Old habits die hard. Deuteronomy underscores that lesson, and a more contemporary character shows that people have not changed much. In 1901 Bill Miner got out of San Quentin Prison, where he had served 33 years in all. It was his third stint, and both previous times he had barely sniffed free air before landing in jail again.
Miner was a Wild West legend. he ahd robbed his first stagecoach at 16. He is credited with first using the line that has played on thousands of Westerns: "Hands up!" Wells Fargo passengers called him the Gentleman Bandit because he never shot anyone and he spoke respectfully, using "Sir" and "Ma'am."
When Bill Miner emerged from prison at age 58, his long hair had turned gray and most of his friends had either died or disappeared. Stepping into a new century, he had a new lease on life. No stagecoaches were left to rob: Wells Fargo had sold their horses and invested in something he had never seen, steam trains.
A Hint of Doom
Miner tried various odd jobs, but most work seemed degrading and boring to a former stagecoach robber. The old restlessness returned. One afternoon, in a Seattle nickelodeon, he watched the movie The Great Train Robbery, and discovered a new career, or at least a new twist on an old one. The Gentleman Bandid, at age 60, became the Grey Fox. He went on to mastermind six train robberies, and probably more, until the Mounties tracked him down in British Columbia. |
