour
ing out of seekers for the expected re-
ward, and robbers are given hard
chase for their lives. The slickest
cleanup of road agents on record was
that made by Steve Venard in 1866.
The North San Juan stage was rob
bed by three men near the South You
ba, and posse went out from Nevada
City to hunt the robbers. Steve Ven
ard, armed with a Henry repeating
rifle found the trail and followed it
alone up arugged gorge. While cross
ing the stream that tumbled tumultu-
ously down the canyon, using fallen
tree for bridge. he chanced to look
up and espled one of the robbers sit
ting on the ground few yards away
and taking deliberate aim at him with
revolver. Quick as thought Ven
ard aimed his rifle without bringing
it to his shoulder. and just then dis
covered another robber aiming at him
over the edge of neighboring rock.
There was no time to change his
aim. He fired and the first robber
fell dead. An instant later a bullet
crashed through the head of the
second, projecting but a few inches
above the rock Expecting every in
slant to be shot by the third man,
/ Nenard made a rush for solid ground.
and then discovered his man endeavor
ing to escape by climbing the side of
the canyon some sixty yards away.
A third bullet brought him to the
ground, and fourth rolled him life
less to the bottom of the hill. Ven
ard never ceased to lament the waste
of that extra shot. The stolen treas
ure was recovered. and Venard re-
celved $4,000 reward from the express
company, and gold-mounted rifle,
while Gov. Low appointed him lieu
tenant-colonel on his personal staff
for ''merltorlous services in the field
Harry L. Wells.