The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1913-03-01

TWO Wells Fargo shotgun m-essengere:
The newspapers announce the death
Of ]. II. Squires near Forest Hill, Sierra
County. California, where he had been
engaged in prospecting for . great many
years. He was aged So years. Mr..
Squires thrived on the Comstock during
the sixties. and in 1858. after the rail-
road was built past Reno and Q stage
line established from that place to vir-
ginia. Mr.. Squires, in company with
q few others, built . little mill in Six
Mile Canyon. below Virginia City, and
operated a little mine. The mill used
to have . little run after the robbery Of
any stage on the Geiger grade.
Mr. Squires was one of the Verdi
car robbers. which robbery occurred
near Verdi In 1859. Some of the other
members were: Tilton Cockrell. Jack
Davis (the leader), Gilcrest. Chapman,
Parsons. Chapman was in San Fran
cisco and telegraphed Davis in Virginia
"Mollie is dsad." This meant that the
treasure was aboard q certain train.
The treasure was about $l0O, 900, and
the robbers got it. The great bulk was
finally recovered by Wells, Fargo &
Cos. Express Co., through whom it was
shipped. After the robbery the swag
was divided. and much of it was buried
on Tho hanko of The T~nnkoo a.. lfQ~-~-s
holes. each having his own hole. After
the ceremony. the members divided,
some returning Immediately to Virginia,
and others elsewhere. and each taking
along as much "~wherewithal' as he
could conveniently.
Gilcrest went to Sierra City with
nearly all his share and engaged a room
in a hotel, and noticing some Of Wells
Fargo's men in town, got excited and
threw q great part of his money in q
water closet. A chambermaid soou
thereafter noticed shining twenties in a
wrong place and gave the alarm. Gil
crest was soon thereafter arrested, and
the arrest Of the others followed. For
his information Gilcrest was not ION
victed, but the others were.
During the prison break of 1872, Par
sons, Squires and Oockrell escaped.
Squires and Cockrell were captured in
a few weeks. but Parsons eluded recap
ture for about six years. They were all
Il ON haan nantlv narSonnd and all hoha4o1
themselves properly except Jack Davis.
who was one of the first to be pardoned.
After his pardon he went to Eureka,
and attempted torob a stage at a station
between Eureks and Typo. which were
then prosperous mining camps. The
robbers had taken possession of the sta
ton. and bound and gagged the keepers.
There were two shotgun messengers
OIL board-Eugene Blair and Jim Brown.
There were two robbers who partici-
pated-Jack Davis and Bob Hamilton,
and there was q third who ran away and
was never apprehended for that offense.
but was subsequently sent to the State
prison for another stage robbery. and
that was Frank Clifford, Tom Lauri
wasa fourth member Of the gang, but
all he did was to set two fires on Pinto
mountain warning the presence of two
messengers. but owing to the distance
the two fires looked like one. and the
robbers believed there was but one mes
senger on board the stage.
When the stage arrived at the station
it was dark, and Jack Davis called out
''hands up" Blair thought it was a
joke, being at the station, and got of
the stage. Davis grappled with him and
threw him to the ground. Brown soon
saw it vas N. joke, and while standing
OF the step of the stage tired at the top
man. the buckshot entering in the
neighborhood of Davis shoulders. and
Bob Hamilton ran away.
Davis was placed aboard the stage.
and with fresh horses. returned to Eu-
reka. He died on the way, but before
passing said: "If the other two had
been as game as / was. / would not be
in this tx" This showed there were
three at the station. and one on Pinto
Mountain. Two were convicted-Ham-
ilton and Lauri. and they were subse-
queatly ~pardoned, and behaved them
selves ever after.