By William Daugherty, for the Reno Evening Gazette in 1891

The stage, well loaded with passengers and heavily weighted with express matter and mail bags, rolled out of Hamilton, Nevada, bound for Pioche at 3 p.m. on November 20, 1871. As this was a daily occurrence, it was nothing unusual, for the mining excitement was at its highest. Raymond & Ely stock was selling at $125 per share, which a short time before was only $7. Many holders had suddenly become rich, which stimulated the camp’s wildcat operations to such an extent that Pioche was filled with high-salaried superintendents and secretaries, fighters, and miners, and all indicated a thriving and becoming mining camp.

Money was plentiful, and high-priced jewelry ornamented the shirt fronts and vests of the mining officials. The stages that transported the bullion out of camp also carried coins and valuables by express. The road agents who often held them up considered them legitimate prizes.

On the day above named, the express box was observed to be heavier than usual, and although the agent and driver tried to conceal its weight when stowing it away in the front boot, passengers quietly remarked that the boys would make a good haul if they went for it. The stage rolled along through Eberhardt Canyon and over the dusty road during the afternoon and reached the supper station without interruption. It continued during the evening and until midnight, with the usual halts at stations for a change of horses and the usual exchange of small talk between driver and hostlers. One of the passengers was Jot Travis, one of the line owners, who was earning money rapidly then. Another passenger was a new agent for Pioche’s express and stage departments. About midnight, a station was reached, and the usual change of horses made, after which it rolled on its way, and soon the passengers were all asleep. Half an hour afterward, they were awakened by the sudden stopping and starting up of the stage. Travis, more alert than the others, awoke first and, reaching to unbutton a curtain, said to the express agent, “What was that,” and got a sleepy reply, “O! Nothing; guess we just left a station.”

“No, said Travis, “we passed that two miles back. I heard something said about the box. I believe we’ve been robbed,” and he was making haste to open the curtain when the express agent held him back, saying: “Go slow. If we have been robbed, you had better not poke your head out just now.”

“That’s so,” said Travis, “but I think we ought to stop and find out.”

He was again cautioned to wait a minute, for the stage was now bowling along as fast as six panting horses could haul it, and it was evident something unusual had occurred. Travis was impetuous and intrepid and called out to the driver, “Pat! What’s the matter?” The reply came back in husky, muffled tones: “The boys took the box.”

“What’s that?” said Travis. What did they say?” The driver answered in the same subdued and hoarse whisper, “They took the box and told me to drive on, and said their guns carried 250 yards, and I’m not out of range yet. ” With a sharp flourish of silk, he urged on the panting horses.

Travis was furious. He insisted on getting out and pursuing the road agents immediately. Still, when admonished that it would be hazardous with only revolvers and on foot to attack the well-mounted robbers armed with Winchesters, he subsided but with some profanity over the fate that compelled him to. That night, the stage rolled into Pioche minus the treasure box and $1,700 in coin and jewelry. The Sheriff, John Kane, took the trail, stimulated by a big reward, but the robbers were never caught, although they were believed to have been in Pioche three days afterward gambling on their ill-gotten gains.

By William Daugherty, article in the Reno Evening Gazette, September 8, 1891. Compiled and edited by Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2025. About the Author: Written by William Daugherty for the Reno Evening Gazette in 1891. The Reno Evening Gazette was first published on October 12, 1876, and continued for the next 107 years. In 1977, it was merged with the Nevada State Journal, and continues to exist today as the Reno Gazette-Journal. 1876, and continued for the next 107 years. In 1977, it was merged with the Nevada State Journal and continues to exist today as the Reno Gazette-Journal. The text here is not verbatim, as it has been heavily edited for the modern reader.

Also See:

Pioneers on the Nevada Frontier (Reno Evening Gazette)

Nevada Mining Tales (Reno Evening Gazette)

Pioche Land Jumpers and the Death of Jack Harris (Reno Evening Gazette)

Violence on the Nevada Frontier (Reno Evening Gazette)