Whenever we are going somewhere my boys always yell shotgun to
see who get’s to ride in the front seat. This often results in a race to the
passenger side door and on occasion some pushing and shoving, which in turn leads to no one riding shotgun and frowning faces in the backseat.
I didn’t know where the term had come from and being a
historical writer, I delved into some research and this is what I found.
Riding Shotgun comes from the term Shotgun Messenger and was
not actually used until 1919 in the movies.
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Wells, Fargo strongbox |
However, in the old west the stagecoach was the prime contender
and often the only form of transportation for people, cash and gold. After many robberies, the stagecoach line
hired shotgun riders. Their job was to sit beside the driver and protect the
strongbox and it’s possessions, firing at anyone who tried to take it or attack
them.
When I think about this job, I generally assume you’d be a
moving target—one easily pegged off by a band of outlaws, but that wasn’t the
case. Most attacks were from highwaymen on foot. They’d hide in the bush where
the stage had to slow down, usually a corner or steep hill. The highwayman
would confront the stagecoach driver and his pal with guns drawn, stealing the
loot within a few minutes and then going merrily on his way.
There were actually only two known cases in Arizona where
the stage was robbed by a group of bandits and a shootout ensued.
Most bandits knew what to look for when casing a run. If
there was no Shotgun Messenger seated beside the driver, there was likely no
strongbox on that stage.
When Wells Fargo started up in 1852 word got around that
they were an express, delivering gold, cash and bank drafts. In turn Wells,
Fargo had their own agents riding shotgun in the front and back of the stage.
The six horse drawn coach with the lettering Wells, Fargo & Co. painted on
the side was sure to light up any bandits eyes. However, these Shotgun
Messengers were well armed and very dangerous.
The Wells, Fargo was the most trusted name in delivery for
many years because of this, and in 1866 combined all major western stage lines.
Wells, Fargo & Co stagecoaches rolled over 3,000 miles from California to
Nebraska and Colorado into the mining regions of Montana and Idaho.
You may ask yourself how common stagecoach robberies were
back then and through some research I was able to find a few numbers.
In Arizona between 1875 and 1903, 130 stagecoach robberies
took place.
1876 to 1878, stagecoach robberies on the Cheyenne to Deadwood
trail were a steady source of income for Big Nose George and other outlaws.
The
worst areas for stagecoach robberies were Tombstone and the Black Canyon Stage
Line from Phoenix to Prescott.
Cheers,
Kat
Nice bit of history here, Kat. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI've run onto the syntax problem, too. Truth is, readers know what riding shotgun is, but do they know what a messenger is? So I generally try to either avoid the issue or I just use "shotgun."
Thanks, Jacquie! :) :)
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