Show STAGE COACH i TALES by E C TAYLOR last of the road agents R he insisted his name was spelled this way although h it usually was spelled soltz by tile the police was wag probably the last of the notorious highwaymen or road agents who preyed upon the old stage coaches in the northwest ile he operated in wisconsin and michigan in the and was famous as a crack shot tie practiced shooting by firing at a bulls eye while riding swiftly on a horse sometimes h he e would toss up hazel nuts and crack them alth ft ath revolver shots lie he was of if alie e same type of gunman famous through the southwest a few years earlier in the spring of 1800 a stage coach was ins held up between pulcifer and budel nel wis alsi with small loss the holdup was laid to one morning soon after that herman was driving his stage coach from the north toward shawano no ile he looked around and stared into the muzzle of a revolver pointed at his face behind the gun was there were two passengers on the coach thomas ainsworth known as a wit in that section and a nee indian at t once brought his horses to a stop and ordered the mall mail pouch be thrown out asked ainsworth what he should do and ainsworth advised him to obey the command after the mall mail was surrendered the bandit ordered the driver to produce nil his money handed him 11 demanded more but ra ila fath insisted that was all he had in later inter years lie he said he had 45 in a lest est pocket and had saved that by lying to the bandit took from ainsworth till all that gentleman had bad with him im sorry it an even 10 ainsworth told the bandit 1 I still owe you a quarter come and collect it some time ignored the menominee indian and ordered ainsworth and the indian down tile the road they walked a hundred yards away and turned around to see ripping open the mall mail pouch they could hear him swearing because the pouch contained nothing of value A after f ter that stage holdup ses description was broadcast throughout wisconsin and a constant watch was kept for him by police and stage coach drivers the sherifa a short time later took rafa th to look at a suspect lie he I 1 iad had captured a but it was not and the man was released kept a wary eye open for the bandit after that but never encountered coun him again A youth who often substituted for as driver of the coach however did not take any chances ile he whipped up his horses orse whenever he saw a suspicious looking man standing by the roadside a and nd many a prospective passenger wits was left swearing when the stage rattled past him at a fast clip holise loved the limelight and it proved ills his undoing ue ile held up stages in fit a grand eloquent manner and apparently ly areld to put on a special show whenever hs he was committing his bis crimes near marquette mich a short time after his activities had forced him to flee beyond the state line of wisconsin stopped a stage coach carrying mall mail and filled blied with passengers ile he warned all aboard the stage against ngali s t shoot ng but one passenger did not heed beed the warning and fired a shot at the bandit opened lire fire on the coach then urine firing bullet after bullet through the windows and walls of the vehicle one passenger was wiled killed and ano another t her seriously wounded two bullets pierced the lint hat of the driver was captured by posses who were quickly put upon ills his trail and later was sentenced to the michigan state penitentiary for life lie ile was released in a few years however ac 1831 1931 western New Darer union |