White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-10-14
GRAPHIC STORY OF NEVADA,S
MOST NOTED ROBBERS DEATH

Jack Davis. the most noted of the
old-time stage robbers of the early
Comstock region and of Nevada, re-
oeived his death wound in the form
of a charge of buckshot while at
tempting to rob the Eureka-Tybc
stage in 1877. During his Comstock
career, to make the play good, he
leased a small mill in Six Mile AN
yon and after every robbery of bull
lion the mill would have a remark
able production, the stamps mean
while being run on barren quartz.
He robbed many stages of their bull
lion shipments in the vicinity Of Vir-
ginia and Carson, operating largely
on the Geiger grade, where perhaps
the most notable of the robheries oc
Cured. His work was suspected but
there was never sufficient proof, as
Davis was too shrewd to get caught.
Finally. when he held up a Central
Pacific train near Verdi and secured
$4,000, he and his gang were cap
tured and sentenced to long terms at
Carson, from which Davis was par
doned, after which his first known
Landitry was the Typo affair.
In this strange hold-up, which
proved futile as to obtaining money,
he for the second time, according to
his dying statement, exchanged shots
with Eugene Blair, a Wells Fargo
messenger, and the volley from which
Davis died the next day was fired by
James Brown, another express COM
pany messenger.
The two messengers were riding
in the box with the driver, Jack Per-
ry, and went along on account of a
large amount of money that had
been shipped to meet the monthly
payroll at the Tybo mines.
Thomas E. Haley, who was in the
wholesale meat business at that time
at Eureka, relates from his memory
of the event the fact that as the
stage passed Pinto canyon on thu
way out a confederate of the robbers.
lying in concealment, observed that
the stage was accompanied by two
messengers and as en- agreed sigma.
hnilt two fires, which could be seer
at Willow station, where the robbers
were waiting. If only one messeng
ger there was to have been but one
fire. This circumstance does not ap.
pear in the printed account of the af-
but adds interest to it.
The detailed story of the event.
which is produced herewith, was
found this week in the bound files
of the Ward Reflex, in the issue OF
September 8, 1877, in the vaults of
County Recorder J. O. McHernan,
and by that paper were copied in
full from the Eureka Sentinel of a
few days before, the same being as
follows:
A bold attempt to rob the Tybc
stage was made Monday evening
last by three highwaymen at the
Willows station, forty miles south
of Eureka on the Typo road.
At 8 O'Clock three masked men
put in an appearance at the station
and leveling their guns at the oc-
cupants OF the house-a blacksmith
by the name of Hood, and a ranch
er named Tremble, who happened
to be present at the time-demand-
ed their surrender, a request which
they Immediately complied with
The two men were bound with
ropes, gagged and laid away IN the
ear of the house, whore they could
not give the alarm.
In about an hours time the stage
came rafting up to the barn, and
as the driver checked the horses a
voice yelled out in the gloom,
Eugene Blair, surrender" The
box seat was occupied by Jack Per
ry driver. Eugene Bland and James
Brown, Wells Fargo e Co.'S mes
sengers. They heard it and for a
moment thought it was q joke, but
as the words were repeated in a
more peremptory way they realized
that the owner meant business.
Blair Immediately swung himself
to the ground, and as his feet
reached it he was saluted by a
double discharge of shotguns, one
from the rear of the stage and the
other from the corner of the stable
just in front of him. He caught
sight of a mar and returned the
fire, when he lost sight of him in
the smoke. He was made aware of
the fellows close vicinity. however.
by feeling the muzzle of the shot
gun strike up against his breast.