The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1911-11-09
"REMINISCENCES OF HIGH POINT
By G. ". KoadIey, In Garde nGrove Express.
Continued from last week.

tory. We have living in Garder
Grove, man whom most of yor
know, | refer to James CragO and tt
him I am indebted for the particular:
concerning the old four horse stage
1t came rolling into High Point in the
early days. Jim drove stage for the
stage company as did also his broth
er Nate who short time ago died al
Leon. A brother William also drove
The stage line ran over the state
road, starting at Ottumwa, in an ear
ly day (the rail road reached OF
tumwa in the early sixties) the state
road ran from Ottumwa to Abba and
from Abba to Moravia and then tc
Centerville and from there to Cory
don, from Corydon to High Point
and then to Leon. The stage com.
pany made High Point a station and
here they changed horses and both
drivers and passengers ate The
driver had to be a man who could
stand all kinds of the severest wealth
er and be a good hand with horses.
He was quite character in those
days. They got to know the boys
and girls along the route and oft
times they would stop and let a
youngster climb up on the seat with
them and ride, the memory of which
remains in many mind today.
Many thrilling scenes, especially dur
ing war times, were associated with
the old stage coach for they always
carried the mail and many an anxious
father, mother or sweetheart were
waiting to hear the news from the
front. The manner in which the
mail was distributed then, differs
some from what it does now. For
& years the post office was at Isaac
Miller's. When the stage arrived
the mail sack was grabbed and the
entire contents dumped on the floor
or the table and what mail belonged
to High Point was taken and the bal
ance was put back. Oftimes the
stage was filled with soldiers going
to the front and at other times there
would be some of the boys coming
home on furlough respondent in
the uniform of Uncle Sam. Their
appearance was revelation. We
boys looked at them in wonder and
admiration and they could 60 with
any girl in the community Some
times some Of the boys would come
home with broken health never to
return to the front.
Stage driving was not without it's
tragedies. The usual hold-up was
practiced right here in the county the
same as you read of later on in the
west, for you must remember the
stage carried valuables in mail and
packages. Mr.. Crago was mixed up
in a hold up right this side of Center
vile where the mail sacks were cut
open and all valuables taken. The
robbers took the best horses and got
into Missouri. The particulars are
as follows: Mr.. Crago drove from
Centerville to Leon which was SO
mile drive, changing horses twice.
In the fall of 1862 as Crago was
going toward Centerville on his re-
turn trip, five rather suspicious char
acters had got on the stage at Leon
and just after dark he came on the
bottom near the bridge across Wal
nut creek this side of Centerville,
some one yelled out behind him and
he looked into the muzzle of a big
revolver and looking to the other side
he confronted another gun They
told him to just drive off the road a
wait for a second invitation. There
was but one other passenger, an old
lady and it is putting it mildly to say
that she was scared. The bandits
cut the mail sacks all to pieces get
ting quite an amount of money. AS
they were busy with Jim's coach the
other coach could be heard which
was coming from Centerville. Two
of the robbers went down the road
and held it up also ordering the
driver to drive where the other coach
was and thus they had both coaches
at their mercy. They served the
second one the same as the first. The
name of the driver was Sherlock and
he was nearly scared to death, lying
on the ground and begging for mercy
and for them not to shoot him. The
bandits took the lead horses and fled
to Missouri. Jim took the wheel
horses Of both coaches and drove on
to Centerville and gave the alarm.
1t being in war time the news spread
like wild fire and as MANY an old
timer knows, there was an organiza-
ton in the south part of the state
known as the Home Guards. Every
man of them was in the saddle,
heavily armed and in hot pursuit in
a short time. They trailed them to
a back woods region and surrounded
them by stealth and when the leader
ordered them to surrender it is sup
nosed that thew realized what would
hanpen to them if they were caught
and they made a break for liberty
and all We're shot. Jim said that
when the Home Guards came back
with the money and the horses the
people asked them what they did
with the robbers and their answers
DID not agree. one saying that they
Just left them in Missouri and others
tfat they ran them out of the coun-
try. Now Jim remembered what kind
OF clothes some of those men had on
and when Jim met some of the Guard
ne recognized some of the clothing
and he says to them, what you fel-
lows doing with those robbers clothes
on?' and they wanted to know what
re knew about those clothes and he
tod them he remembered the clothes
.1he robbers wore and they said they
foc<