Shotgun messenger
Private "express messenger" and guard, especially on a stagecoach but also on a train, in charge of overseeing and guarding a valuable private shipment, such as particularly the contents of a strongbox or safe (on a train).
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Stagecoach
Four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses.
Four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses.
In addition to the stage driver or coachman who guided the vehicle, a shotgun messenger armed with a coach gun might travel as a guard beside him.
Gunfighter
Gunslingers or gunfighters (also called gunmen in the 19th and early 20th centuries) were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts.
Gunslingers or gunfighters (also called gunmen in the 19th and early 20th centuries) were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts.
Today, the term "gunslinger" is more or less used to denote someone who is quick on the draw with a pistol, but can also refer to riflemen and shotgun messengers.
Coach gun
Modern term, coined by gun collectors, for a double-barreled shotgun, generally with barrels from 18 to 24 in in length, placed side-by-side.
Modern term, coined by gun collectors, for a double-barreled shotgun, generally with barrels from 18 to 24 in in length, placed side-by-side.
These weapons were known as "cut-down shotguns" or "messenger's guns" from the use of such shotguns on stagecoaches by shotgun messengers in the American Wild West.
Shotgun
Long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, or sometimes a single solid projectile called a slug.
Long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, or sometimes a single solid projectile called a slug.
These guards, called express messengers, became known as shotgun messengers, since they rode with the weapon (loaded with buckshot) for defense against bandits.
Riding shotgun
Phrase used to describe the bodyguard who rides alongside a stagecoach driver, typically armed with a break-action shotgun, called a coach gun, to ward off bandits or hostile Native Americans.
Phrase used to describe the bodyguard who rides alongside a stagecoach driver, typically armed with a break-action shotgun, called a coach gun, to ward off bandits or hostile Native Americans.
The expression "riding shotgun" is derived from "shotgun messenger", a colloquial term for "express messenger", when stagecoach travel was popular during the American Wild West and the Colonial period in Australia.
Robert H. Paul
Law enforcement officer in the American Southwest for more than 30 years.
Law enforcement officer in the American Southwest for more than 30 years.
He tried mining again but had no luck and in the 1870s took a job as a stagecoach shotgun messenger for Wells Fargo & Co. operating out of San Andreas and later Visalia, California
Armored car (valuables)
Armored van or truck used to transport valuables, such as large quantities of money or other valuables, especially for banks or retail companies.
Armored van or truck used to transport valuables, such as large quantities of money or other valuables, especially for banks or retail companies.
In Deadwood, the Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage Company suffered robberies along the criminal-infested Deadwood to Cheyenne trail that also resulted in the death of one of their shotgun messengers named Johnny Slaughter.
Cochise County in the Old West
The scene of a number of violent conflicts in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West, including between white settlers and Apache Indians, between opposing political and economic factions, and between outlaw gangs and local law enforcement.
The scene of a number of violent conflicts in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West, including between white settlers and Apache Indians, between opposing political and economic factions, and between outlaw gangs and local law enforcement.
While his election as sheriff was being contested, Bob Paul worked as a Wells Fargo shotgun messenger.
Multiple-barrel firearm
Any type of firearm with more than one gun barrel, usually to increase the rate of fire or hit probability and to reduce barrel erosion/overheating.
Any type of firearm with more than one gun barrel, usually to increase the rate of fire or hit probability and to reduce barrel erosion/overheating.
Shotguns also remained popular with citizen militias, guards (e.g. the shotgun messengers) and lawmen as a self-defense weapon, and became one of the many symbols of the American Old West.
Wyatt Earp
American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone.
American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone.
In fact, Earp had been a stagecoach guard for Wells Fargo, a full-time gambler, a regular associate of prostitutes, and, occasionally, a lawman.