The First Train Robbery On the Pacific Coast by James H. Kinkead

First Train Robbery On The Pacific Coast - Page 2

Washoe City was then the county-seat of Washoe County, and the first news of the robbery reached the Sheriff's office at 8 o'clock in the morning. The message came from C. C. Pendergast, Wells-Fargo agent at Virginia City, and read: "Train robbed between Truckee and Verdi; robbers gone south."

The Sheriff, Charley Pegg, and his under sheriff immediately saddled up and struck for the mountains by a short cut, assuming that the robbers would take the Truckee route between Truckee, Carson City, and Virginia City. Thus they expected to head off the robbers. After striking the trail the officers followed it northerly for a few miles and then returned to Washoe City, for they were convinced that no one had passed over the trail since a light fall of snow a week before.

The message from Pendergast proved to be misleading, since the robbery occurred below Verdi instead of above it, and the officers lost the first day. They were just in time, however, to catch Dwyer's stage to Reno at 9 o'clock that night.

Washoe City, Nevada, 1866, Lawrence & Houseworth.

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

The Deputy Sheriff took passage on this stage, and upon reaching Reno learned that the Wells-Fargo detectives and some of the railroad and Reno officials, together with a posse of citizens from Reno, had been out all day on a "sure clue" which afterwards proved to be a false one.

Early the next morning the Washoe County officer with a fresh horse went to the scene of the robbery, and after carefully examining the ground discovered one footprint which was easily distinguished from the others. It was made by a boot having a very small heel, such as the dudes and the gamblers wore in those days and our wives and daughters wear now. No laboring man or railroad employee ever wore that boot, and it was too soon after the robbery for the curious to have visited the ground, so the officer in charge of the party knew that if he could find that track and follow it after it left the scene of the robbery he would be sure to land at least one of the robbers.

After spending some time examining the ground up and down the track he finally reached a point about a mile west where the small heel print and two of the larger ones left the track and led off to the north. The robbers had evidently walked for quite a distance on the railroad ties to prevent being trailed. The officer followed these tracks up Dog Valley Creek and over Dog Valley Hill, where it was easy trailing in the snow, into Sardine Valley, California. At the Sardine Valley House he gained valuable information. Three strangers had lodged there the night before. Two had left early in the morning and the other one was still in his room when a party of hunters from Truckee, led by James Burke, arrived at the house. They were well supplied with shotguns, and the stranger in the house at once mistook them for officers. Running out of the back door he hid in the barn. In the meantime a man had arrived from Truckee and reported the train robbery. The lady of the house then related to the hunters the particulars of the coming to her house of the three men late the previous evening. She said that one of the men was still there and seemed to be nervous and worn out. James Burke, although not an officer, concluded to arrest the man, who proved to be Gilchrist, a miner from Virginia City, who, up to that time, had borne a good reputation.

This, no doubt was his first venture in the "hold-up" business. He was taken in Truckee by the hunters.

The landlady of the Sardine Valley House gave the Washoe County officer a very good description of the other two men. She described them accurately and went into details about their clothing. Among other things she said that one of them wore "gambler's boots; and from her description of the other man, the officer rightly guessed that he was John Squiers, an old stage robber whom the officers of Storey County had been trying to land for years.

Virginia City Nevada, 1866.

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

He was heading for Sierra Valley where his brother Joe, an honest blacksmith, resided and where he thought he could rest in safety until the excitement caused by the robbery had subsided. After feeding and resting his horse, which had been on the go since daylight, the officer in about an hour took up the hunt for the other men.

It was now 10 o'clock at night and the snow was falling fast. The officer was out of his jurisdiction and unacquainted with that section of the country. He therefore found it necessary to procure a guide to put him on the right road to Sierra Valley; otherwise he might land at Webber Lake or Downieville many miles away. There were several men at the Sardine Valley House, but none of them had "lost any robbers," and they refused to act as guides. A boy, however, volunteered for ten dollars to go with the officer as far as Webber Lake Junction and put him on the right trail to Loyalton in Sierra Valley, but with the distinct understanding that, in case the robbers were encountered, the boy was to turn back and let the officer fight it out alone. Nothing of the kind occurred, however, and at about midnight they arrived at the little town of Loyalton in Sierra Valley, California.

Arousing the landlord of the only hotel in the village, the officer made himself known and asked if there were any strange guests in the house. The landlord replied that he had one, and described him, but the description did not fit either of the men sought. The officer, however, thought best to take a look at the man and asked the landlord to show him to the room.

Continued Next Page

<< Previous 1 2 3 4 Next >>

From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Vintage Photographs of the Old West - From our personal Photo Print Shop, you can now order prints that provide dramatic glimpses into the rich heritage of the American West. From notorious outlaws, to Indian Chiefs, buffalo roaming the range, and pioneers on the trail, this varied collection grows daily.