narrator: in the summer of 1818, charles boles to exact revenge on the company that pushed him off his claim. he sets out on foot to scout wells fargo s stage routes. all over northern california, they were shipping lots of gold from one place to another, they had over 3,000 miles of stagecoach road. it was a big target. narrator: consumed by revenge, boles breaks ties with his family, cuts himself off from his past, and completely reinvents himself. he moved to san francisco, all the while, nursing this anger, this hatred toward wells fargo. narrator: boles s time in the military conditioned him and trained him strategically, but experiencing war has also given him an aversion to violence. i ve watched the stages from the second cabinet far from my
boles was thrilled. his plan for retribution against wells fargo was being carried out the way that he intended. there was probably a level of bra va toe here, such that he ft attempt. narrator: boles makes his next getaway over the mountains back to san francisco. where a transformation begins. charles boles is a truly criminal. 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. boles plan is a brilliant piece of criminal strategy, but it s also a risky one.
he examines it, he sees the mark, f.x.o. 7, and he knows this was laundry marked. narrator: for boles, 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 ways. black bart s become kind of a key role because of his actions, hume is feeling the pressure, why can t you get this guy? you re the great james hume. narrator: bart has lifted the modern equivalent of $1 million from the wells fargo coaches. but what black bart doesn t realize is he left behind something ian more valuable even more valuable, his
lot of the violence that was occurring around him. mr. boles. welcome, what can i do for you? we d 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 ll be plenty just as soon as the water comes up. good day. it d be a shame if it didn t. narrator: wells fargo is already consolidated its stage line in idaho, utah, and montana. now, rumors the company has plans to go into the mining business makes boles suspicious.
that ain t hume! sir, sir, we got him, sir. who, bart? show me, show me. charles boles, aka black bart is proving to be an elusive bandit. and james hume is taking it personally. returning to his gentlemanly ways and scouting his next strike, boles overhears talk of a coach that ll be carrying $23,000. this meal was excellent. no, no, i insist. when you hit your mother load of gold, you can pick up the check, my friend. boles began to expand his exploits beyond things related to wells fargo. he enjoyed this lifestyle, but that is a high maintenance lifestyle financially and he had to have money to doed it, so he continued to rob. narrator: driven bay growing taste of the good life, boles