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Print Archive: Eastern Utah Advocate 05.19.1898

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Two Outlaws Killed, Two Surrender
Battle Fought in Book Cliffs
Butch Cassidy and Joe Walker open the Battle.
Good Work of Price Posse-Identity of Butch Cassidy in Doubt.
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News reached Price late Friday evening of the killing of the notorious outlaws, Butch Cassidy and Joe Walker, and the capture of Leigh and Thompson, members of the Robber’s Roost gang, by Sheriff Allred’s posse which left here on Sunday, May 8.

The members of the posse leaving here were Sheriff C.W. Allred, Pete Anderson, J.W. Warf, J.M. Whitmore, Geo. Whitmore, Jack Gentry, Jim Inglefield, Billy McGuire and Jack Watson. When in the vicinity of Lower Crossing, Sheriff Allred sent McGuire and Inglefield to Lower Crossing with dispatches. Joe Bush of Salt Lake and a rancher named Coleman of Lower Crossing returned to the posse with McGuire and Inglefield. In the box canyon of the Price river below Lower Crossing, the trail of the outlaws was found. Here also was the bunch of Whitmore’s cattle which they had stolen and also one of the outlaw’s horses.

Sheriff Allred detailed members of the posse to drive the cattle back to the range and to join them in Range valley (unclear). With the balance of the posse Sheriff Allred followed the trail north into Range valley, where they were told that Walker and Cassidy had not been seen. Believing that this information was given purposely to mislead, Sheriff Allred pressed the rancher into service as guide, and in a short time were on the trail which led down the Range valley and crossed the Green river. After crossing the river the entire posse remained in the canyon until nightfall. Sheriff Allred was pretty well satisfied that they were close to the outlaws, and knowing that the latter would have some of their members on the outlook, deemed it wise to continue under the cover of darkness. Led by the rancher they continued across the hills until about 13 miles (unclear) was covered and the vicinity of the robbers was reached. Here the posse dismounted and, wrapped in their blankets, awaited the approach of dawn. About an hour before daybreak they remounted and rode within a short distance of the camp, when they again dismounted and proceeded to within ? (unintelligible) yards of the sleeping outlaws. Mr. Allred then called on them to surrender, as did also Pete Anderson and J.M. Whitmore, and who told the outlaws they were surrounded by 100 men. Cassidy and Walker immediately began firing and the other two men threw up their hands and begged for mercy. Cassidy and Walker after emptying their revolvers started to run. Walker fell about sixty feet from the bed with (unintelligible) a bullet through his head and another pierced his heart. The battle took place in the Book Cliffs about 45 miles north of Thompsons Springs. With the dead bodies packed on a couple of horses and with the two captured outlaws, the trip to Thompsons began, which point was reached late Friday evening.

Governor Wells was notified by wire of the capture. The party left Thompsons the following morning and reached Price at 7:10 a.m. A big crowd had assembled to see the remains of the outlaws.

At the inquest a large number of witnesses testified to the identity of the outlaws, and in accordance with testimony the jury’s decision was that the dead bodies were those of Butch Cassidy and Joe Walker. The bodies were prepared for burial on Saturday evening and placed in common wood coffins, and on Sunday were buried.

Joe Walker was said to have come from Texas some seven years ago and remained here doing ranch work and riding the range. Later he went to Huntingtou (unintelligible), where he was employed at Day Bre’s (unintelligible) sawmill. Being a good rider, and handy with a gun he was soon again among the cow-punchers. During the summer of 1865 (unintelligible) his criminal career, so far as Utah is concerned, began. Under the influence of liquor he attempted to hold up Price, and in some way managed to elude the officers. Fearing arrest in case he returned to Price, he joined the cattle rustlers who rendezvoused in the eastern part of Emery county and who have fattened off the cattlemen of Eastern Utah. About fifteen months ago an attempt was made by the officials of Carbon and Emery counties to arrest him for horse stealing in an encounter with Walker and a pal in the San Rafael area (unintelligible), Sheriff Tuttle (unintelligible) received a bad gunshot wound in the thigh, supposed to have been done by Walker.

Walker has led gangs in raids after cattle and horses, and was much feared by ranchmen.

As to the identity of Cassidy there is a great divergence of opinion. Sherrifs Allred and Tuttle with several others claim the body to be that of Butch Cassidy beyond a question of a doubt. Doc Shores of the R.G.W. and a noted criminal hunter, and others are equally positive that it is not Cassidy. Time alone will settle the dispute.

The two outlaws who surrendered to the posse claim the names of Thompson and Schultz, and are probably Wyoming cattle rustlers. They were lodged in jail at this place under heavy guard.

Thompson and Schultz claim that the dead man said to be Cassidy was known by them in Wyoming by the name of John Herring.

In the event of Sheriff Allred’s posse failing to capture the outlaws Sheriff Tuttle with a posse from Orangeville was south of the Book Cliffs to intercept them. Sheriff Wilson of Grand was also notified to cut off escape to the southeast, but failed to show up.

The Price boys who were in the posse smiled when Jim Bush got his work xxx (unintelligible) on the Salt Lake reporter. Joe is smooth of tongue and has a supreme amount of unadulterated gall. Sunday’s Tribune says.

Bush says the melee was of very short duration. When he dismounted it was just 6 o’clock. The bandits were surrounded after a walk of 100 yards or more, and the battle fought six minutes later.

The two bandits fired eight or ten shots. Some of the posse say the bullets whistled by close to them, but Bush says he wasn’t paying any attention to that detail of the performance. He was only looking after his own rifle and the bullets in its chamber. The shooting was all done at a distance of about twenty-five or thirty yards.

Members of the posse say that “Bush the Brave,” did not show up until after Walker and Cassidy had been killed. It is very probable that Bush was at a very safe distance when “He was only looking after his own rifle and the bullets in its chamber.” It is also very likely that Bush was not as much concerned about the flying bullets as he was to preserve his cowardly hide. The credit for the capture is due solely to the Price boys, every one of whom were at the front pumping lead into the outlaws. Windy Bush is all right in an interview, and the Salt Lake reporters are soft snaps.

     Sheriff Ward of Evanston, Wyo., reached Price on Sunday night for the purpose of identifying Cassidy, the latter having served a term in the Wyoming penitentiary while Mr. Ward was warden. On Monday the body was exhumed, and an examination made. When seen by The Advocate reporter Mr. Ward stated positively that the body was not Butch Cassidy’s.

On Tuesday Schultz and Thompson were taken to Castledale for a preliminary hearing. They were guarded by a xxx (unintelligible) posse.

Jack Gentry, Billy McGuire, Peter Anderson and Jim Inglefield reached Price on Monday with the band of horses which were in possession of the outlaws. They reached here with 21 (unintelligible) head, four having given out on the trip to Price. The band is above the average Utah horse.

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CASSIDY AS A COWBOY

Pat Ryan, the well known mining man, upon whose ranch Butch Cassidy rode about eight years ago, stated to a Tribune correspondent that when as a young man the fellow gave no signs of the desperate career he subsequently adopted, but that on the contrary he was quiet and inoffensive. He was the elder of a large number of children that had been born to very poor parents and while he was hard on the horse on which he was mounted, that was about the only offense for which he was rebuked when he was in Mr. Ryan’s employ. The first real violation of the law on his part of which Mr. Ryan had any knowledge was when he stole a saddle with which he escaped. One taste of lawlessness appeared to completely overcome him, however, and from the saddle he entered into cattle stealing with a confederate whose real name was Cassidy. The latter disappeared and young Parker after that took the name of Cassidy.

“One of the most cold-blooded and heartless members of the gang by which the country was infested about the time Cassidy was beginning his apprenticeship,” says Mr. Ryan, “was Tom McCarthy. On one occasion he, with a confederate, was tracked by two officers to Ketchum’s (unintelligible) ranch, where they were overtaken. Officers and fugitives ate supper at the same table that night and breakfasted together the following morning. The officers were both known to the fugitives and when the breakfast was disposed of the latter made it known.

“We don’t propose to make that trip back over the desert,” said McCarthy to the officers, “but will give you a start.”

Thereupon the officers were relieved of their animals and of their money and for sixty miles they footed across the desert to Frisco. Cassidy  at a later day fell in with McCarthy and they became very close friends.

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Source: Utah Digital Newspapers (http://www.lib.utah.edu/digital/unews/)
 

 

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