tears. hiding beneath the surface of his charismatic charm is a desperate young man who lives long enough to become the leg lend of the real west. news is the first draft of history. it is immediate and takes place in realtime. legends take longer to develop than are sometimes based on men myth. this fox news series looks at the truth behind the legend.

♪ >> easy boys. easy does it. >> pull down that box. please. we wouldn't want to spook the horses take that lock box off your hands and you can be on your merry way.

♪ >> looking dapper as usual today. >> thank you, william. >> thank you, william. >> business must be good. >> it is, weilliam, it is. ♪

a a>> on the north american plains opportunity calls men of courage to chase the sun west into a new frontier. they would shape a nation, lay hold of their destiny and a new mythology. but with the passing of time, every man has its reckoning. black bart, the jam conjures images of a surl lee stage coach robber and notorious bandit. a violent outlaw ready to kill. but behind every bend stands a

man, and behind every legend lies the truth. >> charles bowles also known as black bart is the ex ten trick stage bandit in the west. his story is unfamiliar to most of us. unlike the brazen outlaw killers of his day this gentlemen bandit never fires a single shot. bowles is a man driven by revenge who masks his identity. instead of leaving trails of blood he leaves behind verses of poetry. >> in 1848 gold is discovered in the foothills of the sierra madre. >> by 184910's of of men known as the 49ers are swarming into northern california. one of those 49ers is an ambitious young man named charles bowles who convinces his

brothers to join him on the gold rush. >> i think there's probably more up this way. >> charles and his brothers had been barn razors in new york. none of them liked farming life. they couldn't wait to get out of the gold fields in california. >> can i get some help. help anybody. >> the hope of striking it rich makes them endure incredible hardships and sacrifices. they camp along the river beds in squall lard conditions giving rise to water born diseases like cholera and toy for identification which often result in death. >> johnny boy, come take a gander. >> are you kidding me? >> we got it. (screams) >> some strike it rich. but charles is not as lucky.

>> after months of mining he not only fails to find goals, he loses both of his brothers. >> charles was devastated. he had been the one to truly want to come out to california. he felt guilty. he was a restless soul. that played heavily into the choices he made later on. >> bowles heads back east a broken man eventually stopping in illinois where he takes a job on a farm and soon marries. on t >> on the one hand you have the adventure of searching for gold and perhaps making a fortune verses working on a farm with harvesting and seeding and to

him was not quite as attractive. >> frustrated with his farming lifestyle he is haunted by his failure as a miner and dreams of striking it rich. >> when word of the montana gold rush reaches charles his gold fever returns. bowles leaves hi family and sets out for montana on foot. >> there's an interesting aspect to bowles' life he had an aversion to horses. when he enlisted in the military he volunteered for the infantry presumably so he wouldn't have to ride a horse.

>> his fear of horses is triggered by a fall. he doesn't let his fear hamper his services to the union. >> what you might not expect is that charles bowles is a war soldier wounded by fighting in the army he returns to battle even with general sherman on his brutal march to the sea. >> marching to the army you are certainly fit. >> he was very demanding to his soldiers and being able to understand what trails will get you where, what trails could be easily ambushed and therefore you set up defenses for him at the proper place. that would be a value to someone who later becomes known as black bart. >> after two years of spanning

for other miners bowles is able to take his own claim to a riverside plot who would make his sacrifice worth it. as word spread the competition for claims increases. >> good day to you, sir. the usual, please. and this. >> $0.03 or $0.10. >> mr. far go just bought me out. >> seems like they seem to buy up the whole territory. >> large companies want to capitalize on strikes and eliminate the competition buying up businesses in all of the land surrounding successful claims. >> there was mining going on in various sections of montana. he did have a claim where he was in competition with other people also setting up claims and a lot

of the violence occurring around him. >> mr. bowles. >> welcome, gentlemen. what can i do for you? >> we would like to make you an offer. >> we want to buy your claim. >> no, thank you. no, thank you. good day. >> doesn't look like much is coming. >> there will be plenty just as soon as the water comes up. good day. >> it would be a shame if it didn't. >> wells fargo is already consolidating the stage for a new miningtown in idaho, utah and montana. rumors the company has plans to go into the mining business makes bowles suspicious. just days after he receives an

offer for his claim, the water supply dries up. >> bowles is convinced it is no coincidence. >> what wells fargo did is divert the stream from which bowles was panning the gold to where he was forced to abandon his gold mine. >> for charles bowles the montana claim is most likely his chance for success. when the water slopes his chances become worthless. this is the moment he sets his sights on wells far go making the company responsible for his miss fortune. >> the soldier with dreams of

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>> in the summer of 71

frustrated miner charles bowles is determined to exact revenge on the company that put him out. >> all over northern california they were shipping lots of gold from one place to another. they had over 3,000 miles of stage coach road. it was a target for thieves. >> bowles cuts himself off with his past and completely re-invents himself. >> he moved to san francisco all of the while nursing this anger, this hatred toward wells far go. >> bowles time in the military disciplined him and trained him strategically. but experiencing war has also given him an aversion to violence. >> i watch the stages from a second camp far from his home

camp and ascertain the exact time they passed. i found them to be at the same spot every morning at 7:00 a.m. >> he comes up with a clever way to pull off a nonviolent highway robbery. a quaker cannon trip used in revolutionary wars it is named for the quakers who like boles oppose violence. they had sticks made to look like guns to fool the enemy into believing they are facing a force much larger than they actually are. >> charles bowles once a law abiding citizen with dreams of making an honest fortune is about to become the west's most notorious bandit. loses thousands each month to highway robbers he hires james hume a detective with a reputation to solve crimes. >> he choose to become the kind

of person who would never quit. he has an obsessive, compulsive type of desire to make things right. >> gentlemen, this is the beginning of this detective period when there's a robbery you don't just get out there and look for horse tracks. it is much more sophisticated. >> this is a bullet i pulled from the body. you see the margins on it? >> technology changed as to how to track these guys down. this is how he adapted that. >> welcome to school boys. >> because of men like hume bowles is cautious. he uses a burlap sack to cover his face. he travels on foot wrapping his feet in cloth to avoid leaving tracks and to avoid vie lengths he never loads his gun.

>> give him a solid volley, boys. >> put down that box. >> i have no desire of your money. >> in that respect i honor the only good office of wells fargo to slow down the box. charles had poked sticks through the bushes so it appears there could be other guns around. >> let's give him what he wants. >> he has his mask on and he's got a gun pointed. he was an enigma. he was a very hard man to figure out. >> good day to you. thank you kindly.

>> bowles was thrilled. his plan for retribution for wells fargo was being pulled out the way he intended. there was probably a level of bravado here such that he often looked forward to his next attempt. >> bowles makes his get away over 120 miles through rugged terrain over the mountains back to san francisco p where a transformation begins. >> charles bowles is a truly awed dash shoes criminal. after committing highway robbery, he returns to high society to hide in plain sight. he has the ingenuity to avoid capture by developing an alter ego and living within blocks of the target of his crimes. bowles plan is a brilliant piece of criminal stat strategy.

but it is also a whisky one. >> he now calls himself charles bolton and lives in san francisco posing as a successful gold prospect tore and socialite. >> he went by charles bolton because it sounds sophisticated. it has a certain dignity associated with it. he is comfortable in the world as he is in the city. >> circumstances as wells you. i yielded to the temptation of crime only after during struggles from which i have no control. >> detective hume also lives in san francisco. this recent string of robberies is testing his patient -- patience. >> our efforts up to this point has been unacceptable. >> he is making a mockery of us.

i will not stand for that. >> he puts together this man is quite capable of covering long distances between the robberies. he knows it is not a multiple person job. this is a lone man. >> he is curious with diverse interest. he takes odd jobs that pull him away from the city and give him access to new targets. >> he tried a little bit of everything. he tried school teaching for a while. it was natural for him. he was intem gent and sharp. >> the preacher a sermon fought and a screecher he often skraut. let's return to the case of summerfield and the notorious bandit, black bart. >> he is incredibly well read. in addition to shakespeare and that kind of thing he read the

sacramento union. it is a story by an attorney who has done makeup with character name as bartholomew grant. to get what he believes he is ordered he goes back to broad barth. they are excused with flair. >> did he threaten you or take any personal belongings? >> no, sir, he was polite. said please and thank you. >> he enjoyed the heist and he's good at it. becoming confident in his skill he leaves something for wells fargo detectives. >> i have labored long and hard for bread to honor and raush y.

black bart. >> in this instance, boles was able t >> it wasn't taunting the authority through black bart. i am the guy who did it. catch me if you can. >> bowles nknown as black bart continues to taunt the helpless wells fargo detectives. >> we all tried on my condition can't be worse and if there is money in that box there's money in my purse. black bart. he is mocking me. he is mocking me. ! >> black bart robberies and taunting poetry got the attention of wells fargo lead detective a man as cunning and relentless as the bandit

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james hume and wells fargo. they are becoming a joke. they are determined now to try to figure this out. lots of pressure is coming from lots of different directions. >> i refuse to by a row mant tized image of black bart to the press. he is a fraud who is robin hood winking a gullible public. >> we got him, sir. he is in your office. >> who, bart? >> yes, sir. >> show me. show me. >> excuse me, sir. >> from 1875 to 1882 black bart hold at least 20 wells fargo stage coaches. >> the giant transportation company is depending on detective hume to catch the

bandit and save his image, now hume thinks he has his man. >> infamous black bart. >> ain't me. i was released from san quinton just yesterday. oh oo hume is described as a combination pit bull and blood houped. he's a p relentless tracker determined to get his man. but he is over worked. >> sir, it appears to be truth. he was locked up during the robberies. >> in a rush to judgment hume has gotten the wrong man p. >> hume catches other guys but he can't catch black bart. he is just too smart. >> it agent him. >> it made him more determined

to catch this guy. >> show me. show me! >> charles bowles, aka black bart is proving to be an elusive bandit. james hume is taking it personally. >> bowls over hears talks of a coach that will be carrying 23,000 dollars. >> you and your mother in law hit gold you can pick up the check. >> he is related to wells far go. he enjoys the lifestyle. that lifestyle is high maintenance lifestyle. he had to do money to do it. >> driven by a growing taste of the good life bowles tracks on

foot following the stage coach routes through the wilderness looking for a place to strike. now a seasoned outlaw he knows how to keep himself strategically hidden willing to endure a big hardsh -- a little hardship for a big payday. >> easy, boys. easy does it. keep those hands where i can see them. >> would you be so kind as to throw down that box. >> i will get it right now for you, sir. >> easy, boys. >> grazed by a buck shot black bart barely he is-- he is scrap.

>> i believe he hyou have something coming from beneath your hairline. >> oh, no, it's perfectly fine. would you please excuse me. >> mr. bolton,>> living a double life is difficult. >> i am sorry. >> mr. bolton. >> it is only a matter of time. >> mr. bolton. hold it right there. >> before his secret is uncovered.

uncovered. pharmacist about your risk.

>> narrator: in san francisco, a miner takes revenge on a company he believes stole his claim, wells fargo. living under the nose of local police, charles boles engages in a dangerous game of dual identity. notorious stagecoach bandit by day -- >> would you please excuse me. >> narrator: high society gentleman by night. >> mr. bolton.

mr. bolton. mr. bolton. hold it oo hold it right there. >> what can i do for you, officer? oo a person was making off with your coat. >> excellent work. excellent work. thank you very much, officer. >> i was never really afraid of the police officers. i knew many of them. they knew me to be a man associated with good people. i never dream -- they never dreamed i was in the business of hopping stages. >> hume is making a little prress so far go sends in reinforcements. even the toughest and smartist detectives struggle to keep pace with black bart. >> he was armed but he didn't shooted back, though?

>> nope. >> no horse tracks. >> you can't walk forever. ♪ >> charles bowles is in a privileged life of ce bolton and outlaw adventures of black bart feeding his appetite of extravagance and excitement.

he robs five more coaches in a year. further embarrassing detective james hume and wells far go in the process. >> as he keeps up his crime spree public humiliation forces them to faubolt the strong boxeo the floor. after a reward is issued black bart has eerie reason to disappear. but the lure of one more robbery is too hard for him to resist. >> he returns to the spot p sunk hill which should be an easy score. why do they>> the flame analogy they are being back to the areas. >> nothing could prepare him for a friend of the coach who hitched a ride into the hilled

derness to hunt small game. he jumped off the stage and is armed with a 44 henry rifle just off the trail. >> throw down that box. >> i can't. >> please. >> tsz bolted to the floor. >> lucky for you i brought my tools. >> easy does it. we wouldn't want to spook the horses. the now come on off of that stage and start walking.

>> black bart. >> the last time bowles hauz shot it stopped him from grabbing the gold so they didn't give chase. now when 5,000 dollars of wells fargo's money, he knows he's a dead man if they catch up to

him. >> he leads a hasty retreat leaving his dirty laundry behind for hume who was more than happy to pick it up. >> fresh sign. with xfinity from comcast you can manage your account anytime,

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mark fx 07. and knows this was in fact the laundry mark. >> good day, sir. >> bowles revenge has long been satisfied. now his greed is turning to arrogance. >> after the last robbery i walked over 100 miles to sacramento, got a new suit of clothes and came back to the city. returning to my accustomed way. >> hume is feeling the pressure from wells far go, why can't you get this guy? you are the great james hume. >> he lifted modern equivalent of $1 million from the wells fargo coaches. what black bart doesn't realize he left behind something more

valuable, his handkerchief. the code is' signed to a customer name, address and occupation. >> this man must be found. >> we are going to have to track this lun dre mart. >> take your men and leave no stone unturned. >> they go to 93 different laundries in the san francisco area. >> yes, sir, can i help you? >> yes. that ear -- your mark? >> yes, that's our mark from one of our customers. >> eat both in a local gold prospect. >> hume and his detectives come up with a plan. >> the gentlemen that knows the a laundry mart belongs to bolton, leaves them to his home.

hume convinces bolton he is interested in mining for gold. >> how do you do? >> he walked right into the wells fargo office. he is outlawed for making one bad mistake. he should have looked at the wells fargo sign and said ain't going in there, no way. >> tempted with the prospect of a meeting that would bring more wealth he brings ego and greed to cloud his judgment. >> the word nt vote is you are quite a gold prospect tore. >> where are your mines located? >> it is one thing i have learned don't disclose too much information to a perfect

stranger. >> mr. bolton. i would like you to meet detective james hume. >> after eight years of cat and mouse the bandit and tracker meet face to face for the first time. cramps but not phillips. it has magnesium and works more naturally than stimulant laxatives. for gentle cramp free relief of occasional constipation that works! mmm mmm live the regular life. if you're looking for a car that drives you... ...and takes the wheel right from your very hands... ...this isn't that car.

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for almost a decade. >> charles is take evn back but think this time he saw himself as bright and as witty as he could be and would be able to win them over. >> i would like you to meet detective james hume. mr. hume, c.e. bolton, gold prospect tore. >> how do you do? >> also known as black bart. the infamous highway man and poet. ♪

>> i had a premonition this would happen today. aren't you the lucky one? >> charles bolton wanted them to know that it was him. to be able to tease and to play with the people that had been chasing him it gave him pleasure. >> on november 17th, 1887, th the -- 1883 the bandit is sentenced to 6 years in san quinton. he signs in under yet another alias, tz spaulding. after serving four years without incident he is out on good behavior. reporters wait for his release. >> black bart, are you going

back to your life of robbing stage coaches? >> no. i've given up my life of crime. >> are you going to go back to writing poetry? >> did you hear me, son? i said i am done commit too long crimes. -- committing crimes. >> charles e bowls, bolton, black bart, tz spaulding, whatever the name it's the late nature endeared him. one man rejects very beganed dit for highway total. >> his career has been entirely completely despicable. >> when bowles is released he returns to san francisco where hume has him jailed. >> bowles was a pretty smart guy. it is likely he knew that hume

was following him hume perhaps had a a hunch that maybe bowles might return to his nefarious ways. >> black bart may be a notorious criminal but far from the men of his behind. his kind part and poet. he never harms one. (laughter). oh, yes. couldn't stay say way, huh? what mask are you wearing now? >> despite his claims to be avenging a i don't think like charles sends one dime home. revealing the truth about a real man. in february 18, '88 bowles and

his altar eeing zee black barttis appeared leaving behind a crime and the rue measure of the rorld west. starts right now. news is immediate and legends take longer to develop and sometimes based on myth. this fox news series looks at the truth behind the