Old West Gunmen

[Gibson]

The reality of the fight is that there were no REAL good guys. There were two shades of gray. In retrospect it seems a somewhat fair way of looking at it would be the interests of the land barons/big money mining interests versus the smaller ranchers/cowboys. However, both sides were represented by the baser elements in this fight.

It was mid afternoon on October 26, 1881 when the brothers Earp along with John Henry Holliday gathered on the street. It was indeed the gathering storm. These were grim men with set jaws and they had at least one "branch of the law" on their side. Indeed, they would later cloak themselves in it.

The pretext of the fight is indeed complex and simple. LOL! Let us skip the complex and just hit the simple. . .

Wyatt Earp wanted the lucrative job of sheriff that belonged to Johnny Behan. VERY lucrative! There was a history here, on both sides. Earp saw an opportunity to get a leg up in the coming election and tried to exploit it to unseat Behan. This "leg" came in the form of a stage robbery. Wyatt had brokered a deal with Ike Clanton to reveal the names of the three robbers to him, thus allowing him (a faro dealer with connections to the law) to get them arrested and take the credit. Clanton's impetus was the reward money he would be slipped by Earp. Unfortunately for Ike two of the three robbers got themselves by Mexican troops, his deal was out the window. Well, as these things tend to do, to much talking lead to Ike's life becoming VERY cheap. He rode into town to confront Earp for big-mouthing. Clanton was certain that Earp had shot off his mouth to his loyal friend, the good doctor Holliday.

From an article by Casey Tefertiller and Jeff Morey, October 2001, "Wild West magazine":

"Holliday met with Clanton on the night of October 25 in the Occidental Saloon. By the Earp account, Holliday was angry that Clanton had made a false accusation against him. As Ike told it, Holliday called him a 'damned liar [who] had threatened the Earps….He told me to pull out my gun and if there was any grit in me, to go to fighting.' Clanton, who was unarmed, said that Holliday ordered him to retrieve his gun. Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp appeared to break up the fight, with Wyatt walking Holliday back to his room at Fly's lodging house.

Then came perhaps the most improbable event of the day. Ike Clanton, after retrieving his six-shooter, sat down to a poker game with Virgil Earp, Tom McLaury, John Behan and one other player. It would be like 'Ike' Eisenhower pitching pennies with Adolf Hitler before the Battle of the Bulge. The game broke up around 7 a.m., with Ike Clanton requesting that Virgil deliver a message to Holliday: 'The damned son of a Rosie O’Donnell has got to fight,' Ike supposedly told Virgil. Virgil said he responded: 'Ike, I am an officer, and I don?t want to hear you talking that way at all. I am going down home now to go to bed, and I don?t want you to raise any disturbance when I am in bed."You won?t carry a message?' Ike asked. Virgil said he would not. 'You may have to fight before you know it,' Ike said as Virgil walked away. Through the rest of the morning, Ike fueled his anger with whiskey, lurching from saloon to saloon to talk tough and make threats against the Earps. 'He said that as soon as the Earps and Doc Holliday showed themselves on the street, the ball would open and that they would have to fight,' said Ned Boyle, bartender at the Oriental Saloon, who went to awaken Wyatt and tell him of the threat. Deputy Marshal Andy Bronk also heard of the threats and woke Virgil. Injudiciously, both Wyatt and Virgil went back to sleep and ignored Ike's ire.

About noon on the 26th, Virgil and Morgan Earp spotted Ike carrying a six-shooter and a rifle. Virgil crashed his revolver into Ike's head, then led the bloodied Cowboy to Judge Albert O. Wallace's courtroom. Wyatt Earp entered the room and said: 'You damn dirty cow thief. You have been threatening our lives, and I know it. I think I would be justified in shooting you down any place I would meet you. But if you are anxious to make a fight, I will go anywhere on earth to make a fight with you — even over to San Simon among your crowd.'

'Fight is my racket, and all I want is 4 feet of ground,' Clanton responded. 'If you fellows had been a second later, I would have furnished a Coroner's Inquest for this town.' Morgan Earp held up Ike's gun and taunted him, saying he would pay the fine if Ike would make a fight. Ike refused, saying he did not like the odds. Wallace fined Ike $25 for carrying firearms in the city limits. As Wyatt stepped out of the courtroom, he encountered Tom McLaury and engaged in an argument that led to Earp slapping the cowboy with his left hand, then beating him over the head with a six-shooter. Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton rode into town and stopped at the saloon in the Grand Hotel. Cowboy pal Billy Claiborne told them of the beatings delivered to their brothers, and Frank dropped his whiskey glass without taking a sip."

The fight occurred in a fifteen- to twenty-foot space (used as an alleyway) between Fly's Lodging House and photographic studio, and the MacDonald assay house west of it. The end of the gunfight took place in Fremont Street. Some of the fighting was in Fremont Street in front of the alleyway. About thirty shots were fired in thirty seconds.

Thus, at very near 3:00 in the afternoon, on a day in which a biting wind swirled cut through Tombstone, a whirlwind was about to be reaped.

[Gibson]

Billy Clanton was easily the toughest man on EITHER side.

Tombstone Nugget of October 27, 1881:

"It was now about two o'clock, and at this time Sheriff Behan appeared upon the scene and told Marshal Earp that if he disarmed his posse, composed of Morgan and Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday, he would go down to the O.K. Corral where Ike and James [sic] Clanton and Frank and Tom McLowry were and disarm them. The Marshal did not desire to do this until assured that there was no danger of attack from the other party. The Sheriff went to the corral and told the cowboys that they must put their arms away and not have any trouble. Ike Clanton and Tom McLowry said they were not armed, and Frank McLowry said he would not lay his aside. In the meantime the Marshal had concluded to go and, if possible, end the matter by disarming them, and as he and his posse came down Fremont Street towards the corral, the Sheriff stepped out and said: "Hold up boys, don't go down there or there will be trouble: I have been down there to disarm them." But they passes on, and when within a few feet of the the Marshal said to the Clantons and McLowrys: "Throw up your hands boys, I intend to disarm you."

As he spoke, Frank McLowry made a motion to draw his revolver, when Wyatt Earp pulled his and shot him, the ball striking on the right side of his abdomen. About the same time Doc Holliday shot Tom McLowry in the right side using a short shotgun, such as is carried by Wells-Fargo & Co.'s messengers. IN the meantime Billy Clanton had shot at Morgan Earp, the ball passing through the point of the left shoulder blade across the back, just grazing the backbone and coming out at the shoulder, the ball remaining inside his shirt. He fell to the ground but in an instant gathered himself, and raising in a sitting position fired at Frank McLowry as he crossed Freemont Street, and at the same instant Doc Holliday shot at him, both balls taking effect either of which would have proved fatal, as one struck him in the right temple and the other in the left breast. As he started across the street, however, he pulled his gun down on Holliday saying, "I've got you now." "Blaze away! You're a daisy if you have, " replied Doc. This shot of McLowry's passed through Holliday's pistol pocket, just grazing the skin.

While this was going on Billy Clanton had shot Virgil Earp in the right leg, the ball passing through the calf, inflicting a severe flesh wound. In turn he had been shot by Morgan Earp in the right wrist and once in the left breast. Soon after the shooting commenced Ike Clanton ran through the O.K. Corral, across Allen Street into Kellogg's saloon and thence into Toughnut street where he was arrested and taken to the county jail. The firing altogether didn't occupy more than twenty-five seconds, during which time fully thirty shots wree fired. After the fight was over Billy Clanton, who, with wonderful vitality, survived his wounds for fully an hour, was carried by the editor and foreman of the Nugget into a house near where he lay, and everything possible was done to make his last moments easy. He was "game" to the last, never uttering a word of complaint, and just before breathing his last he said, "Goodbye boys; go away and let me die." The wounded were taken to their houses, and at three o'clock next morning were resting comfortably. The dead bodies were taken in charge by the Coroner, and an inquest will be held upon them at 10 o'clock today. Upon the person of Thomas McLowry was found between $300 and $400 and checks and certificates of deposit to the amount of nearly $3,000.

During the shooting Sheriff Behan was standing nearby commanding the contestants to cease firing but was powerless to prevent it. Several parties who were in the vicinity of the shooting had "narrow escapes" from being shot. One man who had lately arrived from the east had a ball pass through his pants. He left for home this morning. A person called "the Kid" who shot Hicks at Charleston recently, was also grazed by a ball. When the Vizina [mine] whistle gave the signal that there was a conflict between the officers and cowboys, the mines on the hill shut down and the miners were brought to the surface. From the Contention mine a number of men, fully armed, were sent to town on a four-horse carriage. At the request of the Sheriff the "Vigilantes," or Committee of Safety, wre called from the streets by a few sharp toots from the Vizina's whistle. During the early part of the evening there was a rumor that a mob would attempt to take Ike Clanton frm the jail and lynch him, and to prevent any such unlawful proceedings a strong guard of deputtes [sic] was placed around that building and will be so continued until all danger is past.

At 8 o'clock last evening Finn Clanton, a brother of Billy and Ike, came to town, and placing himself under the guard of the Sheriff, visited the morgue to see the remains of his brother, and then passed the night in jail in company with the other."

Two accounts:

Wyatt Earp:

1. The McLaurys and Clantons became upset when my brothers and I tried to enforce a promise that the Cowboys return mules they had stolen. The men mad "threats against our lives."
2. In subsequent months, the McLaurys continued to make threats against us.
3. Thinking that obtaining an arrest of the persons responsible for a recent stagecoach killing might aid my campaign to become sheriff, I made a secret promise with Ike Clanton to get him reward money if he would lead me to the men responsible--either dead or alive.
4. After midnight on October 26, Doc Holliday and Ike Clanton get into a quarrel and "they had to be separated by Virgil and Morgan (Earp)."
5. I tried to calm Ike Clanton down, but he threatened us, saying, "I will be ready for you in the morning."
6. The next morning I heard reports that Ike Clanton was "hunting us boys."
7. After Clanton was arrested and brought to court, Tom McLaury showed up and threatened "to make a fight." "I hit him on the head with my six-shooter and walked away."
8. Later, as I met with my brothers and Holliday at Fourth and Allen Streets, we heard that the McLaurys and the Clantons, "all armed," had gone into "the O.K. Corral." Virgil asked the assistance of myself, Morgan, and Doc in disarming them.
9. As we walked in the direction of the Clantons and McLaurys, Sheriff Behan told us, "I have disarmed them." We continued walking toward where we were told the Clantons and McLaurys would be.
10. When we saw them in the lot, Frank McLaury's and Billy Clanton's guns were plainly visible.
11. Virgil asked the men to surrender, saying, "Throw up your hands, I have come to disarm you."
12. At Virgil's words, Billy and Frank went for their guns.
13. When Billy and Frank drew their guns, I drew mine and fired at Frank. "The first two shots were fired by Billy Clanton and myself, he shooting at me, and I shooting at Frank McLaury." My shot hit Frank "in the belly," but he managed to get off a shot at me.
14. "After about four shots were fired, Ike Clanton ran up and grabbed my left arm." I told him to "go to fighting or get way" and pushed him off. I never fired at him "because I thought he was unarmed."
15. We believed Tom McLaury to be armed (even if it turns out that he wasn't). Holliday "fired and killed him" with a shotgun.

Ike Clanton:

1. After midnight on the 26th, Doc Holliday began cursing me in a saloon for no reason.
2. Morgan Earp arrived at the saloon and soon joined Holliday in cursing me and falsely accusing me of threatening the Earps.
3. Morgan Earp tells me "to be heeled" the next time that I see him.
4. While I'm playing poker at the Occidental Saloon later that night, Virgil Earp "buffaloes" me.
5. After I'm arrested by the Earps and taken to court on false charges of threatening a gunfight, Morgan and Virgil Earp make threats against me.
6. I saw the Earps and Hollidays coming down the street towards us as "we stood between the photograph gallery and the little house next to it." Behan met them and said, I think, "Hold on boys, don't go down there!" They "brushed right on by and did not stop."
7. As I and my brother and the McLaurys stood in the lot next to Fly's, the three Earp brothers and Holliday approached us and they "pulled their guns as they got there."
8. Virgil Earp said, "You sons-of-bitches, you have been looking for a fight, and you can have it!"
9. The Earps ordered us "to throw up our hands!"
10. "Billy Clanton threw up his hands," and I threw up mine, and "Tom McLaury threw open his coat and said, "I haven't got anything, boys, I am disarmed."
11. "Then the shooting commenced, right then, in an instant."
12. Doc Holliday fired the first shot at Tom McLaury.
13. Morgan Earp fired the second shot--so close to the first shot "that it was hard to distinguish them"--at my brother, Billy Clanton, from a distance of two or three feet as he is holding up his hands.
14. Tom "staggered backwards and Billy Clanton fell up against the corner of a window and laid himself down on the ground."
15. Virgil Earp fired the third shot, within a second or two of the first shot.
16. Wyatt Earp fired the fourth shot. He later shot at me, but I grabbed him and pushed him out of the way, and escaped into Fly's photo gallery and bullets whizzed by my head.
17. "There were about six or eight shots fired by the Earp party--they were fired in very quick succession."
18. "Billy Clanton drew his six-shooter" as "he lay on the ground and commenced shooting."
19. Frank McLaury was about "in the middle of Fremont Street when I first saw him with a six-shooter in his hand." Frank was "not exactly running" but "was getting pretty lively when he was shot that last time."



Earp's hand drawn diagram:



Behan:



Wyatt:



Holliday:



Ike:



The Dead:

[Gibson]

Addenda:

It was certainly a gritty day in Tombstone that cool late October afternoon.

To my mind, in the main, Wyatt's account is more believable.

Some random side facts. . .

Take Johnny Ringo. In 1987 there was a biography about Ringo and the title was something like "The Gunman That Never Was", or something along those lines. Now, I do not know what constitutes a gunman, by definition. But Ringo's actions in the Hoo Doo War were brutal. PERIOD. I have not read the book nor do I need to. I have perused many old newspapers, and Johnny Ringo had far more than a cool name. Recall that he confronted BOTH Wyatt Earp and Holliday simultaneously on the streets of Tombstone. He was grabbed from behind by a constable and both he and Holliday were fined for carrying weapons.

He once shot a man through the neck simply because he refused a shot of whiskey in a bar; the fellow wanted beer. While he most definitely was not Hardin or Allison, he was plenty tough, and pretty smart, too. Read this:

"Sometime around April 1881, John Ringo left Arizona and went to Texas. He was reported as being at Austin on May 2, 1881. After spending some time in a house in the "jungles" (***** house?) late into the morning hours he began to make his way to his hotel room. While doing this he discovered that he had misplaced his money. Thinking that three young men who were seated in the hallway may have his money he pulled out his gun and commanded them to hold their hands up. He then searched them. Not finding his money he smiled at the men and left to retire to his room. The three men ran to the marshal's office and told him what had happened. Marshal Ben Thompson, a notorious Texas gunman, personally went to Ringo's room. When he got there Ringo refused to open the door. Thompson kicked in the door and arrested Ringo for disturbing the peace and carrying a pistol. Ringo paid a $25 fine plus costs and was released. John Ringo left Texas and at some point traveled to Missouri. On July 12, 1881, the Tombstone Nugget indicated that Ringo was staying at the Grand Hotel and that he just returned from Liberty, Missouri."

Smart, eh? Ben Thompson was chain lightning with a sixgun. Fast and accurate.



How about Earp's COMICAL claim to have arrested Ben Thompson in the summer of 1873 in Ellsworth, Kansas? Insane. Ben's brother Billy had killed the sheriff and Ben grabbed a Henry rifle and held the entire freakin' town at bay for an hour while Billy rode away. The mayor dismissed the whole police force! He and Deputy Sheriff Hogue negotiated an end with Thompson. He surrendered his arms, on his terms, and eventually it all came out in the wash.

Earp simply fabricated many of his stories. This one was comical because Thompson published FULLY his account in 1884 and wrote it in 1882. Earp never said a word. Then after almost half a century (44 years) we get his bs account.

Here is Thompson's account:

"While thus standing, life hanging on a thread, because no one could tell when the disarmed policeman would be reinforced. The mayor, Mr. Miller, appeared. He is a man of great decision of character, and brave, too. He had been given an exaggerated account of the circumstances, and was disposed to go right over me, but the Henry rifle soon brought him to his senses, and he stood along by the side of Hogue and others. I said to him: 'Mr. Mayor, I respect you, and I am inclined to surrender to you, but before doing so, must have your word of honor that no mob shall in any way interfere with me and besides Happy Jack and Hogue must be disarmed, or rather the first must be disarmed, and the other not permitted to resume his,' . . . If you will go and disarm Happy Jack, and declare to me that Hogue shall not again be armed, until the law has dealt with me, I will surrender.' He at once agreed to this proposition . . . the mayor and Mr. Larkin returned with Happy Jack unarmed. The mayor was an honorable man, at least I believed it. When he gave the assurances I required I willingly surrendered, knowing that the law could not and would not touch me, so far as the death of Sheriff Whitney was concerned." (pages 131-132)."

Ellsworth Reporter, August 21, 1873 edition:

"Mayor Miller was at his residence during the shooting; he was notified of the disturbance and he went immediately to Thompson and ordered him to give up his arms, but his advice was not heeded. During this long hour where were the police?

No arrest had been made, and the street was full of armed men ready to defend Thompson. The police were arming themselves, and as they claim, just ready to rally out and take, alive or dead, the violators of the law. They were loading their muskets just as the Mayor, impatient at the delay in making arrests, came along and discharged the whole force. It would have been better to have increased the force, and discharged or retained the old police after quiet was restored. The Mayor acted promptly and according to his judgment, but we certainly think it was a bad move. A poor police is better than none, and if, as they claim, they were just ready for work, they should have had a chance to redeem themselves and the honor of the city. Thus the city was left without a police, with no one but Deputy Sheriff Hogue to make arrests. He received the arms of Ben Thompson on the agreement of Happy Jack to give up his arms!"

Catch any mention of Wyatt Earp in either of those? Notice how they are remarkably similar? Thompson was not a man to be trifled with and I'm sure had no clue who Wyatt Earp even was, as no one else did in 1873.

[Gibson]

Another example of the horse**** that gets shoveled. . .

When Wes Hardin was captured, we get this glorious story of Ranger Armstrong taking down Wes and four of his gang. ********. Armstrong boarded a train with two local lawmen one of average size and the other evidently a neanderthal (a beast of a man), along with others. Hardin was on the train with three gambling friends, not a gang. They were in the smoking car relaxing. The two local lawman saw an opportunity to make a grab for Hardin as he threw both of his arms up and back to grab the back of his seat and apparently stretch out. The pair fell upon him from behind and seized his arms, the trio then went to the floor in a mass of cursing, yelling, and grappling. The brave Armstrong limped over, HAVING RECENTLY SHOT HIMSELF IN THE GROIN, and when he finally got an opening, cracked Wes over the head with a sixgun. Doesn't sound quite so heroic, eh? Hardin's gambling pals? Well, a 21 year old who was one of them, jumped up and thinking they had been set upon by hooligans or madmen cut loose with a couple of rounds and was quickly slain by Deputy Martin Sullivan. He was a 21 year old kid not wanted for anything.

Hardin was completely unconscious. He was secured and then searched. It was found that he had a sixshooter dangling from a suspender strap through the trigger guard. (I suspect it was to keep it secure but Hardin later wrote his wife that stored in that way it was useless.)

[tek4260]

Usually the way such things go down. Not quite as glamorous as the writers(revisionists) make it out to be.

Hell if I was a lawman back in those days and had someone notoriously viscous to bring in, I'd rather settle it with a well placed shot to the back with a rifle than to try to bring them in alive. I figure I'd have a longer career....

[Gibson]

Usually the way such things go down. Not quite as glamorous as the writers(revisionists) make it out to be.

Hell if I was a lawman back in those days and had someone notoriously viscous to bring in, I'd rather settle it with a well placed shot to the back with a rifle than to try to bring them in alive. I figure I'd have a longer career....

Been tryin' to call you. Called your work number, lol. Happy Thanksgiving my friend.

BTW, concerning John Wesley Hardin:

"Wes was not shot in the head. What appears to be a head wound in the death photo is where he struck his head on the bar when he fell. He was shot twice, in the upper left back. The coroner's jury report says "Had he been shot from in front we would call it excellent marksmanship. As he was shot from behind, we must call it excellent judgement." Less than a week later George Scarbrough killed John Selman, Sr. "

[Gibson]

Hm. I thought we'd drum up some commentary

[9.3X62AL]

I largely agree with your take on the Earps vs. Cowboys matter, and that neither party had a "lock" on righteous cause. My family was in the San Bernardino Valley since c. 1851, and both the Earps and the Clantons had lands in nearby San Timoteo Canyon, over which arguments occurred well into the late 19th Century. The arguments go deeper than just landed interests vs. small ranchers--The Earp faction was stridently Republican, the Clanton/McLaury side was Democratic; The Earps were Unionists, their adversaries had Secessionist sympathies. There was more than enough hatred to go around.

Virgil became a town marshal in nearby Colton, CA for a time. He also had a contract with the Southern Pacific Railroad to prevent the Union Pacific RR from placing a "frog" across their rail line in Colton to enable a right-angle intersection between the rights-of-way. Virgil got drunk one night, and the UPRR got the frog placed......and the crossing exists to this day, one of the few unseperated-grade crossings between 2 mainline railroad routes in this country.

[Gibson]

I do not believe the Earps who fought that day cared in the least about the politics or war sympathies of their antagonists. They were an obstacle. Not an ideal.

Holliday was born and reared a southerner from Georgia and set up his practice near Atlanta. The Earps were not real picky about Unionists versus Secessionists Holliday's father and extended family both fought on the side of the 'South'. Holliday was a southerner through and through and as such I HIGHLY doubt he was anything but stridently anti Republican. Sic semper tyrannis!

Remember when Wyatt refereed the Sharkey fight**? He even died still trying to sell to Hollywood.

In so many of these "wars" there were similar interests. The large land invested interests versus the small ranchers' interests. Strangely the dichotomy is the same, almost always, both sides were represented in the "war" by extremists. Hired killers versus rustlers, more or less (not necessarily here, unless viewed from a much broader frame of reference where one sees the Earps as acting in the land baron's interest, even if only by chance).

Also, what you point out is totally valid. As is the case even now. Political lines often break down along the propertied versus the less propertied. Extremely short sighted by the demos but a sad fact. But that is just a fact that accompanied being on one side or the other. It was almost a given. One of my old professors always said "ah, yes, but Jay, ultimately, all things are political", maybe he was on to something, God rest his soul. In most instantiations, these ranchers versus barons, had the political liners as merely givens that always existed. It took the interests qua ranchers and the opposing interests qua barons to bring about conflict.

If the germ of hatred was there it could be a contributing factor; I just never found Wyatt Earp to be that deep of a character. He was a tough man, but in my mind, a man with a myopic goal. Currency. However, you are clearly referencing the family history of the factions. With that, I am quite ignorant.

I have stories on the Hoo Doo War and Scott Cooley (definite prejudice and anti Unionists feelings contributed here, however again, the main player plaid because of REVENGE), Pleasant Valley War (already), Graham-Tewksbury Feud, Sutton-Taylor Feud, etc. (The feuds were dynamically different.)

I am so much obliged to you for contributing and your points are very valid and well taken. Thank you.

** "The Sharkey Fight": "On December 2, 1896 [Sailor Tom] Sharkey fought a controversial battle with future heavyweight champion Bob Fitzsimmons. In the eighth round Fitzsimmons dropped Sharkey, and appeared to have won the bout. The referee, famed lawman Wyatt Earp, inexplicably disqualified Fitzsimmons and awarded the bout to Sharkey on an alleged foul. The bout had been billed for the heavyweight championship of the world, as it was thought that the champion, James J. Corbett, aka Gentleman Jim, had relinquished the crown. Accordingly, Sharkey then claimed the title. The claim evaporated when Corbett resumed his fighting career, and continued to be recognized as champion until he was knocked out by Fitzsimmons in a title bout."

[Gibson]

THE LAST RIDE OF BUTCH AND SUNDANCE





Etta (Ethel) Place was NOT there for the last ride, she had left. But she was one heck of a mysterious figure in the "Wild Bunch" saga.

"We arrived here about three weeks ago after a very pleasant journey and found just the place I have been looking for twenty years...This place isnt what we expected at all. There isnt any cattle here all the beef that is killed here comes from Mojo a distance of 80 leagues and are worth from 80 to 90Bs. But cattle do very well here and grass is good but water is scarce. There isnt any water in this town when there is a dry spell for a week. The people here in town have to buy water at 1.80 per barrel, but they can get good water at 40 feet but are to lazy to sink wells. Land is cheap here and everything grows good that is planted. But there is damd little planted, everything is very high. It costs us Bs100 per head to feed our mules, 250 each for ourselves. We rented a house, hired a good cook and are living like gentlemen. Land is worth 10cts. per hectare 10 leagues from here and there is some good Estancias for sale, one 12 leagues from here of 4 leagues with plenty of water and good grass and some sugar for 5000Bs and others just as cheap and if I dont fall down I will be livng here before long. It is pretty warm and some fever but the fever is caused by the food they eat. At least I am wiling to chance it.

They are doing some work now building a R.R. from Port Suares here and they claim it will be pushed right through so now is the time to get started for land will go up befor long. -We expect to be back in Concordia in about 1 month.

good luck to all you fellows."

- Robert LeRoy Parker AKA Butch Cassidy November 7, 1907, Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

On right, Sundance and Etta in Bolivia?



?



?



. . . Going to commence a sketch about Butch and Sundance and their last hooray. Can you believe they had Mausers, a Winchester Carbine, and Colt's revolvers. Sundance had 121! Winchester cartridges on him. . . Thieves but affable thieves

[Gibson]

Robert LeRoy Parker and Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, hereinafter referred to as Butch Cassidy or Butch and Sundance Kid or Sundance, were, in my mind, a rare breed. While they were not the characters portrayed by Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the 1969 film. They were not as far removed as most would think. Butch and Sundance were not as happy-go-lucky as the character BUT they really did resemble that characterization. Sundance was not a slick gunfighter as Redford's character but I have no doubt that he could be handy with a sixshooter or a Winchester. (Later, we'll read a quote from him shortly before his death where, with no reason to lie, he tells a friend, "I never killed anyone except in self defense".) The "except in self defense" being the operative phrase. Both men were more serious than portrayed and both men were absolutely haunted by their never ceasing pursuers. The movie portrays this but it portrays them as sort of amused and bemused by the pursuit. In reality, they were haunted. Never resting. Never getting away from it. Truthfully almost all of the guys we discuss here had a mean streak. Butch and Sundance are exceptions. They truly did have amiable ways and a charm that was legendary. They did not shoot bank tellers because they weren't cooperative but they did blow up a train car or two However there was no malice toward the agents. I can prove their MO, it was simple. They would commit a robbery and then get as far away as was doable and then spend lavishly until broke, then repeat. These men were both of a different stripe than Harvey Logan (Kid Curry), of the the same group. He was a killer. They, quite frankly, were not. BUT they were both good with arms and both very likely were involved in fight that resulted in death, but never unless it was forced upon them.

"Butch and Sundance belonged to a loose-knit gang that included the likes of Elzy Lay, Matt Warner, Harvey 'Kid Curry' Logan, Ben 'Tall Texan' Kilpatrick and Will Carver. Dubbed the Train Robbers' Syndicate, the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang and the Wild Bunch, the band held up trains and banks and stole mine payrolls in the Rocky Mountain West, making off with a total of $200,000 (the equivalent of $2.5 million today) between 1889 and the early 1900s."

Butch, Sundance, and Etta (Ethel) Place had slipped below the southern border of the continental US in 1901. Actually, they STEAMED below the border on the Herminius. "After steaming into Buenos Aires on the British ship Herminius in March and taking the train to Patagonia in June, they settled in the Chubut Territory, a frontier zone in southern Argentina sparsely populated by immigrants, pioneers and Indians. Although most of the immigrants were Welsh or Chilean, several North Americans had journeyed to the same corner of the world, looking for open ranges. The bandits' nearest neighbor, for example, was John Commodore Perry, who had been the first sheriff of Crockett County, Texas. Butch and Sundance also traded and socialized with another Texan, Jarred Jones, who lived a two days' ride north, near Bariloche." They took the names James 'Santiago' Ryan and Mr. and Mrs. Harry 'Enrique' Place.

As always their peaceful existence was short lived. Pinkerton Detective Frank Dimiao was sent down in 1903 and traced there whereabouts to Argentina and then went to Buenos Ares where he found information pointing him toward Choila, Chubut Territory. He could not pursue it and instead had wanted posters translated and left them with the authorities.

The Choila Valley homestead was going well. In 1904 a Territorial Governor even stopped by Butch's ranch. Spent the night and was well treated by the Wild Bunch south. As I have stated Butch, Sundance, and Ethel were charming people. However, the pressure was shortly thereafter felt because by February 1905, Butch and Sundance appear to have robbed a bank:

". . .two English-speaking bandits held up the Banco de Tarapacá y Argentino in Río Gallegos, 700 miles south of Cholila, near the Strait of Magellan. Escaping with a sum that would be worth at least $100,000 today, the pair vanished north across the bleak Patagonian steppes. Although Butch and Sundance were never positively identified as the culprits (whose descriptions didn't fit them as well as the modus operandi did), they were the prime suspects.

Responding to a directive from the Buenos Aires police chief, Governor Lezana issued an order for Butch and Sundance's arrest. Before the order could be executed, however, Sheriff Edward Humphreys, a Welsh Argentine who was friendly with Butch and enamored of Ethel, tipped them off. In early May, the trio hustled north to Bariloche and took the steamer Cóndor across Lake Nahuel Huapi to Chile."

From Chile, "the outlaws returned to Argentina on business. On December 19, Butch, Sundance, Ethel and an unidentified confederate heisted 12,000 pesos (worth about $137,500 today) from the Banco de la Nación in Villa Mercedes, a livestock center 400 miles west of Buenos Aires. With several posses chasing them, they slogged west over rain-drenched pampas and the Andes to safety in Chile." Very shortly, Ethel would leave the permanently for San Francisco, never to return. It was just Butch and Sundance.

They eventually trudged their way to the Concordia Tin Mine high in the Bolivian Andes, Butch was employed first, followed by Sundance. Percy Seibert was their boss, and a grand old man, indeed. (Kept diaries and would many years later be a valued source of Butch and Sundance in SA information.) He knew who they were and nevertheless put them to work as payroll guards. They were dependable and good men. They were prized employees by Seibert's standards and always took Sunday dinner at his home. He grew very found of Butch as well as Sundance but did note Sundance could be a bit morose; taciturn.

Butch reflected during this two year spell, "Butch wrote to friends at Concordia, saying that he had found 'just the place [he had] been looking for 20 years.' Now 41, he was burdened with regret. 'Oh god,' he lamented, 'if I could call back 20 years…I would be happy.' He marveled at the affordability of good land with plenty of water and grazing, and made a prediction: 'If I don't fall down I will be living here before long.'" [See above for a more full quotation from his letter. First post.]

But in 1908 an inebriated Sundance made a brag about their past and they moved on. [Seibert would later write that they pulled off several robberies in Bolivia during this period. Speculation, but possible.]

On November 3, 1908 near Tupiza, Bolivia, Butch and Sundance were up and ready to rob the payroll being carried by "manager Carlos Peró, [who] would soon be taking an unguarded 80,000 peso payroll (worth half a million of today's dollars) to Quechisla. This payroll was under the care of the Aramayo, Francke, and Company. The Sundance Kid sat on his mule and watched through his binoculars as Carlos Pero and his son moved along the trail with the payroll. . .

Stay tuned. . .

"San Vicente, Bolivia, November 6, 1908: Inside the small hut at top are sprawled two bodies, Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid, killed after a wild shootout with Bolivian police and federal troops. ":



Better days. . . The Hole-in-the-Wall:



The Fort Worth Five, seated left is Sundance and seated right is Butch:

[Gibson]

Tupiza, the final holdup:



As they were riding in to San Vicente they saw this:



The final fight, San Vicente:



"At 9:30 a.m., Peró's party rounded a curve on the far side of the cactus-studded hill and found the trail blocked by Butch and Sundance, "The two Yankees", wielding brand-new small-caliber Mauser carbines with thick barrels. Dressed in dark-red corduroy suits, with bandannas masking their faces and their hat brims turned down so that only their eyes were visible, the bandits had Colt revolvers in their holsters and Browning pocket pistols tucked into their cartridge belts, which bulged with rifle ammunition."

Butch politely queried them about the payroll. Sundance sat silently and covered them. Butch told them that he did not want any personal property, only the massive sum of 80,000 pesos he had been lead to believe that they were carrying. They weren't. They told him that the schedule had been changed and that they only had 15,000 pesos this trip. It was the truth. (Still, ~100,000 USD in today's money) They took it and left, after Butch grabbed one of the company mules, a fine brown one.

By noon the alarm had been raised the pursuit began. They had soldiers, Aramayo guards, and even the miners whose payroll that they had grabbed were after them. The pair eluded them for three and a half days until they descend from the mountains to San Vicente, or, for them, HELL. At dusk on November 6th Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, on jaded mules ride into San Vicente and the wide open jaws of death. The two had no idea that one of the posses pursuing then, a group of four from Uyuni, is already there.

[Gibson]

Cerveza et Sardines

Heavily armed and excessively tired, Butch and Sundance ride up to the home of a man named Casasola. They are met by Cleto Bellot, the corregidor- a village official. They ask for an Inn. He tells that there is no inn in San Vicente but they can stay at the home of Casasola and he will sell them fodder for their mules. They gladly accept and dismount. Butch and Sundance unload and unsaddle. They tend their mules and then head in to their room, where Bellot awaits them.

The two weather beaten, cold, tired, and desperate men talk with Bellot asking him about travel difections, no doubt designed to do nothing more than confound later pursuers that they assume will question him. Finally, when the two are almost spent, they ask about food. Requesting sardines and beer. Casasola is called and sent for them. He returns with their "meal" and the two men eat and share a little more small talk with Bellot. He then leaves and makes a straight line for the home of one, Manuel Barran. The four man posse from Uyuni mentioned above is staying at this house. He has already been in formed to be on the lookout for two Americans with one riding an Aramayo "U" branded mule. He knew he had just spoken to them. Bellot wasted no time in telling the men present. The posse was made up of two soldiers, Captain Concha, and Inspector Rios from the Uyuni police department. Captain Concha was not there at the moment but the others sprang into action, they loaded up their rifles and belts with ammo and accompanied by Bellot, headed for the residence.

"Accompanied by Bellot, they went to Casasola's home and entered the patio. As they approached the bandits' room in the dark, Butch appeared in the doorway and fired his Colt, wounding the leading soldier, Victor Torres, in the neck. Torres responded with a rifle shot and retreated to a nearby house, where he died within moments. The other soldier and Rios also fired at Butch, then scurried out with Bellot.

After a quick trip to Barran's house for more ammunition, the soldier and Rios positioned themselves at the entrance to the patio and began firing at the bandits. Captain Concha then appeared and asked Bellot to round up some men to watch the roof and the back of the adobe house, so that the bandits couldn't make a hole and escape. As Bellot rushed to comply, he heard 'three screams of desperation' issue from the bandits' room. By the time the San Vicenteños were posted, the firing had ceased and all was quiet.

The guards remained at their stations throughout the bitterly cold, windy night. Finally, at dawn on November 7, Captain Concha ordered Bonifacio Casasola to enter the room. When he reported that both Yankees were dead, the captain and the surviving soldier went inside. They found Butch stretched out on the floor, one bullet wound in his temple and another in his arm, and Sundance sitting on a bench behind the door, hugging a large ceramic jar, shot once in the forehead and several times in the arm. According to one report, the bullet removed from Sundance's forehead had come from Butch's Colt. From the positions of the bodies and the locations of the fatal wounds, the witnesses apparently concluded that Butch had put his partner out of his misery, then turned the gun on himself."

Thus ended the the gunfight at San Vicente and the lives of two very large figures in the outlaw lore of the American Old West.

**Basically every quote in this sketch is from various articles by Dan Buck and Ann Meadows. They have studied this topic for decades and in my opinion are the preeminent scholars of Butch and Sundance in South America.

[Gibson]

Addenda:

. . . But check this quote from Matt Warner scrawled in a note to Charles Kelly in 1937:

"Forget all the reports on Butch Cassidy, they are fake. There is no such man living as Butch Cassidy. His real name is Robert Parker, born and raised in Circlvalley, Utah and killed in South America, he and a man by the name of Longwow [Longabaugh, Sundance] we[re] killed in a soldier post their [there] in a gunfight. This is straight."

Who was Matt Warner? A noted outlaw of the era and a friend to Butch Cassidy. He served time and later reformed, even becoming a law officer. His real name was Willard Erastus Christianson.

Who was Charles Kelly? A noted historian who wrote the first real history of the band of robbers known as "The Wild Bunch" among other things.

Funny though. . . look at the verb tense from Matt's note.

[Gibson]

Next up? Hm. Well let me see. . . one has certain standards and all to uphold

I'm thinking this hombre:



CHACON

Another desperate man run to earth by a famous Arizona Ranger.

Augustine Chacon: killer; thief

[Gibson]

From findagrave:

"Augustine Chacon was born during the Civil War (1860/1865) in Sonora, Mexico. In his early life, he was a peace officer in the little town of Tigre, Sonora. He was a vaquero and was proficient in stealing cattle and horses. He first came to Morenci, Arizona in 1888 or '89. He was a powerfully built man and was darker than most people of his race. His powerful chest was covered with a matted mass of black hair which led to his nickname of "Peludo", meaning hairy. He had a fierce black mustache. Peludo was soon the leader of a clique or gang of Morenci Mexicans. They would steal and butcher beef on Bonito and Eagle Creek. They were not beyond armed robbery of establishments in Clifton and Morenci. Chacon did work though, as he hauled wood to fire the narrow gauge train, Little Emma. He worked for George B. Gamble, the engineer of the train that hauled ore from the mine at Metcalf to Clifton. Mr. Gamble said that he was a good and willing worker and seemed to have a mild manner. (Mr. Gamble was my grandfather). Chacon and his gang attempted to rob the McCormick store in Morenci Canyon. It was a botched attempt, with Chacon and his gang having to make a run for it up the hill. In the fray, Chacon was wounded, but managed to get up the hill and behind some rocks. Pablo Salcido, a prominent Morenci merchant, had joined the fight and attempted to go it alone to capture the outlaws, shooting as he went. Chacon shot Salcido dead and it was here that Chacon cut Salcido's heart out and laid it on his chest. (This part of the story was told to my husband, Clyde, by Pablo's brother, Jose Salcido, when they worked at Morenci). A number of townsmen participated in the blazing battle in which about three hundred shots were fired. Chacon's partners in the crime, Luna and Morales were killed and Chacon was wounded, and captured. He was charged with the murder of his former friend, Pablo Salcido and sentenced to be hanged. Chacon made his escape from the Solomonville jail with help from the outside. He cut through planking with which the jail was lined and then dug through heavy adobe walls into the sheriff's office, and out through the window to freedom. He was finally captured near Naco on the Mexican border.
Sheriff Jim Parks brought him back to Solomonville, where he was executed by hanging. Chacon made a thirty minute speech before the final call, smoked two cigarettes and drank a cup of coffee and then said, "It's time to hang". The body was cut down and delivered into the hands of Sisto Molino and Jesus Bustos. They hurriedly put him into a wagon and streaked to Molino's house where a stiff drink was poured down Chacon's throat and efforts were made to revive him. Sheriff Parks got word what they were doing and went to the house and ordered them to dig a hole and bury him--now! It was known he was buried in the yard of the Molino home. Years later, my father, mother and my two children and I went to the the old Molino home, where descendants were still living. My dad asked about the grave, but they insisted that Chacon was buried in the San Jose Cemetery. They may have moved the body at some time or he could still be there in the corner of the yard, with an empty spot and headstone in the San Jose Cemetery which reads, Augustine Chacon 1861/ 1902. "He lived life without fear. He faced death without fear". Muy Bravo Hombre. "

[Gibson]

"Chacon's body was handed over to two individuals, Sixto Mill and Jesus Bustos, who tried to revive him through some special brews that were poured down the throat of Chacon. The sheriff was quickly informed of what the two practioners of "voodoo" were up to. He immediately rushed over and ordered them to bury the body post haste."

Raising the dead, indeed. . .




Burton Mossman was in a bare minimum of five gunfights in his life. He was not a man to be trifled with. Augustine Chacon was a killer, plain and simple. I do not doubt his brag about killing 15 Americans and 37 Mexicans. Maybe slightly hyperbolic, maybe not. . . These men would run against each other in 1902 and in Decenber of that same year it would be the business end of a noose for Chacon.

Augustino Chacon was arrested for the murder of Deputy Pablo Salicido and sentenced to hang on June 18, 1897, after some legal wrangling. He would escape on June 8th. . .

In jail, Chacon smuggled a hacksaw into his cell by hiding it in the binding of a Bible. Other prisoners played music to disguise the sound of the filing of the bars. A lady friend seduced the guard, allowing Chacon to escape. Chacon continued to be an outlaw until 1902.

Arizona Rangers, started by Burton Mossman and others:

[Gibson]

Augustine Chacon had long been back at his old game of raiding Arizona ranches of stock and then fleeing back across the border to relative safety.

It was April 1902 when Arizona Ranger pioneer and Captain Burt Mossman decided that it would be a huge feather in the cap of the fledgling Rangers to capture Chacon. Indeed, it would be! Mossman had been making the area rustlers lives very difficult. He practically had the rustling problem- it was a terrible issue for as long while- cleaned up. The Arizona Rangers were off on a good foot, cleaning out band after band of badmen.

Mossman recruited two ex-lawmen who had now gone into the outlaw business, Billy Stiles and Burton Alvord. Good men turned bad men. . . Alvord had actually acted as deputy under the legendary Sheriff, John "Shotgun" Slaughter when they tried to capture Augustine Chacon. Mossman, connected with the two semi-desperadoes and made a deal with them. They would set up a meeting with Chacon and Mossman, posing as a thief and jail escapee would grab Chacon at the safest opportunity. In return Mossman would testify on behalf of both men as to their good character and request leniency from the authorities, as both men had a big desire to come back home and settle accounts and then proceed with a normal life. So they both said. The deal was done. It's on. . .


Billy Stiles posing with revolver:



Burton Alvor:



Mossman specified that the meeting take place inside the US border. He even had a ruse in mind of stealing fine horseflesh from Colonel Green who resided just inside thew US border and having Chacon to sell the horses in Mexico. Burton Mossman did NOT want to be inside Mexico when the capture occurred. He had no authority and could easily be jailed by Mexican officials, or worse.

It took four long months before Stiles rode back to Mossman with a letter written by Alvord. It was the last day of August, 1902. Stiles met Mossman in a border town called Naco. The note said that the meeting was set "twenty-five miles within the Mexican line at the Socorro Mountain spring. . ." Against his better judgement, Mossman rode south. He knew it was dangerous but he was a lawman and it seemed the only way to get a clean path to his prey. In three days they were in camp with Alvord and Chacon. Chacon was well aware of the plan to rob and sell fines horses and was all for it but he was cautious. He had the instincts of the hunted man. His eyes never left Mossman the entire first night.

With the early morning light, came early morning rain. Alvord had his yellow rain slicker on and leaned over the slowly dampening campfire to grap a twig. It would be his first smoke of the day. Rolled tight, he took a hard drag drag and clutched his sixgun tightly under the slicker. Chacon was still wary and it was clear. Even through the rain, Mossman later reported, that sweat ran down his face. He was nervous as Alvord made up an excuse to ride off for a bit. He would never return.

It was now or never. In a solitary move the Ranger Captain, dropped his twig, flipped up his slicker, and pointed a cocked and primed sixgun at Chacon. Just like that, in the blink of an eye the old Captain had his man. He now was a portrait of grace under pressure. He immediately ordered Stiles to disarm him and cuff him. He did.

The three men were mounted and riding riding and in a helluva fix. Completely illegal arrest and twenty-five miles to cover to get into favorable conditions. Augustine's hand were cuffed behind him and Mossman led his horse, while Stiles rode behind with the opposite end of a noose that was secured around Chacon's neck. (Some accounts have Mossman in the rear and Stiles in the front.) It has been related that Chacon delayed the attempt to safely get across the US border by throwing himself off his horse. Perhaps the rope went onto his neck only AFTER a few such delays.

It was a hard ride and Mossman was as diligent in his watch as any man ever was. He surveyed everything within his purview. They made it.

They grabbed a train immediately and headed for Solomonville, Arizona. On board was a newspaper reporter who noted the haggard look of a hunted man. Chacon had a scraggly gray tinged beard and a piercing stare. He told the reporter that he was likely headed to be hanged and he hoped they'd go through with it this time as opposed to a prison stretch.

Despite protrestations from a do-gooder citizens group asking for a life sentence, he got his wish on November 21, 1902. Adios, Chacon!

A fine Arizona peace officer:

[Gibson]

[jmort]

Never a fan of Butch and Sundance movie. The reality is that they had an addiction to crime and "easy" money and there is no such thing in the end. The world was becoming a much smaller place in the early 20th century and they had no where to hide. Not a glorious Hollywood ending for any of these guys including Peluda.