Escaping Telluride

Pushing their horses to the limit, Matt Warner, Tom McCarty and Butch Cassidy made it to the Mancos Mountains in two and half hours. Warner hooked up with his ranch hands, Neils Olson, George Brown and Johnny Nicholson and signed his ranch over to them. Warner claims this was to protect the ranch from being handed over to the law, although some believe the real reason he signed over the ranch was as payment for the ranch hands help in setting up relay horses after the Telluride robbery.

Temporarily safe in the mountains, the outlaws rested, albeit uneasily, for the night. The following day a posse led by San Miguel County Sheriff James A. Beattie and Montezuma County Sheriff J.C. Love corned the three men in the hills. The outlaws hiding place was approachable from only one direction, unfortunately this meant it was only escapable by one direction as well. The outlaws were counting on the posse to continue chasing them, allowing them to take them down, but the posse was too smart for that and a waiting game commenced.

The outlaws luck changed when a stray pony approached their hiding place. The three bandits were able to tie brush to the pony’s tail and send it running off away from the hill. The resulting noise made it sound as though the bandits were making a run for it and the posse fell for it, chasing after the noise. Once the posse was a safe distance away, the Warner, McCarty and Cassidy took off towards a nearby ferry.

Reaching the ferry after dark, the outlaws found the operators asleep. As luck would have it, Warner knew the operators. He woke the men up and had them transport his crew across the river into Utah. Entering Utah, the outlaws headed towards Thompson Springs in hopes of holding up there until everything cooled off. Unfortunately for them, Utah deputies picked the trail where the Colorado officers left off. From there a marathon chase ensued, with the outlaws changing directions to avoid running into the seeming constant addition of new posses, utilizing every trick of the trade to avoid capture.

After being pursued for days, the outlaws managed to get to Browns Park, the home of Warner’s old friend Charley Crouse. Crouse let the outlaws hide out in a cabin on his property that was hidden away from the main grounds. For the first time in a long while the outlaws were able to relax.

A few days after they arrived, the outlaws were notified by one of Crouse’s ranch hands that a posse had shown up and were headed towards the cabin. The outlaws left in short order, this time heading towards Robbers Roost.

The outlaws made a clean escape into the Roost and stayed there from summer to fall. Occasionally Cassidy ventured into Green River for supplies, on one of these trips he was spotted by his former neighbor, Dan Gillis. Fearing the jig was up, the outlaws took turns looking out for any signs of an approaching posse. Sure enough, a couple days later Warner discovered fresh tracks heading towards their camp. Rushing back to camp, Warner sounded the alarm and the three men took cover.

The outlaws spied on the posse, led by Sheriff Tom Fares, and watched as they made a wrong turn into a box canyon that would lead them to certain death. Feeling compassionate, the decision was made to help the lawmen. Warner rode into the canyon after them and fired his pistol to get the posse’s attention. Waving them over, he stuck a note in the ground explaining the posse was heading towards bad news and to follow him to water. Warner led the officers to a spring then rushed off to hide and escape capture should the lawmen’s graciousness be short-lived. Warner didn’t go far, choosing to spy on the men to see what their next move would be. The deputies were thankful to the outlaws for saving their lives but Sheriff Fares was still of mind to capture the wanted men. The sheriff’s ungrateful attitude sent Warner into a rage and the outlaw leapt into action. Warner was able to get the jump on the three men, quickly relieving the men of their weapons and Sheriff Fares of his pants and saddle. Humiliated, Fares was forced to ride bareback (in more ways than one) to Green River.

Sensing it was time to leave the Roost, the three men made their way to Lander, Wyoming. The outlaws parted ways just outside town. Warner and McCarty were anxious to head into town, find a bar and finally put some of their newfound cash to use. Cassidy refused to join them, choosing to lay low and visit a nearby friend instead. He turned out to have the right idea. Warner and McCarty had no sooner sat down at the bar when they learned a posse was in town looking for them. The two outlaws managed to sneak out back where they had tied their horses and speed out of town.

Warner and McCarty were on the run again, this time pursued by posses equipped with bloodhounds complicating their escape. After another lengthy chase by the law, the two outlaws made their way to Afton, Wyoming. Posing as Montana cattlemen who had just sold their outfit and using the aliases Tom Smith and Matt Willard the brothers-in-law purchased a cabin in the area and settled in. Warner and McCarty would eventually find love in Afton, and soon both men were married to local women.

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