alifornia
Gold Country historian George Hoeper reveals what promises to be the
final piece to the 100-year-old puzzle of the infamous poetry-writing
stagecoach robber Black Bart.
For over eight years the mysterious and very polite Charles Boles (alias
Black Bart) plagued Wells Fargo & Co. with a string of at least 28
stagecoach robberies.
During this time, Bart, who operated on foot with an unloaded shotgun
and never robbed passengers or drivers, soon became something of a folk
legend.
Between robberies Bart would live the life of a boulevardier in San
Francisco, unobtrusively hobnobbing with the city’s best.
In 1888 he disappeared from the Palace Hotel in Visalia...never to be
heard from again. Or was he?
Speculation has placed Bart in many places, including the Eastern
Seaboard, Mexico and Japan, but according to information Hoeper has
uncovered, it is more likely the legendary Black Bart met his demise in
the dry Nevada wasteland and today rests in a sandy, unmarked grave.
Reviews
"...immense value and a fine read."
— True West Magazine
“...an enticing account of the enigmatic
stagecoach robber and the searchers who apprehended him....”
—Library Journal
“ ...definitive work on Black Bart. Those with a specific interest in
California history will want to add this book to their collection.”
—Abraham Hoffman, The Californians
“A good read for anyone interested in the American West.”
—Walt McLaughlin, Small Press Review
“...a strong, lively presentation.”
—Diane Donovan, Reviewer, Bookwatch
“One of the Wild West’s most intriguing, if mysterious, bandits
receives fine treatment in this work.”
—Wild West
“Future scholars as well as the casual reader will find this book of
immense value and a fine read.”
—Dave Johnson, True West Magazine
