Black Bart, Stagecoach Robber© Elizabeth Gibson
May 2, 2000
Black Bart started out his life as Charles E. Bolles (v. Boles). Very little is known about his early life. Some stories say he was born in England, others say New York. His family settled in Decatur, Illinois, where he served with an Illinois Volunteer regiment during the Civil War. He was honorably discharged. Some time after the war he came west to California.
On July 26, 1875, John Shine was driving the stage from Sonora to Milton, California. He was approaching his first stop at Copperopolis, when a man jumped out from behind a huge boulder
and waved a shotgun at him. The thief demanded the treasure box. For a second, Shine thought about resisting. Then he heard the robber say, "If he dares to shoot, give him the solid volley, boys." He looked around and saw six guns trained on him. He abandoned all thought of resisting and turned over the Wells Fargo chest. The bandit hacked open the box on the spot and removed several bags of gold coins and a few express packages. Then the bandit vanished. The bandit was none other than Charles E. Bolles, soon to be famous as Black Bart. As soon as the thief was out of sight, Shine returned to the scene. After looking closely he noticed that what he thought were guns were actually tree limbs carefully placed to look like
guns. He then hastened on to Copperopolis, where he quickly reported the theft. He described the bandit as tall and wiry. He wore a duster coat and a white flour sack over his head. He wore socks over his shoes to mask his footprints. And he was exceedingly polite. The law went out after him immediately, but the thief was long gone. The furor had died down when Black Bart struck again in December. He waited another six months before robbing another stage. His robbery of the stage on August 3, 1877 was notable for the scrap of paper he left behind. The stage had been bound for Duncan Mills. After breaking open the treasure box and stealing $300, he left behind this note: I've labored long and heard for bread
For honor and for riches
But on my corns too long you've tread
You fine-haired sons of bitches.
It was signed Black Bart - The PO8. Wells Fargo detective James B. Hume led the hunt to find Black Bart. He had posters printed and widely distributed. He followed up every clue. He interviewed people in the countryside. But he found no promising leads.
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