| THE
WEST
1884-1889, 1892-1900
COLORADO
Telluride,
Colorado
Bob Parker arrived in the mining town
of Telluride, Colorado in 1884. There
he met another young Utah cowboy,
Matt Warner. Telluride was flush with
money from the booming mining industry.
Much of the wealth was stockpiled
in the San Miguel Valley Bank. The
bank was robbed at gunpoint on June
24, 1889. Historians believe the robbers
were Tom McCarty, Matt Warner, Robert
Leroy Parker, and a fourth man. A
posse tracked the Telluride robbers
to Brown's Park near Vernal,
Utah. There the outlaws split up and
escaped.
WYOMING
Sundance, Wyoming
Sundance, Wyoming sits near the shadow
of the famous landmark, the Devil's
Tower. Harry Longabaugh (alias "the
Sundance Kid") was brought for
trial to Sundance for stealing a horse,
saddle and pistol from the Three V
Ranch in Northeast Wyoming in February
1887. He served an 18-month sentence
in the Sundance Jail. When he was
released, he had a new nickname, "The
Sundance Kid." ^
back to top
Hole-In-The
Wall, Wyoming
Butch worked a small ranch on Blue Creek near Kaycee, Wyoming.
The ranch is near the famous outlaw hideout, Hole-In-The Wall. Rustlers and outlaws
used the narrow "V" passage because of its remoteness and secrecy. Rock
Springs, Wyoming
As the story goes, Butch worked for a butcher shop in
Rock Springs, Wyoming. He may have learned to butcher from his expertise as a
rustler. The nickname stuck. He became "Butch Cassidy." ^
back to top
Laramie,
Wyoming
Butch and a man by the name of Al
Hainer were arrested for horse stealing
in April 1892. The two were hunted
down in Star Valley, Wyoming. Butch
Cassidy, under the name of George
Cassidy, was found guilty of stealing
a horse. He was sentenced to the Wyoming
Territorial Prison in Laramie beginning
July 15, 1894. Butch's mug
shot as he entered prison is one
of the few authenticated photographs
that exist. His birth place was listed
falsely as New York City. Butch was
sentenced to two years of hard labor.
He was paroled six months early on
January 19, 1896. He returned to
Brown's Park, Utah.
The
Laramie Prison was built in 1872. It was used until 1903. ^
back to top Wilcox,
Wyoming
Outlaw gangs looked at trains as easy marks. Historian Richard
Patterson describes the method used in the 1870s: "The trains were usually
halted by loosening a rail, stacking ties or logs on the tracks, or signaling
the engineer with a fake emergency." All that changed with the use of dynamite.
Robbers stopped Union Pacific's Overland
Flyer on June 2, 1899. The location
was near Wilcox, Wyoming north of
Laramie. The time was 2:18 a.m. They
went to the express car. E.C. Woodcock
was ordered to open the door. He refused.
Outlaws blew up the car with dynamite.
Woodcock was stunned but not seriously
hurt. The outlaws made off with about
$30,000. The robbers split up. One
group shot it out with a pursuing
posse led by Sheriff Josiah Hazen.
Sheriff Hazen was killed in the gunfight.
Hazen was extremely well-respected.
His funeral was a big event in Douglas,
Wyoming. The outlaws received national
fame. They were identified as Harvey
"Kid Curry" Logan, George
"Flat Nose" Currie, and
Harvey's brother, Lonny Logan. The
robbers escaped. ^
back to top
Tipton, Wyoming
The date was August 29, 1900. Butch
Cassidy was 34 years old. The place
was Tipton, Wyoming. The Union Pacific
Number 3 from Omaha was stopped by
robbers. The express car was blown
open with dynamite. The clerk was
the same E.C. Woodcock from the Wilcox
train robbery. Mounted posses were
dispatched by Union Pacific. The outlaws
escaped on a fresh relay of horses
left before the robbery.
SOUTH DAKOTA, 1897
Outlaws rode
in to Belle Fourche, South Dakota
on June 28, 1897. Belle Fourche means
"beautiful fork" in French.
The town was named for the river that
runs through it. Suspected members
of Cassidy's gang entered the bank.
Outlaws robbed the bank. They made
off with less than $100. ^
back to top
NEW MEXICO, 1897-1899
After the 1897 Belle Fourche, South
Dakota bank robbery, Butch Cassidy
may have decided the time was right
to allow things to cool down. Butch
Cassidy and Elzy Lay rode in to the
WS Ranch in Alma, New Mexico. The
ranch was owned by William French.
Butch used the name Jim Lowe. Elzy
was William McGinness. Rancher William
French thought highly of the man he
knew as Jim Lowe. In a letter, French
praised Jim's skill in driving cattle
to the railhead.
Pinkerton detective Charles Siringo
described Alma, New Mexico as "a
store, a saloon, and a pair of dry-rotting
hitching posts." Pinkerton was
on the trail of the two riders. They
riders had a string of saddle horses.
Money from the Wilcox robbery was
tracked to the Alma, New Mexico store.
The money was identified from being
torn as it was blown out of the safe
by dynamite. Butch Cassidy left Alma,
New Mexico.
A train was robbed near Folsum, New
Mexico on July 18, 1899. A posse tracked
the outlaws and a gunfight took place.
Sheriff Edward Farr was killed. Elzy
Lay was captured. He was booked under
the name William McGinnis. This was
the alias he used in Alma, New Mexico.
He received a life sentence in October
1899. Elzy was released from prison
in January 1906. He remarried and
went straight. He died in 1934. ^
back to top
TEXAS, 1900
The outlaws arrived in the notorious "Hell's
Half Acre" in Fort Worth, Texas in November 1900. "Hell's Half Acre"
was a red-light district known for its brothels and saloons. Five outlaws posed
for a photograph at the studio of John Schwartz. The Sundance Kid Harry Longabaugh,
Will Carver, Ben "The Tall Texan" Kilpatrick, Harvey "Kid Curry"
Logan, and Butch Cassidy sat for the photographer. The photo
proved to be a mistake for the outlaws. Authorities soon discovered it.
They had photographic images of each outlaw. ^
back to top NEW YORK, 1901, 1902
Butch and Sundance decided Argentina
was the place for a new start. Sundance
took Ethel to meet his family in Mont
Clare, Pennsylvania. They traveled
by train. He told his family of plans
for Argentina. He introduced Ethel
as his wife. Sundance and Ethel traveled
on to New York. Sundance visited Dr.
Pierce's Health Clinic in Buffalo,
New York. Some speculate they had
venereal disease. No records have
turned up to prove it.
Sundance and Ethel registered
at Mrs. Taylor's Boarding House in New York City on February 1, 1901. They registered
as Mr. and Mrs. Harry Place. Place was Sundance's mother's maiden name. Butch
Cassidy joined them in New York. He registered at the boarding house as James
Ryan.
Butch bought a watch at Tiffany's
on February 4, 1901. He paid $40.10.
Butch signed the Tiffany's register
as "James Ryan." Sundance
and Ethel had their photograph
taken at the DeYoung Studio
on Broadway. Ethel has a lapel watch
pinned to her dress.
Butch, Sundance, and Ethel left for
Argentina by steamship in February
1901. Some argue Butch went later.
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
files show Sundance and Ethel sailing
back to the United States. Sundance
was evidently having health problems.
According to Pinkerton files, he checked
in to a New York hospital. They returned
to Argentina in late summer 1902.
^
back to top
| 
