It was an uneventful period for him until a former foe from Rattlesnake Bar enter the county and shared information about Barter's reputation.

Barter, born about 1833 in Quebec, Lower Canada, was the son of an officer of the British Army[4] and a French-Canadian woman.

[6][9][c] Barter and his brother intended to work in gold mines and save money earned to their sister in Canada.

[10] Barter, his brother, and cousin[11] settled along the North Fork American River at Rattlesnake Bar,[4] a mining camp with hundreds of cabins full of prospectors.

A historian from Nevada County wrote that Barter was "naturally able, clever but selfish, vain, and devoid of the ordinary sense of right and wrong—one of these men whose course in life is governed by circumstances.

When the real culprit and the equine were found,[17][19] Barter was released from the Folsom jail on his date of imprisonment,[7][18] before he was transferred to the prison.

[20] Barter changed his name to Dick Woods and moved 200 miles (320 km) north to Shasta County where he mined for two years[18][20] in the Lewiston, Trinity, and South Fork of the Klamath Rivers, as well as French Gulch.

[24][26][g] Barter gained a reputation for robbery,[26] stealing cattle, equines, and gold dust from sluices.

[21][28] It became harder for Barter to avoid arrest as the number of lawmen increased and they became more effective at catching outlaws.

[26] Barter was suspected of planning with Tom Bell's gang to rob a pack train that was carrying $25,000 (equivalent to $847,778 in 2023) in gold on Trinity Mountains on March 12, 1856.

George Skinner, Nicanora Rodriquez, and Big Dolph Newton of Tom Bell's gang performed the robbery.

[4] Beginning in the summer of 1856,[29] "Barter went on to form gangs and terrorize the Sierra Foothills from Nevada City to Folsom.

"[10] The gang he formed included,[30][31] Jack Phillips, formerly one of the Sydney Ducks, ran the Mountaineer House near Auburn.

[3] The gang held up a mule train carrying gold bullion from the mines of Yreka, through the Trinity Mountains region.

[35] On the third day of waiting, the Mexican man was nervous they would be caught and tried to leave, and George shot him out of fear he would tell others about the robbery.

[41][i] The San Francisco Committee of Vigilance and policemen were suspicious of Barter, who was brought to the police department many times as a suspect.

[45] Lawman John Boggs of Placer County, feared by outlaws, was persistent in his effort to capture Barter.

[43][45] Upon hearing that Barter was traveling by stage with Taylor, Boggs obtained a warrant and singlehandedly tried to arrest both men from a Nevada City stagecoach.

"[7][j] In 1988, the Placer County Historical Society placed a marker at the site of the Junction House, a hotel and stagecoach station in Auburn, where Barter's body was found.

[51] After he died, a letter was found on him from his sister Harriet of Sweet Home, Oregon, dated March 14, 1859.