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True West November 2019 Marshall Trimble

ask the marshall true west magazine

Did Wells Fargo have its own detective force?

Paul Gortarez,
Phoenix, Arizona

Wells Fargo hired undercover detectives like James Hume and Fred Dodge. In mining areas like Arizona, California and Nevada, the company hired shotgun messengers to guard the gold and silver shipments. The agents routinely handled telegrams and money transactions as well.

wells fargo true west magazine
Wells Fargo employed shotgun messenger to ride on its coaches to protect shipments. Hired detectives tracked the criminals and recovered stolen goods.
— True West Archives —

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Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian and the Wild West History Association’s vice president. His latest book is 2018’s Arizona Oddities: A Land of Anomalies and Tamales. Send your question, with your city/state of residence, to marshall.trimble@scottsdalecc.edu or Ask the Marshall, P.O. Box 8008, Cave Creek, AZ 85327.