John Boessenecker presents the true stories of the Wild West heroes
who guarded the iconic Wells Fargo stagecoaches and trains, battling
colorful thieves, vicious highwaymen, and robbers armed with
explosives.
The phrase riding shotgun was no teenage game to the men who guarded
stagecoaches and trains of the Western frontier. Armed with sawed-off,
double-barreled shotguns and an occasional revolver, these express
messengers guarded valuable cargo through lawless terrain. They were
tough, fighting men who risked their lives every time they climbed into
the front boot of a Concord coach.
Boessenecker introduces soon-to-be iconic personalities like Chips
Hodgkins, an express rider known for his white mule and his ability to
outrace his competitors, and Henry Johnson, the first Wells Fargo
detective. Their lives weren't just one shootout after another--their
encounters with desperadoes were won just as often with quick wits and
memorized-by-heart knowledge of the land.
The highway robbers also get their due. It wouldn't be a book about the
Wild West without Black Bart, the most infamous stagecoach robber of all
time, and Butch Cassidy's gang, America's most legendary train robbers.
Through the Gold Rush and the early days of delivery with horses and
saddlebags, to the heyday of stagecoaches and huge shipments of gold,
and finally the rise of the railroad and the robbers who concocted
unheard-of schemes to loot trains, Wells Fargo always had courageous men
to protect its treasure. Their unforgettable bravery and ingenuity make
Shotguns and Stagecoaches a thrilling read.
