WELLS FARGO DETECTIVE: The Biography of James B. Hume

In his post as Chief of Wells Fargo's Detective Bureau, Jim Hume tracked down his share of highwaymen in California and points east. Hume's most celebrated case, possibly, was the capture of Black (""Please throw down the box"") Bart, in which Hume did him in via a laundry-marked handkerchief, utilizing coolly scientific methods not too often employed in Western dragnetting of the day. The conscientious, competent, dogged detective was often front page copy as the illusion-pricking voice of reason amid the doings of glamorous bandits like Black Bart, "". . . the meanest and most pusillanimous thief in the entire catalogue,"" intones Hume. There is no doubt that Hume was superbly endowed, with a knowledge of the region, a consuming interest in detective methods and an incorruptible sense of duty. The author reviews Hume's early wandering life, his public service career and the sleuthing, from highway robbery to inside jobs. Good man; good show.