Black Bart

Charles E. Boles aka Black Bart was a nattily-dressed gentleman who lived quietly in San Francisco between his stagecoach holdups. He was unique because of his good manners, intelligence and style.

He robbed his first stagecoach in Calaveras County on July 26, 1875 wearing a long white linen duster, a flour sack with two eyeholes covered his head and cloth was wrapped around his boots. He was also wielding an empty double-barreled shotgun.

Black Bart outwitted Wells Fargo detectives for eight years before being caught when he made the mistake of returning to the scene of his first crime.