Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
Encyclopedia
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was one of the loosely organized outlaw gangs operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall
in Wyoming
during the Old West era in the United States. It was popularized by the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
, and took its name from the original Wild Bunch
. The gang was led by Butch Cassidy
, and it included his closest friend Elzy Lay
, the Sundance Kid
, Tall Texan
, News Carver
, Camila Hanks, Laura Bullion
, Flat-Nose Curry
, Kid Curry
and Bob Meeks. They would become the most successful train-robbing gang in history.
This Wild Bunch gang claimed to make every attempt to abstain from killing people, and Cassidy boasted of having never killed a man. The non-violent claims about the gang were false, however. Kid Curry, George Curry, Will Carver and other members of the gang killed numerous people during law enforcement's pursuit of them. Kid Curry alone killed nine lawmen while with the gang, and another two civilians during shootouts, becoming the gang's most feared member. Elzy Lay killed another two lawmen following a robbery, for which he was wounded, arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. "Flat-Nose" George Curry killed at least two lawmen, before being killed himself by Grand County, Utah
lawmen.
The gang was also closely associated with female outlaws Ann Bassett
and Josie Bassett
, whose ranch near Browns Park supplied the gang often with fresh horses and beef. Both Bassett girls would become romantically involved with several members of the gang, and both would occasionally accompany the gang to one of their hideouts, called "Robbers Roost
". It was through associations with ranchers like this in the area that the gang were allowed considerable mobility, giving them an easy resupply of fresh horses and supplies, and a place to hole up for a night or two.
At 1:00 a.m on June 2, 1899, Cassidy, Kid Curry, Logan and Lay robbed a Union Pacific train near Wilcox, Wyoming. They wore masks made from white napkins, possibly pilfered from a Harvey House
restaurant. During the hold up they stole between $30,000 and $60,000. The gang split up afterward, a common ploy to throw off pursuers, and several fled to New Mexico
. On July 11, 1899, gang members robbed a train near Folsom, New Mexico
, without Cassidy's presence. The pursuit by a posse led by Sheriff
Ed Farr culminated in two gun battles, during which Sheriff Farr and two deputies were killed. Gang member Sam Ketchum was wounded and died in custody. Elzy Lay, one of Cassidy's closest friends and co-founder of the Wild Bunch gang, was wounded and also captured.
Cassidy and the other members regrouped in Wyoming. On August 29, 1900, Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Kid Curry and another unidentified gang member believed to have been Will Carver held up another Union Pacific train at Tipton, Wyoming
. Less than a month later, on September 19, 1900, they raided the First National Bank of Winnemucca, Nevada
, stealing $32,640. These and other lucrative robberies led to much notoriety and fame.
relocated to Patagonia
, Argentina
, owing to constantly having to remain on the move because of Pinkerton detectives and other lawmen. That same year, on April 1, Will Carver was wounded by lawmen and died later in May of complications. Ben Kilpatrick was captured in Tennessee
in December, 1901, along with Laura Bullion, and received a 20-year prison sentence, with her receiving a five year sentence. Kid Curry killed two lawmen in Knoxville, Tennessee
, escaping capture, then traveled to Montana
where he killed a rancher that had killed his brother Johnny years before. He then returned to Tennessee
, was captured, only to escape once again. Kid Curry was killed in Colorado
in 1904, during a shootout with lawmen. In 1908, Cassidy and Sundance were allegedly killed in a shootout with Bolivia
n cavalry
.
Etta Place disappeared completely, with her last known sighting being in 1909 in San Francisco. It is believed that she reinvented herself, becoming a brothel
and hotel
owner named Eunice Gray
, in Fort Worth, Texas, dying in 1962. Elzy Lay was released from prison in 1906, and after a brief visit to the Bassett ranch in Utah he relocated to California
, where he became a respected businessman, dying there in 1934. Ben Kilpatrick was released from prison in 1911, and was killed during a train robbery in Texas
in 1912. Laura Bullion was released from prison in 1905 and lived the remainder of her life as a seamstress, dying in Memphis, Tennessee
in 1961, the last of the Wild Bunch.
The Wild bunch gang appears in the manga series Drifters
so far only two of them were confirmed the rest are unknown.
Hole-in-the-Wall
Hole-in-the-Wall is a remote hideout located in the Big Horn Mountains of Johnson County in northern Wyoming. The site was used in the late 19th century by the Hole in the Wall Gang, a group of cattle rustlers and other outlaws which included Kid Curry, Black Jack Ketchum, and Butch Cassidy's Wild...
in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
during the Old West era in the United States. It was popularized by the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman...
, and took its name from the original Wild Bunch
Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang or the Oklahombres, was a gang of outlaws based in the Indian Territory that terrorized Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Territory during the 1890s—robbing banks and stores, holding up trains, and killing lawmen. They were...
. The gang was led by Butch Cassidy
Butch Cassidy
Robert LeRoy Parker , better known as Butch Cassidy, was a notorious American train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang in the American Old West...
, and it included his closest friend Elzy Lay
Elzy Lay
William Ellsworth "Elzy" Lay was an outlaw of the Old West best known as being a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, gang, operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming...
, the Sundance Kid
Harry Longabaugh
Harry Alonzo Longabaugh , better known as the Sundance Kid, was an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, in the American Old West. Longabaugh likely met Butch Cassidy after Parker was released from prison around 1896...
, Tall Texan
Ben Kilpatrick
Ben Kilpatrick was an American outlaw during the closing days of the American Old West. He was a member of the Wild Bunch gang led by Butch Cassidy and Elzy Lay. He was arrested for robbery and served about 10 years of his 15 year sentence...
, News Carver
William Carver (Wild Bunch)
William "News" Carver was an American outlaw and a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch during the closing years of the American Old West. His nickname "News" was given to him because he enjoyed seeing his name in newspaper stories of his gang's exploits...
, Camila Hanks, Laura Bullion
Laura Bullion
Laura Bullion was a female outlaw of the Old West. Most sources indicate that Bullion was born of German and Native American heritage in Knickerbocker, near Mertzon in Irion County, Texas; the exact day of her birth is unclear...
, Flat-Nose Curry
George Curry (Wild Bunch)
George Sutherland Curry , also known as Flat-nose Curry, was an American robber of the American Old West. Curry was a mentor to Harvey Logan, who would adopt the surname Curry, and the two robbed banks together before both became members of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch...
, Kid Curry
Harvey Logan
Harvey Alexander Logan , also known as Kid Curry, was an American outlaw and gunman who rode with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's infamous Wild Bunch gang. Despite being less well known than his counterparts, he has since been referred to as "the wildest of the Wild Bunch"...
and Bob Meeks. They would become the most successful train-robbing gang in history.
This Wild Bunch gang claimed to make every attempt to abstain from killing people, and Cassidy boasted of having never killed a man. The non-violent claims about the gang were false, however. Kid Curry, George Curry, Will Carver and other members of the gang killed numerous people during law enforcement's pursuit of them. Kid Curry alone killed nine lawmen while with the gang, and another two civilians during shootouts, becoming the gang's most feared member. Elzy Lay killed another two lawmen following a robbery, for which he was wounded, arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. "Flat-Nose" George Curry killed at least two lawmen, before being killed himself by Grand County, Utah
Grand County, Utah
Grand County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 8,485, and by 2005 had been estimated at 8,743. It was named for the Colorado River, which at the time of statehood was known as the Grand River. Its county seat and largest city is Moab.-Geography:According...
lawmen.
The gang was also closely associated with female outlaws Ann Bassett
Ann Bassett
Ann Bassett , also known as Queen Ann Bassett, was a prominent female rancher of the Old West, and with her sister Josie Bassett, was an associate of outlaws, particularly Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch.-Early life:...
and Josie Bassett
Josie Bassett
Josie Bassett was a female rancher. She and her sister "Queen" Ann Bassett are known for their love affairs and associations with well-known outlaws, particularly Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch.-Early life:...
, whose ranch near Browns Park supplied the gang often with fresh horses and beef. Both Bassett girls would become romantically involved with several members of the gang, and both would occasionally accompany the gang to one of their hideouts, called "Robbers Roost
Robbers Roost
The Robbers Roost was an outlaw hideout in southeastern Utah used mostly by Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch gang in the closing years of the Old West....
". It was through associations with ranchers like this in the area that the gang were allowed considerable mobility, giving them an easy resupply of fresh horses and supplies, and a place to hole up for a night or two.
At 1:00 a.m on June 2, 1899, Cassidy, Kid Curry, Logan and Lay robbed a Union Pacific train near Wilcox, Wyoming. They wore masks made from white napkins, possibly pilfered from a Harvey House
Harvey House
Harvey House may refer to:*One of many hotels of the Fred Harvey Company in the U.S. west, which include :*La Posada Hotel and Gardens, in Winslow, Arizona, a contributing property in NRHP-listed La Posada Historic District, in Navajo County...
restaurant. During the hold up they stole between $30,000 and $60,000. The gang split up afterward, a common ploy to throw off pursuers, and several fled to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. On July 11, 1899, gang members robbed a train near Folsom, New Mexico
Folsom, New Mexico
Folsom is a village in Union County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 75 at the 2000 census. The town was named after Frances Folsom, the fiancee of President Grover Cleveland.-Geography:Folsom is located at ....
, without Cassidy's presence. The pursuit by a posse led by Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Ed Farr culminated in two gun battles, during which Sheriff Farr and two deputies were killed. Gang member Sam Ketchum was wounded and died in custody. Elzy Lay, one of Cassidy's closest friends and co-founder of the Wild Bunch gang, was wounded and also captured.
Cassidy and the other members regrouped in Wyoming. On August 29, 1900, Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Kid Curry and another unidentified gang member believed to have been Will Carver held up another Union Pacific train at Tipton, Wyoming
Table Rock, Wyoming
Table Rock is a ghost town in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. It was a census-designated place at the 2000 census, with a population of 82, but by the 2010 census the population had dropped to 0.-Geography:...
. Less than a month later, on September 19, 1900, they raided the First National Bank of Winnemucca, Nevada
Winnemucca, Nevada
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,174 people, 2,736 households, and 1,824 families residing in the city. The population density was 867.5 people per square mile . There were 3,280 housing units at an average density of 396.6 per square mile...
, stealing $32,640. These and other lucrative robberies led to much notoriety and fame.
The end of the Wild Bunch
In early 1901, Cassidy along with the Sundance Kid and his girlfriend Etta PlaceEtta Place
Etta Place was a companion of the American outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , both members of the outlaw gang known as the Wild Bunch. Principally the companion of Longabaugh, little is known about her; both her origins and her fate remain mysterious...
relocated to Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, owing to constantly having to remain on the move because of Pinkerton detectives and other lawmen. That same year, on April 1, Will Carver was wounded by lawmen and died later in May of complications. Ben Kilpatrick was captured in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
in December, 1901, along with Laura Bullion, and received a 20-year prison sentence, with her receiving a five year sentence. Kid Curry killed two lawmen in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, escaping capture, then traveled to Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
where he killed a rancher that had killed his brother Johnny years before. He then returned to Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, was captured, only to escape once again. Kid Curry was killed in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
in 1904, during a shootout with lawmen. In 1908, Cassidy and Sundance were allegedly killed in a shootout with Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
n cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
.
Etta Place disappeared completely, with her last known sighting being in 1909 in San Francisco. It is believed that she reinvented herself, becoming a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
and hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
owner named Eunice Gray
Eunice Gray
Eunice Gray was a brothel and hotel owner and operator in Fort Worth, Texas from 1909 to 1962. She is best known for the belief that she was in fact Etta Place, the former girlfriend of the famous outlaw Harry Alonzo Longabaugh aka the Sundance Kid, who was allegedly killed in a shootout in South...
, in Fort Worth, Texas, dying in 1962. Elzy Lay was released from prison in 1906, and after a brief visit to the Bassett ranch in Utah he relocated to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he became a respected businessman, dying there in 1934. Ben Kilpatrick was released from prison in 1911, and was killed during a train robbery in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in 1912. Laura Bullion was released from prison in 1905 and lived the remainder of her life as a seamstress, dying in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
in 1961, the last of the Wild Bunch.
In Popular culture
- The Three Outlaws, starring Neville BrandNeville BrandNeville Brand was an American television and movie actor.-Early life:Neville Brand was born in Illinois. He was born to Leo and Helen Brand as one of seven children. Leo, was an electrician and bridge building steel worker in Detroit, where Neville was raised...
as Butch Cassidy and Alan Hale Jr as the Sundance Kid, is a 1956 fictional film of the duo's exploits with Wild Bunch member William "News" Carver as the third outlaw in the title.
The Wild bunch gang appears in the manga series Drifters
Drifters (manga)
is a fantasy, alternate history Japanese manga written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. The manga started serialization in Shōnen Gahosha's magazine, Young King Ours on April 30, 2009...
so far only two of them were confirmed the rest are unknown.