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Black Bart was a California stagecoach robber whose real name was Charles E. Boles and he was also known as Charles E. Bolton. Very little is known about him other than his thefts against Wells Fargo from 1875-1883. It is believed that he was a New Yorker who moved west as a young man. He robbed 28 stagecoaches of their strongboxes in Northern California, but never touched a passenger. His trademark clothing was a linen duster and a flour-sack mask. He carried an unloaded shotgun. He was also known for leaving the occasional poetry verse behind.
He was slightly wounded in a botched robbery and was then tracked down by a Wells Fargo detective. Then in November 1883 he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in San Quentin penitentiary. He served just four of those years then disappeared. His obituary turned up in a New York newspaper in 1917.