Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-17
GUARDING TREASURE
FAMOUS FIGHTS OF WESTERN
EXPRESS MESSENGERS.
The Man With the Sawed-off Shotgun
Where Black Bart Failed-Rid-
died a Car With Bullets.

From the San Francisco Chronicle
The shotgun messenger who guards the
treasure intrusted TO Wells Fargo for ship
ment Is one of the early institutions of the
west that has not been improved upon or
displaced by inventive genius. Many clever
schemes to foil the road agent were tried
by the express companies, and all of them
proved futile.
The bogus box. thrown out by the stage
driver, worked a few times, but the trick
was too simple to last. and a demand for
the other box was enough to spoil It.
The built-in iron box bothered stage robbers
at first but it was easy to send driver and
passengers afoot down the road and break
open the box with cold chisels. and as the
robbers. incensed at being put to so much
trouble usually burned the coach and stole
the horses, the expedient proved too ex-
pensive to the companies.
To James Cannon. in early days a Wells
Fargo detective and later a political boss
in San Francisco. belongs the credit of
first suggesting that the best way 10 pro-
tect treasure would be to put on the seat
beside the driver big. irascible man arm
ed with a sawed of shotgun that would
scatter like a charge of bribery fired into
a California legislature.
Cannon was resourceful man. When he
began work for Wells Fargo stage robbing
was quasi-legitimate branch of commerce
chants were not above going into partner
ship with the hold-up men. even as the
merchant princes OF old New York grub
staked the Captain Kids and Blackbeards
Of their day. When one OF those thrifty
tradesmen shipped treasure by express he
notified his road agent who stopped the
stage and replevined the treasure on COM
mission. The company had to make good
to the merchant. who doubled his money,
minus the road agents commission. and
found the operation more profitable than
The prosaic business of merely selling goods.
Gannon's devices to beat that game were
various and ingenious He concealed money
In sacks of potatoes and once he dropped
q bar OF bullion into CaSk of molasses and
got 1t through safely.
The Ready Shotgun.
When the messengers were put on the
stages it was Cannon who thought of a
scheme 10 keep them awake during the long
night drives. He made IT an iron-clad
rule that the messenger should keep the
muzze OF his shotgun resting upon the toe
Of his boot!
1t Is the boast Of Wells Fargo that no
robber ever got a box from a stage carry
ing shotgun messenger The boast is
almost, but not quite literally true. In 1880
noted road agent named Sharp did get
q toN from the Bodie and Aurora stage
SHARP and his partner, Dowd infested the
road for months and robbed stages prfvate
eonYeySpces and even pedestrians with in
soleilt -l-Ipunity. While they were beng
traced by officers and Piute crackers shey
clrcled back 10 the road and held up a stage
by mere bravado.
one day this audacous pair robbed the
stage going into Bodie and then laid in
wait for the stage coming out, which car
ried Messenger Mike Tovey and a partner.
IoNey got down and walked ahead of the
stage 10 examine the scene of the first rob-
beFy and ran up against a breastwork OF
rocks Sharp and Dowd covered him with
their guns and backed him along the road
TO the stage. The night was dark and
when Iovey reached the stage he stepped
back OF the lantern and whispered TO his
partner to pass down a gun.
Iovey, being In the dark and the light
binding the robbers. the passing Of the
gun was unseen and Tovey blazed away
and killed Dowd. He then ran around the
stage to get a shot at Sharp. but Sharp
hred first and hit him in the arm and then
ran into the woods
The two messengers went back I'D the
road 70 a house to get Towers wound
dressed leaving the driver with the stage
and as soon as they were out of sight Sharp
stepped out Of the woods and robbed the
stage. paying no attention to the body or
Dowd Dowd's handbook showing a CON
siderable deposit IN the Hibernia Bank
was the Glue that led TO the capture of
Sharp
Tovey was wounded in 1892 while guard
ing the stage from san Audreas TO Sheep
Ranch in Calaveras. A robber fired into