The Polite Stagecoach Robber

It is late July 1875, and a man appears before a Wells Fargo stagecoach driver.  The driver is transporting ten passengers on a mountain pass a few miles from the town of Copperopolis, California.  The man in is dressed in a long-soiled duster, but what makes him stand out is white empty bag of flower placed upon his head to conceal his identity.  In addition to looking the part of a bank robber, he is carrying a 12-gauge double barreled shotgun to complete the ensemble.  The man speaks to the stagecoach driver in a low commanding voice and insists he throw down his lockbox.  The man, as was the case in several of his robberies, set a scene where the driver believed he was surrounded by a group of bandits.  The driver, believing he was in danger, throws down the box. The box contained $348 which the man quickly put into mail sack.  As the man is set to leave the scene, a hysteric woman throws her purse outside the window.  The man calmly walks over, picks up the purse and says “Madam, I do not wish your money.”  “In that respect I honor only the good office of Wells Fargo.”  The mysterious man’s name is Charles E. Boles’ history will come to know him as CE Bolton or Black Bart.

To understand how Charles Boles came to rob stagecoaches, it is important to explore his dislike of Wells Fargo.  A farmer by trade, Charles, with the permission of his wife leaves for the mining fields of Montana to strike it rich.  After a few years of mining with little to moderate success, a group of men paid Charles a visit to his Montana operation.  The mysterious men were connected to the Wells Fargo Bank and wanted to buy Charles out.  Charles refused, and with his refusal, Wells Fargo shut off the water stream coming into his property.  Without a steady water stream it made panning for gold nearly impossible.  Charles was forced to abandon his property; he never forgave them.

Frustration and anger set in as Charles Boles transitions into the famous stagecoach robber Black Bart.  He was also known as the Poet of the Sierra or the Gentleman Bandit, Boles was noted for being polite and never firing a shot.  Between 1877 and 1883, it is estimated Black Bart robbed 28 stagecoaches making him a wealthy man and by 1883, Boles starts going by the name Charles Bolton (or CE Bolton).  Black Bart’s wild success as a stagecoach robber garnered attention from around the country including the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency who was tasked with tracking down the fugitive.

In early November 1883, just outside of Copperopolis, California the scene of his very first robbery, Black Bart again attempts to rob a Wells Fargo Stagecoach. This time, Wells Fargo is ready.  On this day, the driver Reason McConnel and his passenger Jimmy Rolleri who is riding shotgun are out on a routine delivery. *  Earlier in the day, Rolleri decided to do some bird hunting along the trail.   It was at that time Black Bart appeared before the stagecoach for a 29^th robbery. Bart demanded McConnel throw down the lockbox and release the horses, McConnel complied with both requests.  As Black Bart was struggling to find his way into the locked box, McConnell found an opportunity to escape.  Knowing Rolleri was nearby, he met up with him about 100 yards from the stagecoach.  McConnel grabs the shotgun from Rolleri and takes two shots, both misses.  Rolleri, being a much better shot, grabs the gun and fires a shot himself.  The shot from Rolleri connects as the fugitive is running through the brush leaving a blood-soaked trail.  The crime is immediately reported to Wells Fargo where they sent agents and local law enforcement to investigate.  James Hume who was a California lawman and detective was called in to search the site for evidence.  What Hume and his team found was several personal effects such as glasses, a belt, three shirts, and a handkerchief.   At the time Hume did not think much of the Handkerchief, but days later the importance of the dirty handkerchief became clear when a laundry mark was noted in the corner.   After a week of searching for a laundry service who uses this mark, they were able to locate where the mark had originated from.  The mark had come from a laundry mat in San Francisco a place Black Bart has been living quite successfully for the past several years.  After Hume and his team had pinpointed the location of the mark, they were able to link the handkerchief to a CE Bolton who the cleaners knew as a wealthy miner.  Hume soon set up a meeting with Bolton to discuss his business dealings in the area, particularly his mining operation.  After a lengthy discussion, Hume asked about the injury on Boltons hand. Growing weary of the conversation, Bolton starts to become uncomfortable, Hume then insists on visiting his residence. ** Bolton claims he has nothing to hide, however what was found in his room was overwhelming evidence of his guilt.  Among the items discovered was a large trunk, three or four suits of clothes which included a suit matching the description of the the man who robbed the stage near Copperopolis.  Perhaps the most damaging piece of evidence was a handkerchief found in one of the pockets with the same laundry mark as the one found at the scene of the robbery. Bolton insists that “somebody may have stolen the handkerchief from me” or he or lost it and someone else found it.  Bolton was clearly agitated and disputed the charges.  He said “Do you take me for a stage robber? I never harmed anybody in all my life, and this is the first time that my character has ever been called into question.” But it was too late, the evidence was overwhelming.

In mid-November 1883, Charles E. Bolton entered a plea of guilty to the single charge of having robbed the Wells Fargo stage outside of Copperopolis. Bolton was sentenced to six years in San Quentin Prison.  During his Prison stay Bolton denied ever being Black Bart or Charles E. Boles. Some historians believe he insisted on keeping the Bolton name to protect the family he had so long ago deserted.  On January 21, 1888, after serving four years of a six-year sentence, Bolton walked out of San Quentin prison a free man.  The local press was interested in stories about Black Bart and were eager to greet him.  He was Bombarded with questions and a reporter asked if he would go back to robbing stagecoaches; Bolton replied, “I am through with crime.”  The last time anyone saw Black Bart was 28 February 1888, however nobody knows the exact date of his death as some reports say he died in 1914, while others say he moved to Japan.  Perhaps we will never know exactly what happened to Black Bart, but the legend of the polite stagecoach robber lives on. 

*The term riding shotgun comes from A passenger riding on top of a stagecoach with a shotgun to deter would be robbers.

** Even though the fourth amendment to the US Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, the practice was not uncommon in the 1800’s.  It wasn’t until the supreme court case of Mapp V. Ohio in 1962 that the Fourth Amendment was routinely enforced.

Black Bart the legend begins. (n.d.). http://www.blackbart.com/legend.php