icon for podpress  the legend of black bart [19:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

summer of 1875, and the wells fargo stagecoach is slowly rattling through a mountain pass in the sierra nevada gold country, bearing a cargo of passengers, u.s. mail, and gold.

the driver pulls the horses to an abrupt halt at the sight of a man standing confidently on the side of the road. he wears a long dirty duster, a sack of flour over his head with a pair of holes cut for the eyes and brandishes a double-barrelled 12 gauge shotgun. a deep and hollow voice utters the command destined to become the most famous five words in western outlaw history: “please throw down the box.” the legend of black bart is born.

for further edification:
» a site including list of holdup dates
» capture of black bart – 1920’s reminiscence
» wild west magazine

thanks to tom joad for the cool banjo tunes “sand river belle” and “west fork gals”. use licensed under creative commons.