The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1899-09-02

Stool Express Cars Have Changed
Things. q
While road agents are busy In the
West holding up trains and securing
from $4,000 to $4,000. every fifteen
days an express train brings into
Omaha, Neb., from the great Home
stake mines more than 5000, 900 in gold,
and the extraordinary aggregation Of
treasure is never disturbed by high
waymen.
Probably no proposition in the West
is surrounded with a greater halo of
romance and exciting adventure than
efforts of the Homestake people to get
their treasure to Eastern banks, and
though the advent of the railroad
robbed the affair Of much of its roman
tic features, the semi-monthly trip of
the treasure guards from the Dead
wood mines to Omaha with from $780,
900 to 100000 in pure gold is not
wholly devoid of interest. For more
than a decade Shotgun" Dick Bullock,
brother of Deadwood Dick, the famous
old sheriff Of pioneer fame, has had
charge of these shipments, and he
boasts that he never lost a dollar.
About the fifteenth and the last of
each month Shotgun Dick" as Bull
lock is Familiarity known to hundreds
of people between Omaha and Dead
wood, can be seen sitting in the rear
Of a dray loaded with the small treas
ure box, termed the Strong box" Of
the Homestake company, sauntering
along from the company's office to the
express office. He carries with him
the old-style Winchester pump shot
gun. 1t is loaded with charges of
buckshot, twenty to the cartridge, and
it's explosion has about the same eff
feet as would the firing of a charge of
shrapnel. To the express a Dick
Bullock follows the money, and sits
with his feet dangling from the door
Of the car while the men lift the heavy
safe into the receptacle which is to
carry it to Omaha. From Deadwood
to Rapid City the distance is so miles,
and the line of road passes through
the treasure was carried overland in
the stage coach, and half a dozen shot
gun messengers accompanied each ship
ment.
1t is considered marvellous that this
aomestake treasure has not been taken
from the train, or at least, that an at
tempt in that direction has not been
made in these fifteen years. In fact,
only one has an effort been made to
rob the train carrying Deadwood treas
ure in twenty years. Bullock was not
aboard that day, but Sam Wilson,
another gritty" man, was. He prompt
ly shot the leader, 10 Wells, and his
only assistant at once surrendered.
This occurred in the big gulch between
Deadwood and Rapid City.
The last great hold-up Of the Dead
wood treasure coach was in 1873, just
before the road. was, completed to
Deadwood. At that time the treasure
was transferred by stage. At Buffalo
Gap the gang of Laughing Sam"
Carey and "Curley" Wilson ambushed
the messengers. Wade Ellis, the gam
est shotgun messenger that ever de-
..ended a pile of gold for pay. was in
charge and he had three assistants.
mountains, and some most inviting
cuts for hold-up purposes. For this
distance Shotgun Dick" pays some at
tention to business, for If the treasure
oox is overtaken by bandits it will be
lin this piece of mountains. After the
train has passed beyond Rapid City
and is speeding toward Omaha, Dick
Bullock makes himself at home. Some
times he is to be found down in the
passenger coaches, but wherever he Is
he carries his old shotgun.
Dick Bullock is n of the few old
express messengers left who guarded
millions in the old days on the lum-
bering old Concord coaches. He has
been under fire from Lame Johnny's
gang, Laughing Sam" Carey's men,
"Curley" Wilson's notorious outfit and
! number Of other desperate bands Of
road agents of lesser fame. But that
was a quarter OLA century ago. when
They were in one of the first iron
coaches put into use by the Wells-Far-
20 people. It was a common old Con-
cord coach, lined with quarter-inch
iron for protection against the bullets
Of bandits.
The messengers felt 50 secure that
they boosted of the vast treasure they
would carry-$100,0 900 in pure gold
md even sent word to the bandit gang
II Laughing Sam" that they were
coming. The bandits in a moment of
:ecklessness concluded they would
show the Homestake people that their
old iron coach was no better as a
treasure box than any other. The out
laws went to the stage station at the
gap ahead of the stage, and bound the
men in charge, then hiding them
selves in the station awaited the ar
rival of the stage coach. When the
horses were drawn up by Hank Rich
ardson, and the guards leaped out, all
lnsuspicious of danger, the outlaws
opened fire. The driver and two Of
he guards were killed at the first shot.
Ellis took refuge behind a tree and
shot two of the bandits dead. He was
in q position that promised to cause
the outlaws trouble. They could not
shoot him and could not leave their
refuge without his shooting them.
Finally, "Curly" Wilson, a big, strap
ping fellow, picked up one Of the stable
men whom the bandits had bound and
laid in the trough Of the stable, and
holding him In front Of him with one
hand, made the fellow q human Shield.
and with the other he proceeded to
,narata = six-shooter. Thus equipped