Charles E. Boles,  known as Black Bart, was the bandit who stole money 27 times from the Wells Fargo stagecoaches. He had a family, but after he went to the Civil War he left his family and went West.

He wanted to get rich, so he started taking money from the stagecoaches. On his twenty-eighth attempt, he dropped his handkerchief, and they tracked down which laundry place he went to, and they waited for him to come.  When he came, they took him to San Quentin Jail.  

When he was a bandit, Black Bart would wait behind a bush with a flour sack on his head with a huge gun in his hands.  He waited six years to get out of jail. When he did get released, he disappeared!  Also, when he robbed a stagecoach, he wrote bad poems, and signed them Black Bart, the PO8 (Poet).

By Sami-Jo

Dr. Anderson, the Wells Fargo Historian, came to see us.  He told us that
there was a robber during the California Gold Rush.  He was a very good robber.   
Whenever he robbed Wells Fargo he would always leave a poem.

Sometimes he would pop out of bushes with an empty flour sack on his head to protect his face from being seen.  He also has a big shotgun. His nickname was Black Bart,  His real name was Charles.  Charles liked to play with words, like poet, he would write “PO8”.

They ended up catching him when he dropped his handkerchief. Then they found out where he did laundry, and they waited for him to come.  And then he came and they arrested him for 6 years. When he was released, he disappeared.

By Kent

Black Bart, By Sam

Black Bart was a polite man.  The only problem was he stole from people.  He had success 27 times, and on his 28th time he finally got caught.  

He left his handkerchief at the scene of the crime. He wore a flour sack on his head.  

He jumped out of a bush when he saw someone.  What would you do if you saw Black Bart?

PS.  Andy came to the school to tell us this information.

PPS. Black Bart had a gun, but he only used it to open the money chest.

By Sam

Dr. Anderson, the Wells Fargo Historian, came to our school today and told us about Wells Fargo.  He told us of a very interesting person in history named Charles E. Boles, a robber.  When he robbed the Wells Fargo stagecoaches, he called himself Black Bart, the PO8 (poet,) because he left poetry in the treasure boxes he stole from. He wore a flour sack on his head.

Charles had lived in Illinois with his family.  He fought in the Civil War, but then abandoned his family. He went to California to find a way to become rich.  Robbing seemed to be a good way.  Charles was a gentleman, supposedly.  When he robbed, he told friends he was collecting interest in a gold mine to cover his long absences and to why he came back with so much gold!

Bart never killed or injured anybody.  He jumped out of bushes and opened the treasure boxes with his gun.  He successfully did this 27 times. On the 28th time he dropped his handkerchief.  Through that, Detective James Hume traced to where he did his landry.  Bart, now Charlie, was caught.  He was sent to San Quentin for 6 years.  After he was released, he disappeared.

By  Sarada

Dr. Anderson, the Wells Fargo Historian, taught us about Charles E. Boles. Charles was also called Black Bart.  He was wearing a flour bag whenever he planned to rob one of the Wells Fargo stagecoaches.  He carried scary things like a weapon, but he made nobody get hurt. He robbed the stagecoaches 27 times.  He robbed stagecoach people and found some of the money, but not all.  

He always left a note behind after robbing. His notes didn't fool the stagecoach riders.  It turned out that these notes helped the people of the Wells Fargo Bank. Finally, he left behind a handkerchief, which the bank people discovered in the laundry.  He was soon caught and put in prison. After 5 to 6 years in prison, the Wells Fargo Bank members let Charles free.  He went somewhere else.   

Nobody could keep track of him, even today.  Although he did mean things like abandoning his family and robbing stagecoaches, he is considered a nice and polite man.

By Kuni

Today, Dr. Andy Anderson, the Wells Fargo Historian, came here to Dixie School and taught us about Wells Fargo history.  One of the things he talked about was Charles E. Boles,  AKA Black Bart, AAKA Charles Bolton.

Black Bart robbed 27 stagecoaches and took its treasure boxes every single time. He scouted and looked for the stagecoaches without the rifle guys on top.  He wore a flour sack with eye holes in it to not reveal his identity.

Black Bart had a family, but when he fought in the civil War, he never saw his family again. Black Bart always carried a shotgun with him but he never killed anybody.  He only shot the treasure box locks.  When he stole the 27 treasure boxes, he left 27 poems behind by the stagecoaches.  He signed it Black Bart, the PO8. (PO8= Poet).

He was going to try to steal the treasure for the 28th time, but he dropped his hankie at the scene of the crime.  A detective named James Hume found his handkerchief. and tracked down every laundry he cleaned his hankie at, and waited for him at his laundromat.  He was captured and was sent to San Quentin prison for 6 years.  When he got out of prison, he wasn’t ever seen again, ever.

By Alexandra

Today Dr. Andy Anderson came to our school, and taught us about California history, between 1820-1920.  He also talked about Charles E. Boles, also known as Charle Bolton and Black Bart.  

Charles was a Wells Fargo stagecoach robber. Charles had a wife and family, but when he went to fight in the Civil War, his family never saw him again. Charles then started robbing money from stagecoaches that didn’t have shotgun messengers on them.  Even though he carried a gun, he only used it for opening the Wells Fargo treasure box.  

Charles used the name Black Bart, to keep his identity secret.   He also wore a flour sack over his head with two eye holes. Charlie got caught one day and was put in jail for 6 years, but after he got out, he was never to be seen again.

By Jane

Dr. Anderson, the Wells Fargo Historian, taught us about Black Bart. His real name was Charles E. Boles. He would say, “Drop the treasure box” to the stagecoach drivers, and they would drive off.  He only used his gun to open the money box.  He would jump out of the bushes with a flour sack over his head. He was polite and did not injure or kill people. 

When Black Bart was on his 28th robbery, he dropped his handkerchief. and they tracked down the laundry.  They would track him down when he went to pick up his dry cleanings.   

I think black Bart is interesting because he would scare people and wear a flour sack over his head.  

I also learned more about Charlotte Parkhurst. What I learned about “Charley” Parkhurst: I learned that Charley had 1 eye and wore a patch on her eye.  They didn’t
know that she was in disguise as a man when she was a woman until after she died.

By Aviva

Black Bart, By Aviva

Dr. Anderson, the Wells Fargo Historian, came to see us. He told us about Charles Boles.  The name he went by was Black Bart.  He did not kill anyone. Black Bart wore a flour sack on his head.  It was a disguise to keep his identity safe.  How they caught him was they found where he did laundry.  That’s what I learned about at this interview.

I would say that this would be a good interview.  You could find more, go to the museum.

By Joe

Today, Andy came to our school to talk about Wells Fargo and American
history. He is the Wells Fargo Historian.  He has been it for 29 years.

Black Bart was a man with a wife and a few kids.  When he went to the Civil War, he never came back to his family.   He went on stealing treasure from stage coaches by  getting a huge shot gun and putting a flour sack on his head, and hiding behind a bush.

By Andrew

Dr. Anderson, the Wells Fargo Historian, told us about Black Bart.  Black Bart was a stagecoach robber.  He served in the Civil War, but after the war he deserted his family.  They never saw him again.

Black Bart, or Charles E. Boles, was a master of disguise.  He fancied himself as a gentleman, and was very polite when robbing stagecoaches, saying: “Please hand over the chest, thank you, now go on your way”.  

He stole 30,000 dollars, but only 7,000 dollars was recovered after he was captured.  After six years in prison, he was released.  He was never seen again.

By Tristan

We met Dr. Anderson, the Wells Fargo Historian.  Black Bart, AKA Charles E. Boles, was a polite gentleman who went to fight in the Civil War and afterwards
abandoned his family to start a career of robbing.

He robbed stagecoaches, wore a flour bag over his head, and carried a large pistol.

A detective tracked him down and put him in jail for six years.  After that he disappeared and was never found again.

by Austin

Charles E. Boles, AKA Black Bart, stole money 27 times from the Wells Fargo stagecoaches. He had a family, but after he went to the Civil War, he left his family and went out West.

He wanted to get rich, so that's when he started taking money from the stagecoaches.
Black Bart would wait behind a bush with a flour sack on his head, also with a huge gun in his hands. When he robbed stagecoaches, he quoted bad poems. He signed the poems "Black Bart, PO8." (poet.)

On his 28th time, he dropped his handkerchief, and they tracked him down to where he did his laundry. They went and waited for him to come, and then they took him to San Quentin Jail. He had to wait six years to get out of jail, and when he got out, he disappeared.

By Narlie

Dr. Anderson provided us with information.

Black Bart robbed Wells Fargo 27 times. When he took gold, he left a poem that said "the greatest PO8 in the world."Black Bart was very polite. He only used his gun to open the gold chest. Black Bart was found out when he dropped his handkerchief. The police officers tracked through hundreds of washes and found where Black Bart washed, and waited for him to pick up his next load.

Black Bart surrendered, and when he got to jail, he didn't fight.

By Marissa

Here is the real Charles Boles, AKA Black Bart.

More Questions We Would Like to Ask Black Bart

1. If you could go back in time, would you still make the choice to be a robber?

2. Where did you go after you were lost track of?

3. What was the name of the laundry store you went to?

4. Did you ever have any people to help you?

5. If you could change anything, would you have gone to war?

6. Why did you never go back to your family?

7. When were you born?

8. How come you fancied yourself to be a poet?

Dr. Andy Anderson, the Wells Fargo Historian, came to our school and taught us about driving a stagecoach.  To make it go, you say “HYAAA!!!”  Once you get to the passengers’ destination you say “WHOA!!!!”

If you are bumping along on a cliff and you want to stop abruptly, you first say “WHOA!!!”  If that doesn’t work you say “Oh Horsefeathers!!!”  

If you try jumping off, chances are 9 out of 10 you will die. Charlotte Parkhurst, better known as Charley Parkhurst, was the first woman stagecoach driver.  No one knew she was a woman until she died.

By Katarina

Dr.  Anderson, the Wells Fargo Historian, told the fourth grade classes about how to drive a stagecoach.  You say HYAAAA to get the horses moving and  WHOA to get them to stop.  

If you’re on a cliff and you can’t brake or get the horses to stop, yell "Oh, horsefeathers!"  Nine out of ten times if you jump off you would die.  The whip is used to make a cracking sound not for whipping the horses.

Charlotte Parkhurst, better known as Charley Parkhurst, was the first woman stagecoach driver.  She kept her secret of being a woman until she died.

By Claire

Dr. Anderson, the Wells Fargo Historian, taught us 4th graders about how to get a stagecoach going and stopping. "Hyaa! Hyaa!" the driver would say. "Hyaa" means "Go," and "Whoa!" means stop. In case of an emergency, the driver uses the brakes.

By Reza

Dr. Andy, the Wells Fargo Historian, taught us how to drive a stagecoach. If you want to go, you say "Hyaa!" If you want to stop, you say, "Whoa."
If you are on the road and you want to stop, but the brake is broken, and the horseds don't stop, what would you do? You say, "Oh, horsefeathers!" (It takes the place of a bad word.)

The bad thing about the stagecoach is you had to be a man. Dis you know that Charley Parkhurst was a woman? Charley Parkhurst was really Charotte Parkhurst. She put on man's clothes, and pretended that she was a man.

The people fell for it, and she was allowed to drive the stagecoach.

By Evan