to Nita in TX mailto:[email protected] I have copied the requested pages and will be mailing shortly to you. This sounds a little like the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid story. You never gave me the call number for the book, The Way it Was: the Colorful History of Tulare County. It is F868.T8 M58. Highlights: American Express Company bulletin: WANTED FOR TRAIN ROBBERY AT COLLIS, CA--Aug 3 1892 John SONTAG and Chris EVANS Chris EVANS, alias Charles NAUGHTON, native of Canada, of Welsh and Irish descent, aged 45; height 5 ft 8 or 10 inches; weight about 160 lbs; sandy complexion; sandy or light hair; beard and moustache rather dark and sandy; blue eyes; large bony hands; has a spring in both knees when walking; walks rather fast; when talking grins and smiles; moves his head sideways from shoulder to shoulder; has a slouching appearance; when talking any length of time has a slight Irish accent and droops or squints his left eye; has shrill speaking voice. When last seen wore dark grey, square checked sack suit. Has a wife and family at Visalia, CA. Chris and SONTAG escaped from a confrontation by Sheriff KAY. They were trailed into the swamps, east of Visalia and then into the mountains, where the trail was lost. Chris had lived in Redwood Canyon, worked in the lumber mills, and mined in the area. He was familiar with trails, springs, and places to seek cover. The search went into weeks and then months. Law officers were harshly criticized in city newspapers. After EVANS was eventually captured he said that he could have shot local officers many times as they passed him in the brush. George SONTAG, John's brother, testified he first met Chris EVANS as Charles NAUGHTON in Mankato Minnesota in 1891. EVANS posed as a fruit buyer. Special agents who trailed George said that he left Mankato July 7 1892 for Fresno. He registered at a Fresno hotel on July 14th. He then met Chris in Dunlap and they left the mountains on August 1st. Chris, John and George robbed the train at Collis on August 3rd. On June 15, 1893 luck ran out for Chris and John at Stone Corral near Orosi. John SONTAG had wanted to go to Mexico but Chris didn't want to leave his family. In an encounter with U.S. Marshal George GARD and posse, John was mortally wounded and Chris was shot. John begged Chris to shoot him and get away. Instead, Chris made John as comfortable as possible and then, in the darkness, slipped away, leaving him. John fired a final shot in an effort to kill himself, but he was found semi-conscious at daybreak. He was taken to Tulare County Jail and then to Fresno, where he died at the age of 33 on July 6, 1893. Chris EVANS went to Wilcox Canyon to the Elijah PERKINS ranch. The PERKINS family was related to Mollie EVANS, Chris' wife. Chris was in a terrible condition - his left arm was shattered, he had a deep head wound, one eye was almost gone and he was weak from loss of blood and thin from lack of food. Though he was still defiant, the family finally talked him into surrendering, but he only agreed after exacting a promise that his wife, Molly, would get the reward money. Unfortunately, Mollie EVANS never saw any of the money. She and her daughter, Eva, acted in the San Francisco theater in "The Great Collis Train Robbery" - a corny, hastily written melodrama. They had little talent, but drew big crowds for the newspapers had a field day with the Southern Pacific Bandits. In jail, the doctors had amputated EVANS' arm and removed his damaged eye, and he had recovered enough to be arraigned. On December 28, 1893, Mrs. EVANS visited her husband in his cell. A waiter named Ed MORRELL, whose real name was Ed MARTIN, brought Chris EVANS not only his food but also two pistols. Ed had made a hero in his mind out of Chris EVANS. When the jailer opened the door to let the waiter out he was taken hostage. Mrs. EVANS was on the floor in a dead faint. The two fled and met S. H. COLE in the street outside the Jail. COLE was a one-time mayor of Fresno. They used him as a second hostage. Mrs. EVANS was arrested but released since she had no knowledge of the bizarre breakout. No one saw the escapees from December to February. Late in February, Sheriff KAY, received a tip Chris and Ed were in the EVANS' home in Visalia. Time had run out for Chris. Sheriff KAY wrote a note to him and the youngest child, Joe EVANS, brought out an answer to the Sheriff from his father. After several exchanges of notes Chris and Ed surrendered to the Sheriff. EVANS kissed each of his children and both men were taken to the Fresno Jail. EVANS was tried for murder and received a life sentence. MORRELL was also sentenced to life, but he was released after 19 years and spent the rest of his life lecturing on the topic "Crime Does Not Pay." He also wrote a book, "The 25th Man." The EVANS family moved to Oregon. Chris was paroled in 1915 and lived with his family in OR until 1918. There was considerable evidence that seemed to link Chris EVANS to the DALTONs. Contemporaries believed it was Chris EVANS who helped Grat DALTON break jail. Chris had a twin brother, Tom EVANS, who stayed at the Redwood Canyon Ranch with Chris and Molly from 1873-75. In 1875 Tom supposedly took his family back to Canada. Rumor has it, however, that he was killed as part of a robbery with Emmett DALTON. It may be only coincidence but Chris EVANS, the JAMES brothers and the DALTON brothers all came to the area within a short time span of each other. The timing also suggests these men did not rob trains to right wrongs. >From a Pioneer Card at the CA Room: Mollie (BYRD) EVANS was born Jan 21 1859 Jackson, Amador County, CA and was living as of July 1936. She married Chris EVANS Nov 4 1874 at Auckland Tulare County CA. Her father was Jessie Albert BYRD and her mother Isabella Meade SANDERS. Children: Evelyn (Mrs. McCULLOUGH)-- I believe this is Eva - she submitted the Pioneer Card information Ynez Winifred Joseph Frances Louis Lester John Christopher Patrick Carlton. >From CADI MACDONALD CHARLOTTE 12/17/1863 BYRD EVANS F CANADA SAN FRANCISCO(38) 09/11/1956 92 yrs there may be a connection here. and this might be Patrick Carlton: EVANS CARL 05/08/1890 BYRD EVANS M CALIFORNIA ORANGE 03/08/1954 561-01-1407 63 yrs