Early Stage Routes in Northern California..... By Gail L. Jenner

            Once roads were established throughout northern California and southern Oregon, the growth of stage lines followed rapidly. Of course, most famous to readers today are the stage routes traveling west across the continental United States, as noted in this historic map of the region:

Mark Twain crossed the continent on the Central Overland California Route with his brother Orion Clemens and wrote about the staging companies and their “hierarchy” in his book, Roughing It.

He wrote: 

 “The stage company had everything under strict discipline and good system. Over each two hundred and fifty miles of road they placed an agent or superintendent, and invested him with great authority. His beat or jurisdiction of two hundred and fifty miles was called a “division.” He purchased horses, mules, harness, and food for men and beasts, and distributed these things among his stage stations, from time to time, according to his judgment of what each station needed. He erected station buildings and dug wells. He attended to the paying of the station keepers, hostlers, drivers and blacksmiths, and discharged them whenever he chose. He was a very, very great man in his “division”—kind of Grand Mogul, a Sultan of the Indies, in whose presence common men were modest of speech and manner, and in the glare of whose greatness even the dazzling stage-driver dwindled to a penny dip. There were about eight of these kings, all told, on the overland

route.”

            Twain continued his description of others within the staging company: “Next in rank and importance to the division-agent came the “conductor.” His beat was the same length as the agent’s—two hundred and fifty miles. He sat with the driver, and (when necessary) rode that fearful distance, night and day, without other rest or sleep than what he could get perched thus on top of the flying vehicle. Think of it! He had absolute charge of the mails, express matter, passengers and stagecoach, until he delivered them to the next conductor, and got his receipt for them.”

            For the most part, these stage roads were built with funds from private agencies and investors, not by the government. Eventually, state and local, even some federal money was used to supplement the cost of constructing and maintaining roads. Toll roads were often used as a way to recover the cost of establishing roadways.

The California-Oregon Stage Road. Photo Courtesy Oliver Johnson Collection.

            The California Stage Company had investment capital topping $1 million. It also boasted 750 horses, while their routes up and down California totaled 450 miles of roads. By 1865, the company had increased its stable to 1,250 horses, while the roads totaled 1,100 miles, including 400 miles of roads into Oregon and 100 miles into Nevada. Ambitious, the company’s president, James Birch, pursued and secured the mail delivery into Oregon; by 1860, most Oregonians were assured of daily mail service. The route moved north through Shasta County and on into Trinity County. Weaverville, the county seat, was an important stage and freight town (located on today’s Highway 299) positioned along the stagecoach road that extended to the east to Old Shasta at the edge of modern-day Redding. By 1852 it had 49 wooden buildings and a population of 1,200.

            Trinity Center was first settled in 1851 and became an important stage stop on the way to Yreka in the 1860s; the original town now lies beneath Trinity Lake (created in 1961). Beginning in 1853, the Carrville Inn served the northern end of Trinity Valley. It has often been referred to as the “the Queen of Stage Stops” on the California-Oregon Wagon and Stage Road. The first Inn was completed in 1867, but was expanded and remodeled over the years. Today it is still a 3-story, 9-bedroom inn.

            Other important and popular stage stops in the region included Lewiston Hotel and the Forest House at the base of Forest Mountain and the Ohio House, located on the way to Etna, in Scott Valley, and Cole’s Station, located near the Oregon border.

            In an October 1865 issue of the Sacramento Union, it was reported, “In staging enterprise, California has the ‘whip hand’ of the world.”

            Indeed, the opening of the Sacramento to Portland stage line in 1860 was an event of great significance. A contract to deliver mail, cost the government $90,000, but this insured a 7-day service from Sacramento to Portland from April 1 to December 1 and a 12-day service from December 2 to March 31. The cities connected by this service included Chico, Tehama, Red Bluff, Cottonwood, Shasta, French Gulch, Trinity Center, Callahan’s (Ranch), Scottsburg (Fort Jones), Yreka, Jacksonville, Canyonville, and Roseburg.

            Unfortunately, the California Stage Company lost the mail contract in 1865, resulting in its failure; the mail staging was taken over by the Oregon Stage Company. The company’s name was then changed to The California & Oregon Stage Company (or C&O Company), and it became the largest operation in the region until the railroad usurped the main lines of transportation in 1887.

            According to an 1885 report, “At present Siskiyou is dependent for its outside connections upon its stage lines, which are plentiful and the roads good and well maintained.  The line of the California and Oregon Railroad passing through the center of the county from south to north, will doubtless be completed in the near future, the recent purchase of the northern end of the line from Portland south by the same parties owning the line coming up from below justifying the hope that, now that the interest are one, connection cannot long be deferred; and the county's development, so seriously retarded in the past by its distance from supplies, will show at once that this was her one great need to put her in the from rank.”

            Although the railroad portended the end of the most major stage routes through California, staging companies in the northern regions still supplied passenger horse-drawn stages for many more years. Later, motor stages were used to connect the coastal, mountain, and valleys not served by the railroad.

            Some of the important local stage stops listed and described in the 1885 Siskiyou County Directory included the following:

BERRYVALE

A post and express town, situated thirty miles southeast of Yreka, on the Delta and Yreka stage route. It is also on the located line of the California and Oregon Railroad. It lies in the valley of the Sacramento, and is surrounded by a fertile agricultural country, from which it derives it principal support. Upper Soda Springs, near this place, is a health resort of some note. Berryvale has two hotels and one general store. Population about seventy-five.

Callahan featured the Baker Hotel as well as Callahan's Ranch Hotel.

CALLAHAN'S RANCH
A post, express and telegraph town, forty-three miles distant from Delta and forty-two miles south of Yreka. It is surrounded by quite a favorable mining district, as well as some good farming land. It has two good hotels, two general stores, a church, blacksmith shop, etc. It lies a little west of the proposed route of the California and Oregon Railroad, and has a population of one hundred and fifty. 
EDGEWOOD
A post office, about thirty-five miles north of Berryvale, on the line of the California and Oregon Stage Line, as well as the line of the proposed railroad. It is a farming community, and lies in the valley of the headwaters of the Sacramento.
ETNA MILLS
This place, one of the most enterprising and prosperous localities in the country, is situated in Scott Valley, on the river, thirty miles southwest of Yreka, and about thirteen miles south of Fort Jones. The town lies at the base of the Salmon Mountains, is surrounded by an agricultural country of exceeding fertility, which is well settled and cultivated. It is the headquarters of the miners of the southwestern part of the county and the distributing point for all the Salmon River freights. The town has a large general store, two blacksmith shops, two flouring mills, a hardware store, two livery stables, as well as other business establishments, all of which do a flourishing trade. Of its two hotels, the Etna, owned and conducted by Mr. Isaac L. Baker, is especially worthy of notice in the interest of the traveling public. The population of Etna Mills is about four hundred, and the town has post and express offices. 

FORT JONES
An important business center, situated eighteen miles southwest of Yreka, on the Scott River. It is one of the oldest settlements and was the chief point in the western part of the county in Siskiyou's early mining history, which, as to its mining character, it still retains fully one-half of the business interests, being sustained by this industry. The development of its fine agricultural surroundings have, however, within the past few years, elevated the farming interests into as much prominence as its mining. As a commercial point it is the headquarters for the trade of western and Northwestern Siskiyou and the eastern part of Del Norte County, Happy Camp in the latter county getting a considerable portion of its supplies and all of its express matter via Fort Jones. Fort Jones has complete postal, express and telegraphic facilities, it is healthily located and has a population of about four hundred and fifty.

WILLOW CREEK
A post office town, situated on the proposed route of the California and Oregon Railroad. It is a stage station on the Oregon stage line, and is rapidly developing into a town of importance.

YREKA
This city, the capital of Siskiyou County, is situated on the west bank of Yreka Creek, in the western part of Shasta Valley. It is 431 miles from San Francisco and 350 miles from Sacramento. The route of the California and Oregon Stage Line passes through Yreka, where the headquarters of the Company are located, and necessarily pays some considerable tribute to the business interests of the city. The town was settled in 1851, the precious dust found in many of the gulches and streams of Shasta Valley, attracting many of the argonauts of that day to this locality. The town consequently ranks as the oldest in northern California. In her business composition Yreka has and maintains her full proportion of trading, mercantile, mechanical and manufacturing interests, although in the last item her development is scarcely begun, as she possesses in the waters of Yreka Creek a power sufficient to drive almost an unlimited amount of machinery. Yreka has full postal, express and telegraphic communications, and numbers about 1,500 in population.

            On some of the shorter, easier stage routes—especially on a local level—only a two-horse team was required, but on longer, harder routes, four to six horses were needed. An article for the Daily Alta Californian in 1860 described the care given the stage horses: “…one cannot but admire the excellent conditions of the animals on the road, and the careful grooming they receive in the stables… They are all California horses… As each animal is put in his place, his bit is held by an attendant. When all is ready the driver sings out ‘let go,’ and away they rush with a bound, spurning the earth in wild plunges...”

            And, as the driver (also called a jehu or whip) jumped up to the seat and picked up the lines, he was told to “first drive around town to all the hotels to pick up your passengers. Then get the mail, and last of all, go to Wells Fargo. When you get out of town about a mile you can turn them loose. The Wells Fargo messenger will keep the time for you; you don’t have to worry about that, but get in on time. I love those horses, but their collars will fit others.” Many of the drivers were young; some became famous for the unique handling of their teams. The whips featured here were local ones, well known throughout Siskiyou County.

Local Siskiyou County Jehus ("Whips"). Photo Courtesy Betty Young Collection.

Although the stage was “given” thirty minutes past the arrival time, the contract required punctuality and if it was later than the thirty minutes, a fine of $50 was assessed by the government. The only two excuses for being later than thirty minutes were high water and/or forest fire. Otherwise, the mail was to arrive on time!

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Gail L. Jenner has enjoyed working with Prairie Rose Publishing and her collection of stories published by PRP has grown since "joining the gang" in Dec. 2013 with the re-release of her WILLA Award-winning Across the Sweet Grass Hills. 

"Prettiest Little Horse Thief"  and "July's Bride" are two of her other favorites.....and then there are the boxed sets and anthologies!  For more about Gail, check out: www.gailjenner.com or http://www.amazon.com/Gail-Fiorini-Jenner/e/B005GHR47O

BLACK BART: THE POET BANDIT........And Legends & Lies... By Gail L. Jenner

Not much  has been written in fictional form about California's most successful stage bandit, Charles Boles (Bowles), aka BLACK BART. His life was an enigma to many; born and raised in New York, he traveled west during the gold rush to California. After trying his hand at mining, and after the death of one brother, he returned to NY, then settled for a time in Illinois. There he married; he taught school for awhile, but when war broke out, he enlisted in the 116th  Illinois Volunteer Infantry. A good soldier, he was wounded and promoted to sergeant. Returning to his wife after mustering out, he tried farming, but found it frustrating and disappointing.

Charles was well-schooled and liked by all who ever met him. But, as my grandmother would have said, "he was a ne'er do well."  Easily frustrated, wanting to make his way but not knowing how, he tried many things, but to no avail. Sadly, he abandoned his wife and daughters after an infant son died. Hoping to make his fortune again through gold mining, he went to Montana, c. 1872. Again, he was unsuccessful. By now, however, he was growing more and more frustrated. 

History does not give us a lot of clues about why or how, but Charles did return to California for gold. But THIS time, he decided to steal it. Dressed in a duster and sack over his head (under which he wore a derby to make him appear taller) and armed with a plugged shotgun, he successfully held up 28 Wells' Fargo stage coaches all over Northern California without firing a shot. Called the poet bandit, he left verse, poorly rhymed and humorous, at the site of two of his hold ups. 

James Hume, Wells' Fargo's chief detective, became obsessed with capturing Charles. Ironically, these two men had more in common than one might assume (including their profiles!). And so their game of cat-and-mouse began; for several years, Charles outsmarted Hume and the lawmen who tried to catch him. Ironically, too, it was a boy who finally shot the bullet that hit Charles (not fatally, just in the hand), which eventually led to his arrest in San Francisco.  He served 4 1/2 years of a six-year sentence in San Quentin.....and then.....?

As noted at the outset, there has never been a novel written about Charles's life -- except for the one I coauthored with fellow historian, Lou Legerton, titled: BLACK BART: THE POET BANDIT -- even though there have been numerous articles and newspaper profiles of this infamous but fascinating man.

Because of my connection to this story, I was invited to be interviewed for an upcoming episode of "Legends and Lies," narrated and produced by Bill O'Reilly, to be aired on Sunday, May 10, on the Fox News Channel. Others have also been interviewed, but I invite you to watch the episode....it was great fun! (The link will take you to a video clip of it....) 

Of course, as with all television programming, it will be interesting to see how little or how much I'm included in the episode!  However, one important note: Lou and I were given the FIFTH only known photograph of Charles, by his great niece, which I did share with the producers of the show. I hope it makes its way into the episode!

I'm ending here with the Prologue of our novel : BLACK BART: THE POET BANDIT.

PROLOGUE

January 21, 1888

            Charles stepped out into the foggy morning and sighed. He knew there’d be a crowd, and he wasn’t disappointed. Reporters, in dark suits and heavy coats, were awaiting his appearance.

            “Mr. Bolton,” called one, raising his pencil, “how does it feel to be a free man?”

            Charles took a long, deep breath. “I can’t lie, fellows. It feels good.”

            The reporter nodded. “You’ve had enough thieving?”

            Charles smiled as he looked around at the blur of eager faces. “Oh, I’m done with Black Bart and my life of crime. For one thing, I’ve grown a bit deaf and need spectacles. That would present a bit of a problem for a stage bandit, don’t you think?”

            The men in dark suits laughed.

            A second reporter stepped forward. “But what of your literary efforts, Mr. Bolton? Are you through writing poetry? You know, our readers enjoyed the verse.”

            A ripple of good-hearted cheers passed through the crowd.

            Charles tapped the brim of the bowler he’d been given by the warden just this morning. “If I managed a bit of a rhyme,” he said, tilting his chin, “like, as not, it might add to my time. It’s better left dead, buried alive, filled with lead—but I thank ye for asking, my fine friend.”

 A round of applause erupted before Charles could continue. “Like I said, sir, I’m done with my life of crime.”

“And what about Mr. Hume? Has Wells, Fargo & Company given you any advice?”

“I would hope Mr. Hume is satisfied that justice was served,” said Charles. In truth, the Wells, Fargo & Company detective had avoided contact with him since his incarceration at San Quentin, but Charles knew the man was following his every move. No doubt he’d been disappointed when Charles was given an early release.

“You’ve not served your full sentence, and it’s been said that Mr. Hume is apoplectic over this turn of events. He says it’s a foolhardy gesture.”

“Gentlemen,” interrupted Charles, “I served my time and did so with no complaints. How can Mr. Hume be anything but satisfied? I’m satisfied,” he added, winking at a man near him.

“Here, here!” responded the man warmly.

Suddenly another journalist at the back of the crowd spoke up. “I do believe he questions your contrite heart, Mr. Bolton. After all, you did manage to fool him twenty-eight times. Perhaps even more than that, if all were told?”

Charles tried to capture the man’s glance. “I was able to keep Wells, Fargo & Company rather busy, wasn’t I?”

Those nearest him smiled and nodded.

“But you’re not repentant?” came the immediate reply from the back.

“Oh, I have much to repent, as do we all,” Charles said, his steady gaze on the reporter who had finally moved into his line of vision. He was handsome, young, and eager. “In fact, I would suggest,” he added, “that when you take the measure of a man, sir, be sure to take the full measure.”

“Very well. Does that mean there is something you’d like to add to your story? Our readers are anxious to know what you are about. Why you chose to rob only Wells, Fargo & Company, for instance.”

Charles grimaced as he considered the question. Tell all?

No, he’d not give these men, or anyone, such satisfaction. “May I get back to you?” He faced the rest of the crowd. “For now, I just want a beef steak and a glass of ale.”

“Indeed,” returned another man.

Just then a coach pulled up.

The crowd fell back and gave Charles clear passage even as they scribbled across their notepads. He moved past them, nodding to those closest.

“Good luck, Mr. Bolton.”

Charles stopped.

The earnest young journalist had moved to the end of the line of dark suits and his gaze was clear and focused.  “Remember, sir, I’d appreciate your story in full, if you ever have a mind to share it. I work for the San Francisco Examiner,” he added, “and the name’s Randolph Hearst.”

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For more on Gail L. Jenner's writing, visit her author site on Prairie Rose Publishing

Or visit: www.gailjenner.com

Or visit: http://www.amazon.com/Gail-Fiorini-Jenner/e/B005GHR47O

THE CHINESE LAUNDRY: A nearly forgotten piece of San Francisco History By Gail L. Jenner

As a writer, it's always interesting to pursue those often overlooked details involving, for example, the more intimate details of life. I recently found some fascinating history on the mundane subject of laundry -- or, more precisely, the infamous and stereotyped Chinese launderer. There were hundreds of Chinese laundries and washermen throughout the West; even on my husband's family's five-generational ranch, there was a hired Chinese launderer. He never married, but was counted in the family census and lived with the family for many years. I believe he passed away in the mid-1930s.

For anyone in the early days of the West, clean clothes were almost a luxury! We've all seen the old pictures of women using scrub boards or banging clothes on rocks over a stream, and certainly that was the way pioneer women laundered their clothes before the first wringer machines were invented.

Because cleanliness was difficult to maintain on the plains, on the trail or in mining camps, or around the farm or ranch, it's easy to understand why women wore large aprons, hoping to preserve some semblance of respectability, ie: cleanliness. It also explains why Sunday clothes were reserved just for Sunday go-to-meetings or other special occasions. Even wedding dresses were often altered or dyed and used again. "Better" dresses or suits were maintained by heavy brushing and being hung out in the sunshine to reduce odors. For obvious reasons they were not cleaned often.

I recognized how limited early women's wardrobes were when we moved into my husband's great grandparents' farmhouse. There were no clothes closets in any of the rooms (in fact, the last time the upstairs had been painted or updated was 1898!). There was a single "wardrobe" or armoire in each room, and only 3 or 4 hooks inside each of them. Certainly that's not much space for the kinds of clothes that now line our contemporary closets.

Within the pages of the historic material I've begun to collect, it was fascinating to read about San Francisco's burgeoning laundry market, an economic endeavor that attracted many Chinese immigrants; clearly it was one venture where they were not as persecuted by Caucasians and even achieved financial success. Of course, many left after the implementation of the Exclusion Act, although throughout the gold fields there were a number of successful Chinese stores, pack trains, mining companies, and the like.


Before the rush to the gold hills of California, laundry was done by Spanish-American or Indian women who worked along the edge of a small fresh-water lake
located about two miles west of San Francisco (Yerba Buena), at a place also known as "Washerwoman's Lagoon."  As noted in one source, "the water was soft, and the shore was covered with thorny scrub brush which answered admirably for drying." But as the new city grew, so did its need for laundry services. Many resisted paying the going rate of $8 per dozen shirts charged by French laundries, and some began sending their laundry off to China or Honolulu! Amazing to realize that laundry was shipped to these exotic locations, but ships arriving from China or the Sandwich Islands brought back hundreds of bundles of clean clothes.

Then things began to change:  even the Daily Alta California, San Francisco's leading newspaper, reported in 1850: "Much excitement was caused in the city last week by the reduction of washing prices from eight dollars to five dollars a dozen. There is now no excuse for citizens to wear soiled or colored shirts. The effect of the reduction is already manifest -- tobacco-juice bespattered bosoms are no longer the fashion."

Reportedly, it was an immigrant named Wah Lee who displayed the first laundry sign in San Francisco, announcing, "Wash'ng and Iron'ng" over the door of his business on Washington Street.  By 1876, there were approximately 300 Chinese laundries in the city, each one employing at least 5 men. The laundries were not confined to the area known as Chinatown, but were located throughout the city.

As a result of the number of immigrants entering the profession, the price for clean shirts dropped to $2 a dozen and business boomed. Even at Wah Lee's establishment, there were more than twenty washermen employed, and they cleaned clothes for individuals from as far away as Monterey or Sacramento. Eventually, the less numerous French laundries, as well as most of the Native American or Spanish-American washerwomen lost their hold on the flourishing laundry business in San Francisco.

It became a familiar sight to see a Chinese launderer with a pole across his shoulders from which hung two baskets, one on each end. Clean clothes were stacked in each basket and covered over with a cloth to keep them clean. Eventually San Francisco passed a law prohibiting these Chinese couriers from carrying their baskets in the streets. A few launderers who became much more prominent chose to drive small, black, covered buggies (or "vans"), the tops of which were covered with tin "to ward off the rocks thrown by ruffians."

Even though this was not the era of unions, within a short period of time, a protective Chinese society was established. It became a powerful organization that regulated the establishment of wash houses in San Francisco, even regulating how many "doors" must separate them; still, small stations and wash houses continue to spread through the city. This Chinese society -- or company, as it was called -- also settled disputes, collected dues, and managed the washermen's activities. Admission to the company cost an individual $10 and all workers had to attend meetings or pay a fine. Unfortunately, this society ran the washermen with an iron fist, even employing secret thugs to help keep the peace.

The Chinese laundry of old has now faded into history, seen only in westerns or old films. It's hard to contemplate their role in the lives of early San Francisco residents, but it was an important role in actuality. Interestingly enough, it was a simple "Chinese laundry mark" that led to the capture, arrest and conviction of Charles Boles, aka Black Bart; it was found on the handkerchief he dropped after his 29th holdup of a Wells Fargo stage coach in Copperopolis, California. So even such a mundane detail as a laundry mark became a significant historical detail!


Gail L. Jenner is the author of two historical novels, including BLACK BART: THE POET BANDIT, the story of California's most successful stage bandit who used a plugged shotgun, only targeted Wells Fargo stage coaches, and left poetry at the site of two of his 28 holdups. The enigmatic outlaw was well-liked and was eventually captured by James Hume, the Wells Fargo detective. He served 4 1/2 years in San Quentin then disappeared from history.

For more about Gail, visit:  www.gailjenner.com or http://prairierosepublications.yolasite.com/gail-l-jenner.php

BLACK BART: A Look at the Life of California's Famous Stage Bandit by Gail L. Jenner

Dubbed ‘BlackBart, the Poet (Po-8) Bandit’, Charles E. Bowles was an enigma to all.  He was born in New York, although his parents were from England and at least one brother was born there before emigrating to the U.S.  His father was a “barn builder” but Charles, very likely a “dreamer” from youth, did not want to take up the family business. He left NY for CA during the gold rush, with two brothers – one of whom died in San Francisco. Charles returned home only to leave again to wander and try his hand at many things… 

Charles was a Civil War veteran who fought courageously under General Sherman in many battles, including Vicksburg and others. He was intelligent and well-learned and took up life as a schoolmaster and farmer, though he disliked both occupations and abandoned them after a time. Married, with three daughters (a son died in infancy), he also abandoned his family in Iowa when he left in 1870 to carve out a life for himself.

He eventually moved from Montana to California where he took up his infamous life of crime.

Soft-spoken, with a sense of humor, his gentlemanly appearance belied his true identity as the most successful Wells Fargo bandit in California history. From 1875 - 1883, he successfully held up 28 stages, each time baffling the driver by appearing “out of nowhere” and disappearing “into thin air.” He wore flour sacking and a derby hat and approached the stage drivers politely, asking them to “throw down the box.” He never rode a horse, but walked, sometimes covering more than 60 rugged miles in less than 24 hours. He used a plugged shotgun, reportedly never held up a passenger or harmed anyone, and occasionally left rhymed verse at the site of his robberies.

Throughout his career as a thief, he lived in San Francisco and became friends with many notables of the time. With his bowler and walking stick, he was thought to be a mining engineer.

Stories abound about Charles and a woman who became the love of his life. Were the stories true? What happened to her? To them? Charles’s wife spent her remaining years in Hannibal, Missouri, listing herself as “widow” in the census. Sadly, his daughters never saw their father again and it is not clearly known what they felt or thought when they eventually learned the truth.

Charles disappeared from history after his capture (through a strange twist of fate) and spending four years (out of a six-year sentence) in San Quentin. A popular figure in the headlines even then, when released, he was asked by journalists if he’d given up his life of crime. He responded, “Certainly.” Asked if he’d given up writing verse, he replied (tongue in cheek), “I told you, I’ve given up crime.” Some historians say Wells Fargo subsequently paid Charles to stay away from their stages because he was their number one nemesis; some say Charles sailed to Japan, while others say he went on to rob again -- perhaps in Alaska? Others believe an empty grave in Knight’s Landing, CA, became his final resting spot. Still others say he died in New York in 1917.

Few letters or primary documents remain to tell us the real story of his family or his relationship to them or his final years; however, it is known that Charles contacted his wife after his arrest and release and she eagerly responded to his request to see her again...but after that, there are no other letters or reports of his whereabouts.

In putting together our novel, BLACK BART: THE POET BANDIT, coauthor Lou Legerton (who worked for Wells Fargo for 30 years and followed in Charles’s footsteps over a six year period) and I did get to connect with a great niece who gave us the FIFTH only known photograph of Charles as a young man, with his family in New York. She was in her nineties at the time.

BLACK BART: THE POET BANDIT is the FIRST and ONLY historical novel to be written about Charles Boles, aka Charles Bowles, aka Charles Bolton, aka Black Bart. Four books, which have collated his litany of stage holdups, have been written, but no other novel has been written that explores his life BEFORE or during his tumultuous years as a stage bandit.

Our novel placed 2^nd in the Jack London Novel Contest before it was published. A YA/crossover novel, it delves into the life behind the linen mask and plugged shotgun. It is available online at amazon or bn.com. Illustrations were done by Glen "Lawrence" Harrington.

Leave me a POST (including your mailing address) and you'll be entered into a  DRAWING for an autographed copy of BLACK BART: THE POET BANDIT!  I'll draw the winning name on Wednesday of this week. 
It's a story that has been waiting to been told.....

For more about my books, visit: www.gailjenner.com or http://prairierosepublications.yolasite.com/gail-l-jenner.php