Christopher Evans was a Canadian-born American farmer, teamster, and outlaw who became notorious as the leader of the Evans–Sontag Gang in the late nineteenth century. Alongside John Sontag, Evans was accused of orchestrating a series of train robberies targeting the Southern Pacific Railroad in California between 1889 and 1892. After a deadly confrontation with a posse outside his home, Evans and Sontag fled into the Sierra Nevada mountains, initiating a ten-month manhunt. During their evasion, their cause was famously championed in the press by prominent writers Ambrose Bierce and Joaquin Miller.
The pursuit culminated in the June 1893 Battle of Stone Corral, where Evans was severely wounded—losing an eye and his left arm—and Sontag was mortally injured. Following a brief escape from jail aided by accomplice Ed Morrell, Evans was recaptured, convicted of murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment at Folsom State Prison. He served seventeen years before being paroled in 1911 by California Governor Hiram Johnson, on the condition of his banishment from the state.
During his later years, Evans relocated to Portland, Oregon, where he maintained his innocence regarding the train robberies until his death in 1917. While in prison or during his post-release years, he authored a socialist book that advocated for increased government regulation to curb corporate and business abuses, reflecting his lifelong hostility toward powerful monopolies like the railroad companies.
