Colonel Paul’s Corner – Black Bart Highwayman of the Old West

The era of stagecoach travel in the Old West ended with the advent of the train and motor cars. It had lasted nearly 100 years. During that time, history records 347 stagecoach robberies. “Black Bart” is officially credited with 28 of those robberies.

Opportunities for small time robberies abounded in the early West. Small town banks, post offices and businesses were either lightly defended or not defended at all. The railroad was a tougher target. Black Bart concentrated only on stagecoaches. Among the stagecoach lines, he robbed only Wells Fargo stages. He had a grudge against that company as he said Wells Fargo agents had tried to force him from a mining claim. The Montana census of 1870 lists Charles Boles as the owner of a mining claim near present-day Butte.

Black Bart’s birth name was Charles Boles, although he sometimes used the alias, C.E. Bolton. He was born in 1829 in Norfolk, United Kingdom. His family emigrated to New York and took up farming in 1831. When gold was found in California, Boles quit the farm and headed West in 1849. He was not successful as a prospector and moved to Illinois, where he married Mary Johnson in 1854. The marriage produced four children.

When the Civil War broke out, Boles enlisted in the Union Army in 1862 and served through 1865 when he was discharged at the rank of First Sergeant. He returned to farming in Illinois but left in 1867 to prospect for gold in Montana and Idaho, leaving his family behind. Again, he was not successful at mining.

Black Bart robbed his first of 28 Wells Fargo stages on 26 July, 1875. He robbed his last on 3 November, 1883. His method of operation was always the same. He worked alone. He stopped the stage on foot, wearing a flour sack with eye holes cut out. He brandished a big shotgun. He either did not use a horse or it was well hidden. Contrary to Western novels and movies, the average take from a stagecoach robbery, both strongbox and valuables from the passengers, was slightly more than $300. His victims never knew his shotgun was unloaded.

During his last holdup in 1883, Bart was wounded by the stagecoach driver. As he fled, he dropped a handkerchief with a laundry mark. Wells Fargo agents found the laundry, and the owner identified the customer as Charles Boles. Boles was quickly located and confessed. He was sentenced to six years at San Quentin but was released two years early for good behavior. Boles was last seen in February, 1888. Some said he became a pharmacist. Some said he returned to die in New York. A Wells Fargo agent said he had moved to Japan.

Boles considered himself a poet. On two occasions, he left a poem with his victims. One is below:

“I’ve labored long and hard for bread,
For honor, and for riches,
But on my corns too long you’ve tread,
You fine-haired Sons of Bitches”

Black Bart, the Po8 (poet)

“There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness” - Josh Billings (1818-1885) and others.

By Paul Warrick: December 19, 2025 - Great Falls, Mt