Robberies of treasure carried by Wells Fargo Express aboard stagecoaches, unfortunately did take place. But Wells Fargo's crack detective force pursued the bandits with cold calculation and didn't stop pursuing till they netted the bad guys and locked them away. The legend "Wells Fargo Never Forgets" is the single best artifact from those years.
The town of Umatilla, Oregon 
is nestled on the Columbia River about three hours east of Portland. On October 21st, 1875, six miles outside of Umatilla, two men robbed the stagecoach from Boise City and made off with gold from the Idaho mines .
Wells Fargo's detective force immediately sprang into action. Portland's Special Agent H. C. Paige sent a telegram to John J. Valentine, General Superintendent of Wells Fargo, to inform him that the extent of loss was unknown — but agents were in pursuit of the robbers. On October 29th, Paige wrote a letter to Valentine from Baker City , reporting a loss of up to $4,000, based upon the value of the gold listed on the manifest. Once the loss was known, Paige distributed a reward poster .
At first, Paige went after a red-headed fellow he had been suspicious of, based on a comb with red hairs found at the crime scene. A nearby hotel keeper confirmed the comb belonged to the suspect. On November 5th, Paige wrote Valentine from Pendleton . Two other suspects had confessed to the robbery and were in custody.
Paige had solved the case.
There is more about Wells Fargo's detective force at the Portland Museum. Our new exhibit, "Crime Scene Investigation: Officers in Pursuit," officially opened on January 16th. Check it out!
I'm a team member here and I had no clue there was a Wells Fargo museum in Portland. Where is it at?
Hi Matt:
The Museum is at 1300 SW Fifth Avenue in
Portland. Admission is free.
All the info you'll need to contact us is on the web at http://www.wellsfargohistory.com/museums/museums_port.htm
See you soon!
MESSAGE TO GARY --
PLEASE leave contact info, or send me by email at "contact us" below. Maybe I can help.
Hallo, I am interrested to know if there are any list with the name of the coachmen working for well fargo between the years 1886 to 1905. We suppose that the oncle of my grand father went from Switzerland to RENO, NEVADA and work there as coach men. The name was MARTINO BELTRAMETTI. Are there any relatives in GENOA, GARTNERVILLE or CARSON CITY? Thanks a lot in advance for your commentary. Regards Aris Walter, Switzerland
Hi Aris:
Thanks for your interest in Wells Fargo's stagecoach history. There is nothing about Mr. Beltremetti in our collection. See, the Archives has very few employee records.
Check out this post that explains it in detail:
http://blog.wellsfargo.com/GuidedByHistory/2007/04/my_grandpa_drove_the_stagecoac_1.html