The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1909-04-14
STAGE COACH ROBBERS
The Days When Road Agents -
Had Great Opportunities.
THRILLING WERE THE HOLD-UPS

THRILLING WERE THE HOLD-UPS
One Victim Had His Itching Nose
Scratched by Highwayman. An
other Used a Clever Ruse to Save
Greater Part of 100000. In Wild
Days of the West 1t Was Often a
War of Wits as Well as of Weap-
Ons.
The old Concord stage coaches
that for years have been plying be-
tween Fairplay and Silverheels, one
of the pioneer routes of the Colorado
mining camps, have just been taken
off and automobiles substituted,
said a western man who was vete-
ran of the Rocky mountain mining
camps. ut is about the last of the
regular stage lines of the old days.
The automobile never can hope
to rise from its commonplace position
as a mere carrier, for the wild days
of the west have passed forever. But
there was romance about the old
Concord, rocking and rolling it's great
egg-shaped body through the wilder
ness, plunging into new sights and
new scenes, and always holding out
a chance of danger.
1t is in the hold-ups that these
~ or IL,
From the rich mining camps of the
mountains they carried passengers
loaded with money and express boxes
heavy with gold dust or bullion. The
lonely reaches of the routes offered
a tempting opportunity for highway
men, or road agents. Thirty years
ago every man who left mining
camp on a coach carried q gun if he
had any valuables with him, and if
there was any amount of gold or sill
Yer shipped there perched on the box
next the driver an alert and hair
trigger guard, who rode the whole
distance with a sawed-off shotgun
crammed with buckshot lying across
his knees,
Little Shooting Done.
There was seldom any shooting,
however. The side that got the
drop first generally had It's way, al
though many a stage guard has been
shot dead by one rObber at the mo-
ment his gun sent a handful of slugs
into the body of another. The hold
ups always selected place where ma
ture favored them, and took the
stage by surprise. AS the painting
team climbed slowly around some
jutting cliff driver and guard found
themselves looking straight down the
muZzles of a couple of ugly looking
Winchesters, while from behind a
boWlder on right or left there rose
another masked man and with rifle
leyeled on their flank ordered, Hold
up your hands!'
DO? Why, there wasn't anything
else to do but comply. A Winches-
ter at 10 PAGES is about as certain
death as prussic acid. Up would go
the hands of driver and guard.
Then, while the guard was disarmed
and the driver put at the head of
his team, the passengers were dis
HAii Dul hCu anu SOnG I'LL OuSIs llC
coach was searched for hiden val
uables, the Wells-Fargo Express box
broken and sacked and the mail bag
ripped and its contents thoroughly
Tifed.
Il had a friend who was held up
one night coming down on the old
Park City stage. AS he stood in line
with hands lifted high awaiting his
turn to be searched his nose began
to itch. Unconsciously he lowered
his hand to scratch it. Instantly a
rifle looked him between the eyes.
Hands up! cried the man be-
hind it.
But my nose itches, and I must
scratch it, expostulated my friend.
Which side?' asked the high
vayman.
The right was the reply. Step
ping forward the gentle highway
man vigorously rubbed the nose with
the muzzle of his cooked rifle, while
the other stood, hands up, vibrating
between relief and fear lest a care
less move might blow nose and all
INTO swift eternity.
Useless Precautions.
When the passengers in the old
coaching days found themselves in
the clutches of the road agents they
msdnctively hurried, during the
snort time that driver and guard
We're being put in proper state of
helplessness, to secrete money and
Ea.uables in the first safe place that
suggested itself. But such precau-
TONS were useless, for there was
small time and smaller opportunity
OF place to hide anything in mere
shell of a coach If a man was found
Without money they stripped him
and searched the stage as well.
The experience of Pat ClOhesy, an
Qld-time mining man of Colorado, is
historic He was in a coach with
Uolen other passengers, none OF
whom knew him, when the command
.1..f1 h%