Cottonwood
Where is Cottonwood? This was the hardest part of the story to solve. There were so many Cottonwood's listed in the Nevada Place Names book. But none were in Pershing County. Then I caught my break. It found an 1954 newspaper article that said that George Lovelock, the founder of Lovelock, Nevada, shipped ore from Cottonwood back to Swansea, England where he was born.
Further investigation turned up the Lovelock Mine in Dixie Valley near Boyer or Bolivia. This was about 60 miles south of Lovelock on the present day Kitten Springs Road [forgottonnevada.org]. There were vast deposits of borax here. The article goes on to say that at one time it, "used to be a common thing to see ten-horse teams loaded with it."
Dan Lovelock
Which brings us to Dan Lovelock. Dan was born in 1861 in California - before his father moved his family to Nevada. In 1894 he was a stage driver on the stage that went from Lovelock to Cottonwood. He was described in one newspaper article as well and favorably known in these parts.
Triple Murder
And that brings us to our story and our antagonist Robert Logan.
On July 11, 1894 (give or take a day) Dan Lovelock was driving his stage from Lovelock to Cottonwood. His passenger was a Mrs. Logan. It was a 60 miles trip through rough country so he remained in Cottonwood over night. Mrs. Logan offered him a bed in the Logan house.
Now Mr. Logan (who we already knew was trouble when he blew up the dam in part 1 of our story), had turned exceptionally jealous. In the middle of the night he attacked Dan Lovelock and left a very large gash in his head with a knife. Mrs. Logan bandaged him up and the next day drove the stage herself back to Lovelock, Nevada.
She arrived back in Cottonwood on the 13th and turned around and headed back to Lovelock with two passengers: the injured Dan Lovelock and a passer-by Fred Sullivan. It must have been an open-air stage as Dan Lovelock sat next to Mrs. Logan and Sullivan sat in the back seat.
Some place on the trip back Robert Logan caught up to the stage. He accused his wife of adultery, but finally left. Around dusk he showed up again behind the stage. With one shot Fred Sullivan lay dead. With the next shot the helpless Dan Lovelock lay dead slumped in Mrs. Logan's lap. Logan jumped into the wagon and sat next to his wife.
He ordered his wife to drive to a spring where he was going to dump the bodies. According to Mrs. Logan her husband threatened to end the lives of other men he accused her of cheating with. He may have even told her that she would die at the spring also!
Mrs. Logan convinced her husband that the horses needed water fi they were going to finish the trip. When Robert Logan reached under the seat for a pail, Mrs. Logan took the gun from Dan Lovelock's pocket and shot her husband. He fell to the ground and she shot him once more. Then she got off of the stage and coolly shot him a third time.
She took the stage back to Lovelock with the two dead men and surrendered to the sheriff. I do not know what happened to Mrs. Logan, but I expect nothing. The papers all agree that Robert Logan was a coward and the people in the area all denounced him as such. They all commended Mrs. Logan's courage in this difficult situation. Lovelock, as previously said, was well-liked. There was no indication that Mrs. Logan had slept with Dan Lovelock or anyone else. Have you drawn a picture of Mrs. Logan in your head? Well I had and it wasn't anything like a young, petite, 26 year-old woman.
To find out how Ed Emmons fits into this story, read PART ONE of the Emmons Correspondence Papers.
Where is Cottonwood? This was the hardest part of the story to solve. There were so many Cottonwood's listed in the Nevada Place Names book. But none were in Pershing County. Then I caught my break. It found an 1954 newspaper article that said that George Lovelock, the founder of Lovelock, Nevada, shipped ore from Cottonwood back to Swansea, England where he was born.
Further investigation turned up the Lovelock Mine in Dixie Valley near Boyer or Bolivia. This was about 60 miles south of Lovelock on the present day Kitten Springs Road [forgottonnevada.org]. There were vast deposits of borax here. The article goes on to say that at one time it, "used to be a common thing to see ten-horse teams loaded with it."
Dan Lovelock
Which brings us to Dan Lovelock. Dan was born in 1861 in California - before his father moved his family to Nevada. In 1894 he was a stage driver on the stage that went from Lovelock to Cottonwood. He was described in one newspaper article as well and favorably known in these parts.
Triple Murder
And that brings us to our story and our antagonist Robert Logan.
On July 11, 1894 (give or take a day) Dan Lovelock was driving his stage from Lovelock to Cottonwood. His passenger was a Mrs. Logan. It was a 60 miles trip through rough country so he remained in Cottonwood over night. Mrs. Logan offered him a bed in the Logan house.
Now Mr. Logan (who we already knew was trouble when he blew up the dam in part 1 of our story), had turned exceptionally jealous. In the middle of the night he attacked Dan Lovelock and left a very large gash in his head with a knife. Mrs. Logan bandaged him up and the next day drove the stage herself back to Lovelock, Nevada.
She arrived back in Cottonwood on the 13th and turned around and headed back to Lovelock with two passengers: the injured Dan Lovelock and a passer-by Fred Sullivan. It must have been an open-air stage as Dan Lovelock sat next to Mrs. Logan and Sullivan sat in the back seat.
Some place on the trip back Robert Logan caught up to the stage. He accused his wife of adultery, but finally left. Around dusk he showed up again behind the stage. With one shot Fred Sullivan lay dead. With the next shot the helpless Dan Lovelock lay dead slumped in Mrs. Logan's lap. Logan jumped into the wagon and sat next to his wife.
He ordered his wife to drive to a spring where he was going to dump the bodies. According to Mrs. Logan her husband threatened to end the lives of other men he accused her of cheating with. He may have even told her that she would die at the spring also!
Mrs. Logan convinced her husband that the horses needed water fi they were going to finish the trip. When Robert Logan reached under the seat for a pail, Mrs. Logan took the gun from Dan Lovelock's pocket and shot her husband. He fell to the ground and she shot him once more. Then she got off of the stage and coolly shot him a third time.
She took the stage back to Lovelock with the two dead men and surrendered to the sheriff. I do not know what happened to Mrs. Logan, but I expect nothing. The papers all agree that Robert Logan was a coward and the people in the area all denounced him as such. They all commended Mrs. Logan's courage in this difficult situation. Lovelock, as previously said, was well-liked. There was no indication that Mrs. Logan had slept with Dan Lovelock or anyone else. Have you drawn a picture of Mrs. Logan in your head? Well I had and it wasn't anything like a young, petite, 26 year-old woman.
To find out how Ed Emmons fits into this story, read PART ONE of the Emmons Correspondence Papers.