Gambler’s Boots

The Robbery of the Overland Express Train

As re-told by Officer JAMES H. KINKEAD, the officer who arrested the perpetrators

In this episode, we share an original historical document. It has not been fictionalized.

Former Washoe County Undersheriff, Officer James H. Kinkead died June 9,1912. Among his papers and effects, Jim Kinkead’s family found a pencil-written manuscript telling about the robbery of the Overland Express Train # 1 on November 5, 1870, and about Kinkead’s role in apprehending the perpetrators.

Central Pacific’s Train No. 1, the “Overland Express,” carried bags of newly minted gold coins for the monthly payroll of the Yellow Jacket Mine. The train robbers believed that they were stealing a haul worth over $60,000.

The manuscript contained a poignant note. “Of the many officers who took a prominent part in the arrest and conviction of the train robbers, all are now dead save me. I was the one who followed the faint, small-heel footprints through the mountains until they led me to the lair of the robbers. I was also the officer who collected most of the evidence used at the trial. For these services, I received most of the large reward.”

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Jim Kinkead’s manuscript is now housed in the Nevada State Archives.

Music — Ballad of the Well-Known Gun by Elton John. Recorded in his Tubleweed Collection (1970)