June 28, 1897 - Butte County Bank Robbery

As many as six men took part in the Butte County Bank robbery in Belle Fourche, South Dakota and in typical Wild Bunch fashion their identities remain something of a mystery. Tom O’Day was arrested on the scene, so we know he was there. The Sundance Kid, Harvey Logan, and Walt Punteney were later identified by one of the bank employees present at the robbery, so it’s a sure bet they were involved as well. This leaves the identity of the reaming men unknown. Among the names mentioned as possible suspects are "Flat Nose" George Currie, Lonnie Logan (Harvey Logan’s brother), as well as Butch Cassidy.

What is known is that on the afternoon of June 28, 1897, four men rode up to the Butte County Bank, while one of the men watched over the horses, the other three went entered the bank. Inside was the head cashier, Arthur R. Marble, his assistant Harry Ticknor, a local shopkeeper, Sam Arnold, along with three other customers. The robbers wasted no time taking control of the situation, ordering the employees and customers to put their hands up. Arthur R. Marble later claimed he attempted to fire a gun at the outlaws, but it didn’t go off. One of the outlaws ordered the customers to put their deposits in a sack and Sam Arnold readily handed over the $97.00 he brought to deposit. Unfortunately for the outlaws, it would be the only money gained in the robbery.

Alanson Giles, a hardware store owner working across the street, watched the scene unfold and yelled out the alarm. The outlaw who was watching over the horses fired off a shot, possibly to warn the others they’ve been made. As if on cue, two men down the street began firing their weapons in the air as a distraction. Inside the bank the remaining robbers made a quick exit and mounted their horses. Tom O’Day, said to be one of the two men firing distraction shots, tried to mount his horse and join the others, but he gunfire spooked his ride and it ran off without him. Panicked, O’Day attempted to commandeer a mule, but it wouldn’t budge. Left with no other option, O’Day ran into a nearby saloon. He was later discovered hiding in an outhouse nearby. The outhouse was later overturned and O’Day’s gun was discovered in the sewage. Ironically, O’Day was housed in the Butte County Bank vault overnight before his extradition the following morning to Deadwood.

Realizing O’Day was missing, the outlaws rode up a hill to get a better vantage point to look for him. A bystander in the crowd took this opportunity to fire a civil war era rifle at the outlaws but missed wildly. Meanwhile the town blacksmith started up the hill on horseback to confront the outlaws and was nearly to the top when a vigilante apparently aiming for the bandits shot out his horse from under him. The situation was far too intense to wait any longer and the outlaws fled the scene leaving O’Day behind.

Butte County Sheriff George Fuller gathered a posse and made chase. The outlaws split up with "Flat Nose" Currie and the Logan’s heading towards Baggs, Wyoming, while the Sundance Kid and Walt Punteney raced towards Hole-in-the-Wall. Despite the numerous men searching for the bank robbers, they managed to escape arrest…for the time being.

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