5 
5 
This fellow [Bart] is a character that will be remembered as a scribbler and something of a wit and a wag.
The clues Jim Hume discovered about the road agent’s identity and techniques did not bring Wells Fargo any closer to capturing him. Jim had many cases to solve, and the pressure of constant travel made him “dusty, tired, worn-out and ill tempered.” On his way to investigate yet another robbery, his stage was held up. A newspaper commented, “This method of turning the tables was certainly a bold stroke. The thieves have particular reason to feel proud, as Mr. Hume is one of the coolest and bravest men in the State.”
During another trip in the Arizona Territory, Jim again found himself on the other side of a gun when two masked men held up the stage he was on, traveling between Contention and Tombstone, Arizona. The stage did not carry a treasure box or mail, but the robbers did take Jim’s two fine revolvers and some cash. Wells Fargo offered a reward of $300, but the bandits were never found. One newspaper headline declared, A WELL-KNOWN DETECTIVE FINDS SOME HIGHWAYMEN HE WAS NOT LOOKING FOR.
Bart was not the only stage robber plaguing Wells Fargo, but at least Jim could identify which robberies were Bart’s work by the following:
The white flour sack over his head had holes cut out for the eyes.
Bart crouched in front of the lead horses to avoid being shot.
Bart carried a double-barreled shotgun.
He always brought an old ax to smash open the treasure box.
He cut the US Mail sacks in a unique upside-down T.
He was not heard from during the winter months.
In addition, Jim had a very accurate physical description of Bart that he’d pieced together from ordinary people who, like Mrs. McCreary and others, innocently fed and hosted the polite stranger. People who met Bart along the way told Jim that he carried a good-sized blanket roll, which Jim suspected contained a broken-down shotgun. They also gave Jim a detailed description of the clothes Bart wore. He was “dressed in steel-mixed coat and vest, checked wool shirt, blue overalls outside and red duck pants underneath: kip boots badly worn and run over on inside: dirty light-colored felt hat: silver watch and heavy link silver chain.”
Jim circulated Bart’s description to law officers and Wells Fargo agents in 1880, even providing a name. The wanted robber, the circular stated, was Harry Barton. That was one of the aliases Bart used when he registered in a hotel. The circular duplicated Barton’s handwritten signature, which closely matched the writing on Bart’s earlier poetry. Jim interviewed rural residents who came in contact with Bart shortly after a robbery. The day after the September 1, 1880, robbery of the Weaverville-to-Redding stage, Bart was at the house of J. T. Adkinson, where he was treated to breakfast and lunch. The next day, Bart was seen on the road by a railroad worker. After a September 16 robbery, Bart was seen in Jacksonville, Oregon. From all of these eyewitnesses Jim pieced together a description, which Wells Fargo widely distributed:
Name. Harry Barton: American, of Irish descent: aged 47 years: height, 5 feet 9 or 10 inches: eyes light blue: eyebrows heavy and projecting: hair sandy mixed with gray; whiskers about three inches long, sandy: and grayish on side of face: moustache heavy, sandy and gray: forehead broad and high: features long and cheeks a little sunken: two upper front teeth gone, and one lower front tooth pushed in: tonsils of throat affected from salivation, making a peculiarity of voice: reads with paper at arms length: hands long and bony: third finger of right hand crooked at first joint: shoulders and chest quite stout: lower part of body slender: stands up straight and erect and steps quick and fast when walking.
A view of Sonora, California, in gold rush country, where Black Bart robbed.
Bart probably understood that with each robbery, his risk of capture increased. He probably realized too that, despite his disguise, more people now were aware of his description. One close call happened on July 13, 1882, when Bart, for the first time, chose to rob a stage guarded by an armed Wells Fargo messenger.
There were not enough messengers available to accompany all stages, so Wells Fargo assigned messengers only to stages carrying a large amount of gold or cash. As the stage traveled along level ground near La Porte, veteran driver Hank Helm was surprised by a man who ran out into the road and crouched to grab at the lead horses. “He wore a linen duster,” he recalled, “and his face was covered with a big, white mask. I whooped up the horses with a view to get past him.” But the frightened team instead came to a stop. George Hackett, the shotgun messenger, raised his weapon and fired at the robber. The blast blew off the road agent’s hat and grazed his head. The robber then “ran down the hill, straight away from the road,” with Hackett in pursuit on foot into the brush.
Unable to catch up to the robber, who “dodged from tree to tree, and finally escaped,” Hackett made his way back to the stage. He picked up the hat blown off the robber’s head and later gave a description: “It was a soft hat of black felt, very old and weather-beaten, and full of ragged rents. It had four fresh buck-shot holes in it, with hair sticking to some of them.” Next to the hat was the bloodied white mask, with a hole shot through it. In his haste to flee, Bart left behind two small binoculars. The authorities were notified, and “parties were immediately started in pursuit, who expect to soon find their man, either dead or badly wounded.”
Did Bart choose this stage at random, or did he know that the guarded treasure box contained $18,000, which made it worth the risk? Jim, close on the trail but still unable to capture Bart, now had a few more clues to add to his list.
Apparently, Bart recovered quickly from his wound and next stopped the Yreka-to-Redding stage on September 17, 1882. After ordering the passengers out of the stage and telling them to go ahead a distance on foot, Bart had the driver leave his seat and drop to the ground to take hold of the horses. Meanwhile, Bart climbed up and broke the box. The driver asked Bart, “This is a nice night, isn’t it … are you getting anything?” Bart’s response was “Not much.” One report later said the box contained only 35 cents!
Bart’s last robbery in 1882 was on November 24 when he held up the Lakeport-to-Cloverdale stage. No more was heard of him until April 12, 1883, when he robbed the same stage again and carried away two express boxes and six mail sacks. On June 23, Bart robbed the Jackson-to-Ione stage, stealing $750 and the contents of the mail sacks. The Chico Record newspaper reported that “J.B. Hume is on the trail of Black Bart, the daring road agent,” but then, with a bit of humor, commented, “That is probably about as close to Black Bart as Hume will ever get.” Continued frustration did not stop Jim’s relentless pursuit. He continued to interview rural residents after each robbery and used that information to add more details to his description of the robber.
In a circular sent to law officers on December 18, 1882, Jim provided new information about Bart gathered through his continuing investigations:
Wells Fargo stagecoaches offered scheduled trips throughout the West.
He is polite to all passengers, and especially so to ladies. He comes and goes from the scene of robbery on foot; seems to be a thorough mountaineer, and a good walker, as he sometimes covers long distances in a day—getting food from houses in out-of-the way places, but has never been known to remain over night in a house that is occupied; never allows himself to be seen in the vicinity of robbery, and never seeks food until 12 or 15 miles away…. It is not believed that he is addicted to the use of liquor and tobacco; is a great lover of coffee, wears about a No. 8 boot; is a great reader and, when reading without glasses, holds his paper off at full arm’s length.
Black Bart stood out from other stagecoach robbers of his time. One newspaper commented, “There are very few ‘Black Barts’ among the road agents Captain Hume has to deal with. Few of them are gentlemanly and mild mannered, as Black Bart is described. Most of the characters … are quite as willing to take a life as make the request, ‘Throw down that box!’”
But Jim Hume was determined to catch Bart, gentlemanly or not. On September 5, 1883, Jim issued detailed orders to all Wells Fargo agents about the immediate actions they needed to take after any future Bart holdup. The information indicates how advanced Jim had become in organizing a fast but professional response to a Black Bart robbery.
Hereafter, should the stage to your place be robbed by one man, I desire you to IMMEDIATELY send two competent persons to scene of robbery, instructed to gather up box, mail bags (if taken) and everything that they may find in way of disguises, tools, etc. and one to hasten back and report, the other to stay on the ground taking measurement of all tracks and noticing and noting everything that may tend to bear in any way upon the robbery, or aid in pursuit by those who follow.
In addition, Jim ordered local agents to organize “proper persons in your community, who will at all time be prepared with arms, etc, for quick work, when required.” He urged them to not only track the robber and try to overtake him but also telegraph ahead to law officers in the direction of the escape. Finally, Jim told agents to continue publicizing the $800 reward for Bart’s arrest and conviction. Knowing he could not track Bart alone, Jim drew on other law professionals for help. His immediate assistant was Wells Fargo special officer John N. Thacker, who was hired in 1875. Charles Aull, the San Quentin warden and Jim’s close friend, was appointed a temporary Wells Fargo detective.
Although Jim had no idea where or when Bart would strike next, the Wells Fargo chief detective was tightening a noose around the elusive robber.
