The stagecoach is one of the most recognizable symbols of the American West. As America expanded westward, this simple wagon would evolve into an organized system of public transportation that would open up the west to thousands of people. This iconic symbol would begin to transport not only people but also large amounts of cash, gold and silver. As this form of transportation grew more popular, so did the knowledge of its precious cargo. Lawless bandits would begin to seek out these stagecoaches loaded with treasure in hopes of getting rich.
Jerad Huskins explains.
A picture of a Kinnear Express stagecoach . This operated from Tombstone, Arizona to Bisbee, Arizona in the 1880s.
The stagecoach travel system allowed for riders to pay a private company a fee to travel a specific distance, while stopping at “stage stations” every fifteen miles or so to attach fresh horses. This allowed riders to cover more miles in a day at a faster pace. It was not uncommon for a stagecoach to cover up to 100 miles in a single day. The stagecoach was typically pulled by four or six horses. Different designs were built to carry between six and later on even up to twenty people. It was usually a cramp and uncomfortable ride. However, stagecoaches still remained the primary form of transportation to remote towns in the old west.
Businesses began competing to transport people, mail and most notably, large amounts of money and precious metals. It did not take long for stagecoaches to become popular targets for bandits. For these outlaws robbing a stagecoach was like shooting fish in a barrel, as it was easy money for these criminals. Bandits would research the coaches’ travel patterns and simply pick the most advantageous spots to ambush their prey. As the act of robbing stagecoaches became more prevalent, stagecoach businesses began devising ways to protect their property. The first step in improving security was placing guards armed with shotguns riding beside the stagecoach driver. Though not called “riding shotgun” at the time, this is where the saying would derive from.
The Monitor
With the discovery of gold in the American West and the massive migration that would follow, stagecoach robberies began to rise in the 1850s. As the cargo became more valuable, the tactics became more violent. Along with the robberies, murder would take place. In 1878 a company called the Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage Company would take securing their cargo to the extreme. They would construct a wagon fit for war. They would call it the “Monitor”. It would be named after the ironclad ship the U.S.S. Monitor that fought in the Civil War. This stagecoach would earn its name by its 5/16 inch iron plates mounted on the sides of the coach. The coach would also be fitted with shoot through rifle ports and its own makeshift storage safe bolted to the floor.
The Monitor would be used to make “treasure runs” through the Black Hills for the Homestake Mining Company. One such run would take place on September 26, 1878 heading from Deadwood, South Dakota to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The armored stagecoach would be carrying just over $27,000 in gold and currency. It is estimated this payload today would be worth close to 2 million dollars. Regular passengers were not allowed to ride with such valuable cargo. Extra armed guards called “messengers” would fill the cabin. Even with some considering the Monitor impossible of being robbed, there would be those willing to sacrifice everything in an attempt to steal its riches. A gang of bandits would formulate a plot to hijack this iron beast.
Two men by the names of Cornelius Donahue and Charles Carey would be the masterminds in charge of a gang numbering between five to ten men. Donahue was nicknamed “Lame Johnny”, due to a limp in his walk, some believed caused by contracting polio as a child. Lame Johnny was a career horse thief living in the Black Hills. He had previously worked for the Homestake Mine Company as a bookkeeper. This was a short-lived attempt at conducting an honest living, before returning to the life of an outlaw. The job would allow Johnny an inside track on how Homestake’s shipments would operate. Charles Carey was a former military scout turned bandit. Both were looking to cash in on the valuable cargo hidden within the steel belly of the Monitor.
The gang decided to pull the job at a station in Canyon Springs, Wyoming. The men knew the coach would be arriving at 3 o’clock to swap out for fresh horses. The bandits arrived early and over took the station by locking the station employee in a closet. They set up for their ambush and waited. As the Monitor pulled into the station on schedule, it waited for assistance to begin trading out horses. This process usually took less than ten minutes. When no one came out to greet the ironclad coach, a few men got down to see what was causing the delay. This is when the gang opened fire on the Monitor and its passengers. The messengers from the Monitor realizing they were being hijacked would return fire. A gun fight would ensue. Men from both sides would be mortally wounded. The passengers of the Monitor would evacuate the stagecoach and run to the surrounding treeline. The gang of outlaws would raid the Monitor, breaking into the lockbox rather speedily considering its magnitude. Once in possession of the valuables, the gang made their escape.
The story of the robbery would spread quickly. A reward would be placed on the bandits and the stolen loot. Both lawmen and vigilantes went on the lookout for the outlaws. As the law started to put the squeeze on known bandits in the surrounding areas, and being “there is no honor among thieves”, police began getting information on who was involved. Two of the bandits would be found dead from gunshot wounds suffered in the fire fight along with a portion of the treasure taken from the Monitor. Lame Johnny would soon be arrested in Nebraska and transported back to Deadwood for trial. He would never make it. On his way to Deadwood Lame Johnny would be intercepted by a posse of vigilantes. Johnny would be found a few days later hanging next to a creek still wearing his shackles. Charles Carey would suffer the same fate. He would be apprehended by vigilantes and be executed by hanging at the Jenny Stockade in Wyoming.
Stolen cargo
Once the bandits were captured and executed, law officers began tallying the stolen cargo. Sources claim that only around sixty percent of the Monitors cargo would be found, with a large amount of gold still missing. Some believe Johnny and his men would bury a portion of the loot somewhere around the Canyon Springs station. If the estimates of the nearly 2 million dollar cargo are accurate, there could be up to $800,000 dollars worth of gold still missing from the infamous heist. It is believed this gold is still buried somewhere in the Canyon Springs area.
From the 1850s through the early 1900s there were over 450 documented stagecoach robberies. The stagecoach would still remain the embodiment of transportation throughout the American West. As time wore on and technology continued to improve, people would create faster, more comfortable ways to travel. The completion of the transcontinental railway in 1869 would be the beginning of the end for stagecoach popularity. The famous Deadwood stagecoach system would eventually shut down, making its final trip in 1890. Then came the rise of the automobile in the early 1900s. This would cause the stagecoach to become a distant memory and bring an end to what was once such a charismatic and alluring time in the American West.
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