Black Bart The PO8

Charles "Black Bart" Boles (1829-after 1888) robbed his first stagecoach in Calaveras County, California (about 70 miles from Sacramento), on 26 Jul 1875; he netted $160, equivalent to about $3500 in 2018. He was a miner, a Union soldier, and a farmer, but not a teacher. He had a grudge against Wells Fargo because the company forced him to abandon his mine when it wanted the land. He did not rob the passengers, and was noted for being polite and never using profanity. He was afraid of horses, and walked to all of his robberies. He robbed at least 28 stagecoaches between 1875 and 1883, making off with about $18,000, equal to around $400,000 in 2018. He took his nickname from a character in the dime novel "The Case of Summerfield." The laundry mark, FX07, was on a handkerchief he left behind at his last stage holdup on 3 Nov 1883.