Los Angeles herald., 1906-04-09


him up in Lake County, was in Los
Angeles Tuesday. He owns the Calls
toga stage line and is one of the old
timers who freighted gold and braved
the terrors of Buck English and his
gang. He has fund of "reminiscences
of the old days when Lake county
was really bad, and has seen gum
plays without end and has peen IN
some of them himself.
In all the years he drove the stage
himself no curt-voced man ever
stepped out in front of his horses and
said "hands up" For Bill was some
thing of a handy man with shooting
irons himself and was more apt 10
fight than quietly submit. But, not
withstanding the reputation that he
had for fighting, his stage was held
up seven times during the years that
Buck English managed to stay out of
iail. Six times the hold-ups went
through easily and no one was ever
caught but in the end the game was
too recklessly played and now Buck
English is in retirement in san
Quentin put away for life.
Buck English drove a stage team for
many years in company with Spiers.
They got to know each other well and
to respect each other for both were
fearless men, but there was something
out in the end, and one day he ran
off some cattle that didn't belong to
him and sold them, and after that be-
came a "hold-up'' The first man
English met after it had been discov-
cred that he was a cattle thief was
Spers. and the meeting was dramatic
to the highest degree.
English Gets the Drop
81 was driving my freight team up
to Middletown one day." says Spiers.
"when l heard a horse coming up
ahead of me and coming fast l don't
know what made me do it, but |
reached down in the boot and pulled
my gun up so the handle was in easy
reach and then man came tearing
round the trail ahead of me riding his
horse for all that was in him When
he got close to me he pulled his horse
hack on his launches and poked a gun
right in my face.
Il saw the horse was winded and
saw the man was Buck English, so l
reached over as if l was reaching Tor
my money but l go my gun and put
it right on Buck and says, You bet
ter put that gun up or I'll shoot you
in the eye. He looked at me and then
he dropped his gun. l kind o thought
il was a Joke. but when he'd dropped
to let me have some money, Bill"
"I reckon not | says. You kind o
scares me when you asks that way
He didn't stop a minute, but went
right on and then, after I'd gone about
half mile some deputy sheriffs
rode up and asked me if I'd seen Buck
English.
~ reckon yes, I says, and told
them where he'd gone but he got away
<
began to be held up. We thought Buck
was doing all the business but
couldn't prove it on him until one day
two fellows put a hold-up through and
one man on the stage that knew Buck
English we'll recognized him. When
they had held the stage up and got
all the money that the passengers had
they made Il break to get across the
mountain over into Napa county, and
when the stage reached Arcadia, Bob
Brownee deputy sheriff, happened to
be there.
Posse Found
"'rm a-goin' to catch that fellow"
he said. and piled some friends of his.
Jack True, Jim Gardner and Theodore
Bell who afterward was congressman,
into a surrey that was standing there.
Well scoot around the mountain
Brownee says. and like as not We'll
catch these fellows on the Berlessa
stage
"They drove around and when they
hit the Beriessa stage road they started
up the trail and as they went around
curve they ran right into the stage.
sitting up on top of it was English
and a fellow named Breckenridge, that
Ihad helped him put the hold-up through.
The stage was heavy and they couldn't
stop it, so Bob Brownlee pulls the
surrey close up against the mountain
side and as he does that Buck English
turns loose on him with a shot gun
loaded with buck shot and smashes
the stock of Bob's gun, but as the stage
goes by Brownlee gets a quick shot in
and shoots English in the stomach, and
then Theodore Bell turns around and
plugs him in the back and he tumbles
off the stage and lies there tryin' to
get at his gun, but not able to reach It,
Breckenridge jumps off the stage
and straits to run away and the boys
shoot at him until he stops and throws