On Wednesday, November 21, 1883, Black Bart began serving his six year sentence at San Quentin Prison. It had only been 18 days since that last fateful robbery at Funk Hill. He was logged in as Charles E. Bolton and officially known as Number 11046. He denied being Black Bart or Charles E. Boles. Some think the reason he insisted on keeping the Bolton name was in some way to protect the family that he had so long ago deserted. However, during his stay in San Quentin he did send and receive letters from his wife, Mary Boles, and other family members. For the most part his letters were warm and friendly.

During most of his stay at San Quentin Bart worked as a clerk or bookkeeper in the prison hospital. His work in the dispensary of the prison had gained the respect of the physician, Doctor Rich, and apothecary, Fred Fuller. By close attendance to his duties Bart had become sufficiently acquainted with the art of compounding prescriptions to enable him to take a position in a drug store. When asked, Bart said he might settle down somewhere after his release as a drug clerk. While in prison Bart did not have many associations with prisoners, feeling himself superior to other convicts. He did, however, have one unlikely close friend, Charles E. Dorsey. Dorsey was a cold-blooded murder and robber. One wonders what they had in common.

While Bart was in prison there was no record of him having any visitors. However, there were many stories and rumors of the people that had visited him. There was one interesting story from a family member, saying the information came from one of Bart's letters to his wife. It suggested that a very wealthy man had become interested in him and may have been instrumental in his early release.

On January 21, 1888, after serving four years and two month of a six year sentence, Black Bart walked out of San Quentin prison a free man. It was said that his early release was because of the "Goodwin Act" that allowed prisoners time off for good behavior. Even though he had been in prison for over four years, the press was still interested in a new Black Bart story, and they were there to greet him when he was released. The press bombarded him with questions. He said his name was Charles Bolton and that is what he wanted to be called. He said he was older now and could feel the added years, not that prison life had hurt him, for he was still in good health. He added he was becoming a bit deaf now and needed glasses for reading. One reporter asked if he would go back to robbing stage coaches; Bart said he was through with crime. Another reporter asked if he would write any more poems? Bart turned to him and said, "Young man didn't you hear me say I would commit no more crimes?"

After his release from San Quentin Bart went back to San Francisco and took a room at the Nevada House located at 132 Sixth Street. Rembering their moto "Wells Fargo Never Forgets," Wells Fargo kept close track of him. Bart kept to himself and did not have contact with any of his former friends or acquaintances. One interesting thing: a newspaper ad appeared in the "Personals" on January 23, 1888, two days after Bart was released. It was printed only once and read "Black Bart will hear something to his advantage by sending his address to M.R. Box 29, this office." Was it someone wanting to offer him a job or maybe get information from him too write a book? Some even suggesed it was Mary Vollmer, his supposed mistress. No one knows if Bart saw the ad or responded to it. Whoever placed the ad still remains a mystery.

Bart never returned to his wife, Mary, in Hannibal, Missouri. However, he did write to her after his release. In one of the letters he said he was tired of being shadowed by Wells Fargo, felt demoralized, and wanted to get away from everybody. In February, 1888 Bart decided it was time to act. He left the Nevada House and vanished. Hume said Wells Fargo tracked him to the Palace Hotel¹ in Visalia. The owner said a man answering the description of Bart checked in and then disappeared. He left a valise in the room. It contained a can of corned beef, a can of tongue, a pound of coffee, packages of crackers and sugar, a jar of jelly, two neckties and two pairs of cuffs bearing the laundry mark F.X.O.7. Was this Bart's way of getting back at Hume, was it to confound Wells Fargo, or was it just to leave a false trail? Whatever the reason, the last time anyone saw Black Bart was February 28, 1888².

In 1892 Mary Boles listed herself in the city directory as the widow of Charles E. Boles. She may have known more than she was telling, but then again she may have just given up and done it to get on with her life³.

1   Local Historians in Visalia, CA dispute which hotel Bart stayed in at Visalia. Local historians claim that Bart actually stayed at the Visalia House Hotel. The two hotels were a block apart on Visalia's Main St. The Palace Hotel building still exists. The Visalia House was torn down in 1917.

2   Recently a book named "Black Bart The Search Is Over" by Robert Jernigan and Wiley Joiner was published. In their book they say that Bart wound up in Marysville California and worked as a druggist named Charles Wells until his death on December 16, 1914. He was buried in the City Cemetery in a grave marked by a small stone numbered 743. The book is very interesting and well written. However, there are no actual documented facts identifying Bart. The conclusions are based on circumstantial evidence and hearsay. The only way to actually prove that this is Bart is to exhume the body and verify the DNA with one of his living relatives.

There are many stories on what happened to Bart. For example, I have a very long description from a family in Texas that talks about their great-great grandfather. He came to Texas as an old man and purchased a small farm (ranch). After he was settled he married a young woman. I believe she was 18 or 19 (not bad for a 60 year old man). They had several children. Before he died he told his wife and children that he had come to Texas to escape from his former life as Black Bart. The only problem I had with their story was their description of Bart. It was not what I expected. However, he was an old man and people change as they age. The Texas family has the same problem as the Marysville druggist, no documented evidence. However, the Texas family does have one easy recourse if they choose to use it. They say they are living relatives of Bart so they could compare their DNA against one of the living relatives of the Charles Boles family.

3   Supposedly In 1917, a New York newspaper printed an obituary for a Charles E. Boles, a Civil War veteran. If this was Bart, he would have been 88 years old.