The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-09
Old Time Train Robbers
The HdUp Men and Despedoss That Formerly the West

of some of the most desperate cut
Threats of history have been connected
with the James gang, and for years the
authorities were powerless to inter
fere.
Scores of train robberies and bank
thefts have been charged against the
James boys. and the gang was broken
up only when one of the members con-
scented to kill Jesse for the reward Of
fered by the state Of Missouri. For this
crime Bob Ford was convicted ana
sentenced to death, but was pardoned
by Governor Crittenden.
After the leaders assassination sew
eral offshOOts of the band sprang up in
the west. only to be gradually exter-
minated by the encroachment of civil
izatfon and the organization of lawful
authority. OF the members but one of
the Younger brothers and Frank James
are still alive.
Sam Bass and a band of desperadoes
terrorized the west for years, but ali
of them are gone.
The career Of the Dalton brothers,
who confined their operations to the
states in the southwest, was short
lived, and of the twenty criminals who
composed the gang at one time all are
either dead or in prison. Bill Cook, one
of the gang who temporarily escaped
the fate of his companions, subsequent
ly organized another gang, and for
awhile was apparently successful. He
was later arrested in New Mexico and
sentenced to fifty years in prison.
Another notorious gang that has dis
appeared with the march of civilization
was known as THE Wild Bunch, :"
which operated in the west and south
west The gang made it's headuuart-
ers in the towns along the Texas bord-
er, and when hard pressed by the au-
thorities escaped to the Hole in the
Walr' country in Wyoming. This band.
too, has been wiped out by death and
Imprisonment. The same fate has been
meted out to the Rittenhouse, Earring
ton, Logan, Collins, McDaniels, Gates,
Sontag and Mccarthy gangs. and but
a memory remains of the organizations
that at one time were known from
one end of the country to the other
These bands always operated togeth-
er and were embOldened by the pres
ence of others, but the career of BLACK
Bart in California was remarkable
for the fact that he always operated
single handed. Most of this mans
crimes consisted in holding up stages
laden with gold dust from the mines
in the mountains. BY means of care
fully prepared dummies stationed by
the side of the road BLACK Bart
compelled armed men to hand over
their valuables at the point of a.
rifle.
A cuff bearing a San Francisco laun-
dry mark was the first clew obtained
by the authorities as to the outlaw s
identity. After an investigation ii was
found that "Black Bart" was E. c.
Bolton, a highly respected business
man, who, to all outward appearances
was a gentleman. 1t is said on good
authority that he never killed anyone
and that he never robbed a woman. He
was sentenced to six years, and upon
his release led a life of seeming hon
esty.
Fred WittrOCk was another lone rob-
Der who stole thousands before being
sentenced to a long term in the Mis-
souri, penitentiary for the robbery of
a St Louis and San Francisco passen-
ger train, near St. Louis. Nearly $780,
600 stolen by this desperate on that
occasion was restored to the company.
The exploits of Oliver Curtis Perry
in New York are familiar to newspap-
er readers. Twice he robbed express
cars without the aid of confederates
and was captured only by accident.
He put out his eye III the Matteawan
asylum and is now a raving maniac.
OF the hundreds of men who engaged
in robbery as a business not one lives
to enjoy the plumber obtained at such
great personal risk.