Butch Cassidy was born Robert LeRoy Parker on April 13, 1866, in Beaver, Utah. The oldest of thirteen children he was born into a poor Mormon family; who had moved from England with his grandparent’s to the mountains of Circleville. Butch had problems with the law at a very young age. Around 1884 Butch had snuck into a shop looking for a pair of jeans, he left an ‘I Owe You’ on the counter for the owner to see. However, this did not go over well and the owner did not wait for Robert to return later that evening to pay for the jeans, instead the owner called the police. Butch also got in to trouble because his father had lost some land in a property rights dispute this caused Butch to no longer looked up to his father as a role model. Butch …show more content…
Robert took on some odd jobs besides working on a farm or ranch, he took a job working at a butcher shop. When Robert got more into being an outlaw he did not want to bring shame upon his family and took upon the name “Butch Cassidy”. Robert got his first alias name of ‘Butcher’ from being a butcher in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and took the last name Cassidy from his old mentor. However soon after he dropped the ‘er’ at the end of butcher and was left with “Butch Cassidy” as his outlaw name. Shortly after Butch was serving a two-year jail sentence for rustling some cattle. Butch then sat in his cell for two years becoming a “master planner of the robbery of trains, banks, and mine payrolls came naturally for Cassidy” (Circleville, Utah). Butch was very well liked and never had a lack of companions who helped assist him with his plans. “After prison, Cassidy reunited with members of the Wild Bunch—a loose-knit band of men who started out at rustlers and horse thieves—and turned to robbing banks and trains. He and his fellow bandits developed a pattern for committing these crimes that involved doing reconnaissance on the place they planned to rob, as well as stashing supplies and extra horses along their intended getaway route. While Cassidy became notorious for pulling off holdups throughout the West in the 1890s, he wasn’t known for excessive gun …show more content…
Some of the members of the Wild Bunch Gang include: Harry Longbaugh (the Sundance Kid), Ben Kilpatrick, Harvey Logan, William Carver, George Curry, Laura Bullion, Elza Lay and Bob Meeks (Spartacus Educational). The gang is known for holding up trains and robbing banks. “One of the first major crimes attributed to Cassidy is the robbery of the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride, on June 24, 1889. Matt Warner, Tom McCarty and Butch Cassidy got away with $20,750 by thoroughly casing the joint first” (Circleville, Utah). “On April 21st, 1897 the train from Salt Lake City entered Castle Gate carrying the payroll for the Pleasant Valley Coal Company. Men carrying the money were making their way through town towards the company office when they were robbed of the $8,800 they were carrying and then fled to Robbers Roost, cutting telegraph wires along the trail to prevent the news of the robbery from spreading to lawmen along their escape route” (Circleville, Utah). Cassidy was not known for excessive gun violence. In fact, he told his gang members to not aim at the law officers when being chased down but instead aim at the horses they were riding. Cassidy also boasted himself by saying that he himself had never killed
A preacher’s son becomes one of the most wanted outlaws that ever lived. Jesse James was one of the toughest outlaws in the old west. Jesse committed lots of crimes, most say it was to get revenge on the union soldiers for the cruel treatment he and his family received. He went from guerilla warfare to running with bloody bills and killing whatever got in their way. Jesse James grew up on a small farm, joined the army, and became one of the biggest outlaws of all time.
Ellsworth was mean, and it was ugly. The stench of the its streets fell second to the odor of the unbathed saddle tramps who had just delivered 150,000 cattle from San Antonio to its freight yards. Adding to these smells were the blends of whisky, tanning leather, kerosene and carved carcasses, a revolting combination. Gunfights were spontaneous, either over a woman or a card game. When Wyatt crossed the Smoky Hill River into Ellsworth in 1873, he may have remembered the "rules of the gunman," but had no intention of employing them. The two main “rules of a gunman” were to take his time and always be armed. Although many people had warned him that it would be naive to go westward without being properly armed, Wyatt didn’t own a gun. All he hoped for was to find a peaceable job. But, only hours after hitching his horse in town he began to wonder if perhaps everyone was right. The most boisterous spot in town was Brennan’s Saloon, off Ellsworth Square; its faro and poker tables buzzed 24 hours, bartenders tapped beer and ...
The Life of Billy Joel Billy Joel was born on May 9, 1949 in Bronx, New York. He moved at the age of four to a small town on Long Island. This is where at the ripe age of four he discovered the art of music. Originally a classical music fan, Billy Joel honed his skills with classical piano training. This undoubtedly has had a major influence on his life and certainly his music.
Gunfights were common and took place regularly. The earliest gunfighters, or gunslingers, were born in the early 1800’s, and most men got recognition as slingers in the 1850’s. The founder of gunfighting was “Old Man Clanton”, or N. H. Clanton. In 1816, Newman Haynes "Old Man" Clanton was born in Davidson County, Tennessee. On January 5, 1840 Newman Clanton married Mariah Sexton Kelso in Callaway County, Missouri and together they had five boys and two daughters. John Wesley, Joseph Isaac, Phineas Fay, William Harrison, Alonzo Peter, Mary Elise and Ester Ann made up the Clanton Gang. He did not participate in many gunfights though he instigated many of them. Old Man Clanton took care of business swiftly. If he did not like somebody, he would simply point them out, and one of his sons would provoke an argument and shoot the man down in “self defense”. Old Man Clanton had formed a “cowboy party” which consisted of some of the deadliest men in the West. Curley Bill, John Ringo, Tim and Frank McLaury, Joe Hill, Pony Deal, Jim Hughes, Frank Stillwell and many other lieutenants, who had over four hundred frontier outcast under them, formed this group. He stole over $100,000 from ranchers in the south, and anyone who opposed was quickly exterminated. Old Man Clanton’s final days ended with a stolen-cattle drive. While he was passing through Guadeloupe Canyon, he and six other men were ambushed and shot dead out of their saddles. "Old Man" Clanton was buried where he fell in Guadalupe Canyon, New Mexico.
Throughout all of American history there have been those who are well known for committing what are classified as deviant or criminal acts. Most of those who are well known by the public for their actions have committed deeds seen as extremely controversial such as being cult leaders, gang or mafia members, terrorists, rapists, or killers. The lists of members for each topic is numerous, however, there are a certain few that are more prominent than others. One criminal that stands out when speaking of killers in particular is Gary Ridgway, or as he is better known, the Green River Killer. Gary Ridgway is the nation’s most abundant serial killer, with the highest murder rate in America’s history (Gibson).
Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, and the gunfight at the O.K. Corral were they really fighting for justice or revenge. In the attempt to serve “justice” they blurred the lines of the system to their gain. This essay is prove a point that the marvelous western hero lived a much darker live fueled by revenge, bribes, and gambling.
Bill Poole was the original Bowery boy and the leader of the gang. He was notably a boxer coming in at over 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, a firefighter, and a butcher thus giving him the nickname Bill The Butcher. Similar to his gangs anti-immigrant anti-catholic sentiments Poole was a member of the know nothing party that preached the same ideas as Poole and many of the gang as they believed that these immigrants were cheap labor set out to steal their jobs. Though Poole died at the hands of these very same immigrants after a long time dispute with John Morrissey, leader of Dead Rabbits gang. It was a gunman allied with Morrissey who shot him in a saloon. His dying words were “I think I am a goner. If I die, I die a true American; and what grieves me most is, thinking that I’ve been murdered by a set of Irish – by Morrissey in particular.”
Buffalo Bill was one of the most interesting figures of the old west, and the best known spokesman of the new west. Buffalo Bill was born in 1846 and his real name was William Frederick Cody. Cody was many things. He was a trapper, bullwhacker, Colorado 'Fifty-Niner';, Pony Express rider, Civil War soldier, wagonmaster, stagecoach driver, and even a manager of a hotel. He changed his name to Buffalo Bill sometime in his early twenties for his skill while supplying railroad workers with buffalo meat. He would soon begin his career as one of the most famous prairie scouts of the Indian Wars.
One of the most colorful figures of the Old West became the best known spokesman for the New West. He was born William Frederick Cody in Iowa in 1846. At 22, in Kansas, he was rechristened "Buffalo Bill". He had been a trapper, a bullwhacker, a Colorado "Fifty-Niner", Pony Express rider (1860), wagonmaster, stagecoach driver, Civil War soldier, and even hotel manager. He earned his nickname for his skill while supplying Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat. He was about to embark on a career as one of the most illustrious prairie scouts of the Indian Wars.
After the Civil War, Jesse was an Outlaw. He rode with Frank, his cousins the Younger brothers, and many other men such as Bob and Charlie Ford, Jesse’s supposed killers.
While the western frontier was still new and untamed, the western hero often took on the role of a vigilante. The vigilante’s role in the frontier was that of extralegal verve which was used to restrain criminal threats to the civil peace and opulence of a local community. Vigilantism was typical to the settler-state societies of the western frontier where the structures and powers of government were at first very feeble and weak. The typical cowboy hero had a willingness to use this extralegal verve. The Virginian demonstrated this throughout with his interactions with Trampas, most notably in the interactions leading up to the shoot out and during the shoot-out itself. “Others struggled with Trampas, and his bullet smashed the ceiling before they could drag the pistol from him… Yet the Virginian stood quiet by the...
The Wild West is known for its cowboys and gunslingers. In the Wild West the pistol
When one thinks of the United States of America, they probably consider our history, our culture, our media, our impressive cities and the extremely wide variety of beautiful wildernesses that we are lucky enough to still enjoy. We are lucky enough to have a melting pot of cultures in this country, and many different kinds of people. However, when thinking of an original, all-American figure, cowboys come to mind for many people. Our history and the settlement of the U.S. was unlike any other country, and the development of the country in the more western states came with the unique and fascinating time period referred to now as “The Old West”. The Old West was a crucial time in American history, and though it was a simpler time it also came with its share of excitement. Some of the most memorable details about the Old West were the characters that came with it, and some extremely interesting ones were the least conforming- the outlaws. Jesse Woodson James was one of the most notorious outlaws in American history. His name would go down in history as one belonging to a tough as nails and fearless bank robber who led a group of outlaws across the mid-west robbing banks and trains, and even murdering people. When we look at the big picture of what the U.S. has become today, The Old West certainly has had a large impact on our culture, and Jesse James certainly had a large impact on the Old West. Though most would argue that he was not a decent or moral person, one cannot argue that he was still a very interesting and unique icon of the west. So how did Jesse Woodson James change and leave his mark on the United St...
Chatwin tells of the lives of the people in Patagonia with much detail. He goes into much detail describing the poor Welsh, Scottish, English, and Italian farmers. Since farmers make up most of Patagonia's workforce, Chatwin stays with quite a few them and learns about the culture, history, and heritage of Patagonia. Many of the generous people he lodges with were outcasts or exiled from their own country and told him the fascinating stories of their own lives and how they came to be in Patagonia. They also tell the riveting stories of the rich Patagonian borderland, where theives and criminals run wild. One such pair of criminals was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They committed all sorts of crimes including larceny and murder (though Butch Cassidy never killed a man until late in his crooked career). After committing many crimes in Utah, they travelled down to South America to avoid the law.
Dunbar eventually encounters the “infamous savages”, the Sioux, who are just as curious about him as he is them. Over time a rapport is built between the people and Dunbar which culminated in their allowing him entry into their tribe. This pleased Dunbar due to