Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-11-05

fOrnia'S many remarkdpie highway
men. A picturesque embodiment. o
daring and adventure he stands fortl
as the first man whose astonishin,
boldness and distinctive personalit!
filed the history Of train robbers will
the thrills Of stirring exploits.
For many years he held up stage ant
train-a quiet, gentlemanly, little mai
with a flowing tawny mustache, mild
eyes and clad always in linen duster
For months he was mystery terrible
and unnamed, until what must have
been an inherent penchant for litera'
ture impelled him to write for the edi'
fication Of those from whom he reap
ed his plunder, whimsical, defian
verses, signed always BLACK Bart, tht
Pos"
In San Francisco, where he lived II
a down-t town boarding house he wa:
known as Charles F. Bolles. After hi:
capture Charles E. Bolton was the
name he revealed. 1t was no doub
real, but as BLACK Bart, the POS" ht
will ever be known.
Just before his capture he lived in g
hotel in Oakland, Cal, where he was
highly respected as a man Of breeding
and intellectual discernment. Here hs
lived quietly, his real character forever
hidden by the panoply Of conventional
tiles and reticence with which he had
clothed himself. That this man Of per-
feet manners and refinement was Black
Bart seemed to confront even the Gre
dulity of the most incredulous.
He did not drink or gamble, but
spoke occasionally, and with much
vagueness of mines in Mexico in which
he was ostensibly interested. He never
disclosed his past, and when com
panion evinced curiosity he politely
diverted the conversation to subjects
more pleasing.
He began his operations in Calaveras
county in 1875, when California had
apparently settled down to the hum
drum Of civilization. The Wells Far
go G. Co., express, driven by Billy
Hodges, on its way from Sonora tc
Milton, was stopped by a soft-spoker
man with a double -barreled shotgun.
II Hodges thought Of resistance his
determination was dissipated by the
discovery that behind the thick timber
and brush that lined the road were
concealed the rest Of the gang. Hodges
could see their hats aid the muzzles
of their rifles.
Let 'em have it, boys, if they re-
sist," the soft-voiced bandit said.
He proceeded quietly to the robbery
and disappeared.
Thus was California set afire by 8
new interest that promised to exceed
that of the wild days Of the first rush
and the fight against mining camr
lawlessness.
It was some time before the state
received its second thrill. On the 2Stt
of December in the same year, the ex.
press from San Juan to Marysville was
held up and looted by the mysterious
wiry little man with the luxuriant mus
tache.
In May, 1876, the express from Rose
burg to Yreka was held up. California
was aroused with a coming Of fear ant
wonder-fear at the mans defiance ant
wonder at his manner and his success
The name Black Bart, the POS, wa:
inseparably connected to his deed:
and his character when, IN the summer
Of 1878, he held up the Wells Fargo
express running from Quincy to Orc.
VILE. After the robbery had been eff.
fected and he had gone, the following
verses were found:
Here I lay me down to sleep
To wait the coming morrow;
Perhaps success, perhaps defeat,
And everlasting sorrow.
Let come what will, I'll try it on,
My condition can't be worse,
And If there's money in that box,
'Tis money in my purse.
Black Bart, the POS.
Each robbery was as much like tht
others as If it had been staged. II
each case the leader alone approached
the coach, he Of the long yellow hair
shotgun, and engaging, humorous
ways. Never had woman been in
convenienced, never had anything beer
taken except money and gold.
In each case there was timber o.
thick brush close at hand, which con
cealed the rest of the gang, who's
numbers were variously estimated
from three to twenty, depending on th'
state of the passengers nerves. AND
in each case had the masked leadel
occasionally given orders to his gant
concealed in the timber to cover SOM
passenger who looked as If he Nigh
show. fight. In several cases, whei
this had been done, the passenger, shak
ing under the muzzles of the guns II
the shadows Of the trees, had collapsed
and sunk to the ground in sheer fright
while the leader was inside the coacl
looking for further loot.
And in each case all that the poss
found was a short bit Of verse, alway
in the same handwriting, signed "Blacl
Bart. the Pos" There was no trail
either coming or going, and how sucl
a gang managed to travel the countr.
on horseback as if on winged steed
was only one of the mysteries con
nected with Black Bart, the Pos.
There seemed to be several gangs
for stages would be held up in the sam
day miles apart, sometimes more thai
fifty or sixty miles by road or trai
possible to horses. Yet not sign o
hoofprint. And in each case it wa
the long-haired man with weakness
for verse.
One theory was that there were sew
eral gangs, acting in concert, and tina
the leader was disguised exactly tn
same in each case, and that the piece
of verse were prepared by the sam
man, as the handwriting was alway
the same. and left behind to create tn
impression that only one gang was a
work.
Rewards totaling something owe
nj Il - h. p