Harry A. Longabaugh (p.4)

On February 1, 1901, the trio registered at Mrs. Catherine Taylor’s boarding house in New York City. Sundance and Etta registered as Mr. and Mrs. Harry Place; fueling suspicion the couple was married. Cassidy posed as Etta’s brother.

While in New York City, the trio painted the town. Sundance and Etta posed for an infamous photo at DeYoung photography. The photograph remains one of the only images of Etta Place in existence. Like the “Fort Worth Five” photograph, this picture also found its way into the hands of the law. The trio also paid a visit to Tiffany’s where Sundance bought Etta a lapel watch, grabbing a diamond stickpin for himself.

On February 20, 1901, the trio boarded the British ship, Herminius, bound for Argentina. Some believe Cassidy stayed behind to participate in a Wild Bunch train robbery near Wagner, Montana. It is more likely, that Cassidy left the states with Sundance and Etta.

A month later the trio arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mr. and Mrs. Place registered at the Hotel Europa and opened an account with the London and River Platte Bank in Buenos Aires.

The Sundance Kid and Etta Place left Argentina to return to the States on March 3, 1901. They arrived in New York City a month later on April 3, 1902. Upon arrival the couple registered at a boarding house on 14th St.. A day prior to their arrival, Butch Cassidy filed an application for government land in Cholila, Argentina.

During this trip to New York, Sundance and Etta visited Coney Island and paid a second visit to the Longabaugh family in Pennsylvania. It is believed that Sundance again sought medical treatment for an unknown ailment during this visit.

A Pinkertons memo dated May 10, 1902 describes Longabaugh as, “about 35, 5 ft 9, 185 or 190. Med Comp. Brown eyes, Lt Bro hair. Lt Bro or Sandy Mustache, feet Small. not bow legged – both feet turns in walking. face much tanned in the Sun.”

On July 3, 1902, two men robbed the Chicago-Rock Island Express near Dupont, Illinois. Authorities immediately suspected Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; an impossible feat considering Cassidy was still in South America. The Sundance Kid could have squeezed in the robbery during his visit, but it would have been tight. Sundance and Place left New York seven days after the robbery on July 10, 1902.

The couple arrived in Buenos Aires on August 9, 1902. They stayed at the Hotel Europa before catching a ferry on August 15, 1902, beginning the journey to their new home. After the ferry ride, they rode the rest of the way to the Cholila ranch.

By all accounts the outlaws and Etta lived the quiet life in Cholila, raising cattle, sheep and horses. Their outlaw days appeared to be over.

It is possible that Sundance and Etta made another trip to the states in 1904. A Pinkertons memo dated October 24, 1904 placed the couple in Forth Worth, Texas. They may have visited the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis during this visit as well. By 1905, the couple was back in South America.

Despite their best efforts to go straight, the Pinkertons kept up the hunt for the notorious outlaws, sending operatives into South America to find them.