Slade Gang Challenge
History of the Slade Gang
In 1863, a stagecoach along the Overland Trail carrying an army payroll of $60,000 (which would be about $1 million dollars today) in ten and twenty dollar gold coins was destined for Fort Sanders in Wyoming Territory. The gold shipment represented several months of back pay for the soldiers at Fort Sanders; however, the unfortunate soldiers never saw the gold.
Only about a mile from the Virginia Dale Station, the stage was robbed by six masked outlaws at Long View Hill. The gang took the strongbox from the stage and headed west towards the wooded foothills, where they blew the lock off of the box, removed the gold coins, and buried the treasure.
However, before they could spend their ill-gained wealth, the bandits were pursued and killed by the U.S. Calvary. The Calvary later found the iron strong box in a nearby creek, the sides and bottom gone, riddled with bullet holes - and, obviously, empty.
At the time, it was rumored that Joseph "Jack" Slade, the Station Master was the leader of the gang. Jack Slade, not as famous as many other outlaw characters, was nevertheless, as notorious as many of them. Slade was said to have had an uncontrollable temper, was a heavy drinker, had murdered in the past, and was eventually hanged inMontana. Though the stage line suspected Slade, they could not prove it, so they just fired him. Jack Slade was run out of town without the opportunity to retrieve the buried treasure.
What is now the Educo basecamp is rumored to have been a hideout and retreat for Jack Slade during his time as the stage master just north at Virginia Dale Station and is suspected of being the location of the never found and still buried gold coins from the payroll robbery. It is also the location that we believe the Slade Gang practiced and honed their skills while preparing for the stagecoach robbery.
© 2010 Educo Leadership Adventures