The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-14
LAUGHING SANS ZIG HOLD UP.
He Accepted a Defiance and Secured
100000 Gold.
From the New York Advertiser.

From the New York Advertiser.
Deadwood, s. D.--Durlng discussion Of
the difference in the conditions of moving
gold out of the Black Hills as they now
are and formerly were, Ed Grove, who is
a messenger taking hundreds of thous-
ands of dollars out every month, told for
the first time the real facts of the last
fight between gold carriers and bandits.
The Wells-Farco Express Company in
1888 had an iron lined coach built for the
purpose of carrying gold bars.
at seems only few weeks since we
were arming that old iron coach TO send
Gail Hamilton and his two assistants
across to the railroad with the regular
shipment of gold" said Grove. "They
carried 100000 in little gold bars. The
boys boosted for months before it came,
and every road agent in the country knew
it was to carry on It's initial trip big
consignment. The wagon was in charge
of Gail Hamilton, as brave man as ever
lived. His two companions carried short
shotguns of the breechloading pattern.
and he carried a short Winchester. The
guns were sawed off to be handled with
greater ease inside the coach. Then the
fighting was necessarily at short range.
possble for the bandits to hold up the
treasure stored in the iron coach that he
sent word to the band of outlaws OF
Laughing Sam Carey that he carried a
million in gold and wished they would
hold him up. And that is just what
Laughing Sam did.
1.-The bows proceeded as far as Buffalo
Gan without incident before the stage
reached there Laughing Sam and three
of his men went to the station captured
and bound the men and waited for the
treasure stage. They had light wagon to
carry the gold away, and were ready for
a fight When Gail Hamilton's treasure
stage drove up and the messengers jump
ed out they were met with murderous
fire from the concealed outlaws who had
ambusfed them. Hamilton's two compan-
ions were killed at the first fire, ana he
was wounded, but managed to reach
tree from which he killed two OF the out
laws and wounded third so that he was
afterward captured. In the mean time,
Laughing Sam did not dare leave his cover
and Gail Hamilton was equally cautious
about showing any part of his body.
"But Carey did not dare wait too long
for he knew assistance would soon arrive.
Suddenly he covered the driver of the
coach, who had taken no part in the fight
and ordered him to come to him. Under
penalty of death, he obeyed and then Sam
showed the character of his desperate
courage. The driver was a slight-built
fellow, and, taking him by the shoulder,
he discarded his rife, and with big six
shooter in his hand boldly advanced on
cover of the messenger, the driver acting
as a shield for Laughing Sam. Gail Ham
ilton could not kill the outlaw without
shooting his friend, and was forced to
flee for his life. The humiliation of this
affair did more to kill brave old Gail
Hamilton, think, than the bullets Sam
and his gang fired into him that day, for
he died shortly of a broken heart.
Carey killed the two coach horses that
had survived the fight, and loading the
gold into his wagon fed across the coun-
try toward the Missouri river, abandon
ing his wounded companion. Hot pursuit
was given, but the bold bandit was never
captured, and never heard of after he had
gone fifty miles from the scene of the
fight. The pursuers picked up several of
the little gold bricks that had evidently
bounced out of the wagon of the fleeing
road agent, but nothing more was ever
recovered. His trail was followed to the
Missouri and many of the old-timers be-
lieve to this day that Laughing Sam Ca
rey and his whole team and load of gold
wene lost In the river close to the Nebras-
ka line when he attempted to cross at an
abandoned ford. They argue that he could
never have otherwise disappeared so COM
pletely, and I believe this version.
Strange as it may seem, this was the
last hold-up in the hills of the Wells
Fargo treasure stage. While you hear of
bandits hold up trains in other section,
they fight shy of the hills, and it Is
mystery to me. too, for we carry out of
here much treasure / have gone back
and forth with the shipments for years,
and 1t Is now quiet monotonous. No, 1t
would not be possible to hold up our treas
ure train unless the bandits were pre-
pared to kill the crew as a necessary pre-
caution, but that was the policy Of Laugh
ing Sam, and Il worked with him"
Since the Laughing Sam" episode the
Homestake Company has discouraged its
guards and other employees boasting Of the
amounts of money carried or the plans
made to resist attacks. II IL inclined TO
think that Careys daring raid would
never have been made If the employees of
the company had not boosted that the iron
coach could not be held up. or course II
the road agents had worked as heretofore
and attempted TO hold the stage up while
the guards on the inside were properly
alert Il would never have been accom-
plished, but since so much originality was
exhibited in the style of the last disas-
trious attack on the company money the
men are afraid TO risk provoking any
further efforts in that direction.
First Doctor.-"Well. that's just like
these actressesr'