|
|
"Flat Nose"
George Currie
| Name: George
Currie |
| Aliases: "Flatnose"
George Currie, John Hunter |
| Occupation: Outlaw |
| Date of Birth:
1864 |
| Location of Birth:
Charlottetown, Prince
Edward Island, Canada |
| Occupation: Outlaw |
| Spouse: Unknown |
| Affiliations: The
Wild Bunch |
| Date of Death:
April 17, 1900 |
| Cause of
Death: Shot by Sheriff Jessie M. Tyler |
| Location of
Death: Price, Utah |
|
|
George Sutherland Currie was born in 1864
on Prince Edward Island in Canada. While he was still young, the Currie
family moved to Nebraska.
Harvey Logan, alias Kid Curry, looked up
to Currie, creating his alias as tribute to his friend and mentor.
Currie’s own nickname, “Flat Nose,” is self-explanatory. A wanted
poster for the Belle Fourche robbery describes Currie as “About 5 ft.
10in., weight 175, age 27, light complexion, high cheek bones, flat
forehead, flat pug nose, big hands an bones, stoops a little, long light
mustache, probably clean shaven.”
“Flat Nose” Currie is believed to
have participated in the June 28, 1897 robbery of the Butte County Bank in
Belle Fourche, South Dakota by the Wild Bunch. The bandits lost control of
the situation and made off with only $97.00. Tom O’Day, riding with the
gang, was left at the scene when his horse was spooked off by the gunfire.
The remaining outlaws made a successful escape.
A year later on July 14, 1898, Currie
joined Harvey Logan and the Sundance Kid in the
robbery of a Southern
Pacific train just outside Humboldt, Nevada. The three outlaws escaped
with $450. Two local men were arrested for the crime, but released after
they were able to produce alibis.
The following April, the three outlaws
teamed up again to rob the Club Saloon on April 3,
1899 in Elko, Nevada. Three masked
gunmen entered the gambling hall just after closing and robbed the place
of up to $3,000. The trio then fled into the night, never to be seen
again.
On June 2, 1899 Currie and members of the
Wild Bunch robbed the Union Pacific Overland Flyer near
Wilcox, Wyoming.
After stopping the train and separating the passenger cars, the outlaws
used dynamite to blow the express car safes– too much dynamite.
The resulting explosion blew not only the
safes, but the express car itself, sending money flying through the air.
The outlaws spent the next two hours picking up the money that had
scattered throughout the area. It took nearly two hours to pick up between
a reported $30,000 and $60,000.
The outlaws split up after their escape
from Wilcox. A posse led by Converse County Sheriff Josiah Hazen and
Natrona County Sheriff Oscar Hiestand caught up with Currie’s group
(Currie, Harvey and Lonnie Logan) just outside of
Casper, Wyoming. A
shootout occurred and Harvey Logan managed to shoot Sheriff Hazen in the
stomach. Hazen died the next day. The outlaws escaped without capture.
“Flat Nose” Currie was shot and
killed by Sheriff Jesse M. Tyler on April 17, 1900. Tyler
was part of a posse searching for cattle rustlers. When they came across
Tom Dilly, Billy Rose and “Flat Nose” Currie, Currie tried to make a
run for it but was shot down and killed in the process.
Vowing revenge for his mentor’s death,
Harvey Logan tracked down and killed Sheriff Tyler and another man, Sam
Jenkins, on May 26, 1900.
Back
|
