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Matt Warner (p.2)
His first robbery
complete, Warner developed a taste for the outlaw life and was soon
seeking another score. Taking another of his ranch hands, Joe Brooks,
along for the ride, Warner robbed a combination store and bank in St.
Johns, Arizona. The two men escaped to Robbers Roost with $837 in stolen
money. The outlaws laid low in the Roost for two months, after which
Brooks returned to Warner’s ranch while Warner headed off to look up his
brother-in-law Tom McCarty.
Hooking up with
McCarty, the two men rustled cattle for a while before Warner returned to
his Diamond Mountain ranch. Upon arriving at the ranch, Warner
discovered his antics had made him a wanted man. Left with no choice but
to flee the area, Warner moved the entire outfit into Colorado. Warner’s
longtime hands, Joe Brooks and Moroni Hendrickson took this opportunity to
move on, while Neils Olson, Johnny Nicholson and George Brown were hired
on in their place.
Once in Colorado,
Warner purchased a mare from his old friend Charley Crouse. After training
the mare, now named Betty, he began racing it across Colorado, eventually
winding up in Telluride. It was in Telluride that Matt Warner met a fellow
Utah cowboy going by the name of Roy Parker. Parker, who would later
become infamous as Butch Cassidy, and Warner hit if off and soon developed
a partnership.
On November 3, 1887 an
eastbound Denver & Rio Grande passenger train was robbed five miles
east of Grand Junction, Colorado. While it was rumored that Matt Warner,
Butch Cassidy and Tom McCarty were the perpetrators, four different men
were later captured and convicted of the crime.
In 1888, Warner and
Cassidy found themselves employed by the Spectator Ranch about forty miles
outside of Telluride. The two men worked the ranch for about a year before
leaving. As a bonus for their service Harry B. Adsit, the owner of the
Spectator Ranch, presented the men with their choice of the horses from
the stock they had broken.
There are claims that
Warner and Cassidy, along with Tom McCarty, robbed the First National Bank
of Denver on March 30, 1889. Warner doesn’t mention this robbery in his
biography, but legend has it that in a cabin later owned by Warner and
McCarty, a $10,000 note obtained in the robbery was tacked above the bar. There
is no evidence Cassidy participated in the holdup.
On June 24, 1889, Matt
Warner along with Tom McCarty and Butch Cassidy, rode into Telluride,
Colorado and robbed the San Miguel Valley
Bank. The three men made off
with approximately $20,000. The outlaws escaped to Robbers Roost before
heading north to Lander, Wyoming where Cassidy split with the
brothers-in-law just outside of town. Cassidy was nervous about showing
their faces so soon after the robbery and tried to warn the others not to
go into town, but they didn’t listen. Warner and McCarty had their
hearts set on celebrating with their newly won riches. They should have
listened to Cassidy.
Arriving in Lander, the
two outlaws hit the first bar they could find, taking the precaution of
tying their horses out back before entering. This small measure of caution
saved the outlaws from winding up in prison. Once inside the bar, Warner
and McCarty were alerted to the presence of a posse looking for them.
Sneaking out the back, the two men rode out of town as fast as they could.
A posse was hot on their trails, this time utilizing bloodhounds in the
chase.
Eventually Warner and
McCarty escaped the posse, ending up in Afton, Wyoming where, using the
aliases Tom Smith and Matt Willard, they settled down. Posing as Montana
cattleman who had just sold their ranch, the two men purchased a cabin. It
was in Afton that Warner met Rose Morgan. The couple eventually married in
Montpelier, Idaho along with Tom McCarty and his new bride, Sary Lemberg.
The couples were spotted in Montpelier by authorities who recognized
Warner and McCarty. A posse soon showed up in Afton looking for the
outlaws. Warner and McCarty chased the posse out of town, much to the
shock of their neighbors who believed the two men to be respectable
citizens.
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