November 17, 1856 – The first military post in the Gadsden Purchase territory, Fort Buchanan, is located on the Sonoita River (Arizona) to control the Apache and protect southern emigrant routes.
This Day…
This Day
This Day
This Day
1879 – Cowboy John Dean got to whooping it up in Caldwell, Kansas and when he went to drunkenly waving his pistol around the law was called in. Marshal George Flatt and Deputy Red Bill Jones attempted to arrest Dean as he was riding out of town. They both pursued him on foot firing as they ran, but Dean galloped to safety.
This Day…
1870 – Hardscrabble rancher Andy McConnell caught his neighbor, John Shea, trespassing on his property near Abilene, Kansas. Words were spoken and Shea pulled his pistol and fired twice at McConnell. As he was thumbing back the hammer for a third try McConnell calmly shouldered his rifle and shot Shea through the heart. McConnell turned himself in and was released on testimony of an eye witness.
The Wild Bunch
The exact location of the Hole-in-the-Wall hideout is mystery but this seemingly impenetrable fortress used by Butch Cassidy and members of the Wild Bunch during the heyday of this last of the Old West’s super bandit gangs does exist. The meeting place for the gang was somewhere in the deep mountain ravines and gorges near the Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming state lines. It was reportedly discovered by “Big Nose” George Currie, one of the elder statesmen of the Wild Bunch and it was home for more than twenty years to the likes of Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Kid Curry, O.C. Hanks, Ben Kilpatrick, William “News” Carver, Harry Tracy, Elza Lay, and dozens of other desperadoes. I was in that area a few years ago and it’s a spectacular location. I could imagine the Wild Bunch riding past me to get to their hide out as I sat among the rocks looking into a line of hills. On this day more than 114 years ago I’m sure the Wild Bunch wished they were close enough to Hole-in-the-Wall to escape justice. On this day in 1897, Big Nose George Currie, the Sundance Kid, and Harvey Logan were wanted in the robbery of a bank in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. After a brief gunfight with six-shooter Bill Smith and a Bounty Hunter they were taken into custody near Lavina, Montana. All three outlaws escaped from the jail in Deadwood on Halloween. I had an opportunity to write about George Currie a few years back. Currie’s fate was not a happy one. In 1899, Currie held up a train at Wilcox Siding. A posse led by sheriff’s Jessie Tyler and William Preece trailed Currie all the way to Castle Gate, Utah, where, on April 17, 1900, they trapped him on a ranch. Currie ran for six miles, before he was hit in the head with a bullet from a long range rifle. Before Currie’s body was dumped into a common grave at Thompson, Utah, souvenir hunters ripped away portions of his skin. The skin was used to make a pair of shoes that were then placed on display inside a barber shop in Rawlins, Wyoming. The West is a fascinating place to spend time. I’m happy to see that Old West lovers and truth seekers from Carrollton, Missouri and Greensboro, North Carolina visited this site last night. I’m sure they learned something. If this were indeed the Old West I’d call them out into the street and ask them to share. This website is about to undergo some major changes. I’m looking forward to them. Coming October 1st, visitors will be able to enjoy a couple of new western shorts and enjoy a few guest bloggers.
