Legends of the Old West - BUTCH & SUNDANCE Ep. 1 | “From Cowboys to Outlaws”

Episode Date: October 28, 2020

Robert Leroy Parker -- soon to be Butch Cassidy -- grows up in Mormon communities in Utah. He’s a good cowboy, but he strays from his religious teachings and embraces the outlaw life with his first bank robbery. Harry Longabaugh experiences hard work at a young age in Pennsylvania. He moves west for adventure and becomes a respected cowboy, but he also develops a taste for the outlaw lifestyle. His first run-in with the law earns him the nickname, the Sundance Kid. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Benefits vary by card. Other conditions apply. The outside lights of the Maddox Hotel shined as bright as day. They were brighter than Butch Cassidy had ever seen. The street lamps cast a warm yellow glow on the faces of the usual crowd for a Saturday night. Droves of cowboys came looking to spend their dollars on a drink or a girl. Gamblers sauntered from one saloon to another, ready to take the cowboys' money. The girls, some called them stray doves, stood just off the street. They worked the bordellos and crib houses that populated this section of Fort Worth. None of these folks paid Butch any mind as he stood there amazed at the light.

Electricity had come to Hell's Half Acre and he didn't know if he liked it. Four men stood with Butch. The five of them were dressed to the hilt. They wore the most fashionable suits of the day, each one topped with a new derby hat. Butch led them down the street to a small shop. Its front window displayed photographs.

The sign above the door read, The Swartz View Company. Butch waved a hand and said, Gentlemen, after you. In the studio upstairs, there was a fuss as to who sat and who stood. It was finally decided that Butch would sit on one side, Sundance on the other, and Ben, the tall Texan Kilpatrick, would sit in the middle. William News Carver stood behind Sundance, and Harvey Logan stood behind Butch. With a gleam in his eye, Butch appeared to be the only one who was comfortable. There was a brilliant flash, and a portrait was taken. It was a photograph that would live in history. It made world famous the most notorious outlaw gang of the final days of the Old West, the Wild Bunch. As a podcast network, our first priority has always been audio and the stories we're able to share with you.

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slash realm. From Black Barrel Media, this is Legends of the Old West. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer. And this is a four-part series about two of the most famous outlaws in American history, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. This is Episode 1, From Cowboys to Outlaws. Mid-19th century America was a country growing by leaps and bounds. Adventurers had opened up the mountain passes to the West Coast. Whole new economies were created when gold was discovered in California.

The timber industry blossomed in the Northwest, and cattle ranches sprang up on open ranges in Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. With these expansive changes came a growth in vastly different spiritual practices and understandings of Christianity, and the leaders of the Mormon church decided the West was the land of their salvation. In western New York State in 1829, Joseph Smith, Jr. claimed to have been shown a vision by an angel named Moroni. Smith was the son of an itinerant farmer, and he said he was given a set of texts embedded in golden tablets. The writings claimed that long ago, Jesus came to America to create a new spiritual kingdom.

Smith translated the words into English, and in 1830, he published the Book of Mormon. After deeming himself a prophet, and with great controversy, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was born. It only took seven years for Mormon missionaries to reach the shores of England, and the ears and eyes of young Robert Leroy Parker. He was an expert weaver who worked in the textile mills of Lancashire, and he became devoted to his new faith. Soon, he fell in love with Anne Hartley, a fellow employee. It took some doing, but she converted

to the Mormon religion, and she and Robert got married in 1843. Back in America, Joseph Smith called a section of land near Quincy, Illinois, the New Jerusalem, and he named the place Nauvoo. The Mormon community grew and prospered, but the residents of the surrounding towns struggled to understand their ways. Smith was arrested for burning down a local newspaper press that disagreed with his doctrine. An angry mob murdered him while he was in jail waiting for trial. Brigham Young emerged as the new leader. He knew his people must head farther west, beyond the reach of the United States and religious persecution.

United States and religious persecution. Most who traveled to Utah thought the region was a desolate place with only bone-dry canyons and forbidding mountains. Then John Fremont published a guidebook describing a great basin that stretched for hundreds of miles in all directions. Brigham Young knew that that was where his people needed to go. In 1847, an immense migration began to fill the valley near the Great Salt Lake with devoted Mormons. By the early 1850s, the land had been transformed into paradise. Soon after, word went out across the Atlantic to England calling all Mormon craftsmen to come to America. Robert Leroy Parker and his wife Anne heeded that call. They sold their possessions and sailed to America. By June of 1856, they and their eight children stood at the embarking station in Iowa City,

Iowa. There was no money for the luxury of prairie schooners drawn by oxen. The Mormon church made hand carts available to be pulled by the fathers of the faithful. Robert Parker and his family dragged a hand cart across 1,300 miles of territory. They arrived in Salt Lake City on September 26th. They were exhausted, but relieved to be in the promised land. The Parkers settled in Beaver, a small Mormon town in central Utah. Robert went to work in a woolen mill, and Ann took care of their now 10 children.

The eldest son of the family, Max, loved to dance, and at one of the local fandangos, he met Ann Gillings. Soon they were a couple, and on July 12, 1865, they were married. On April 13, 1866, Ann gave birth to a baby boy. They named their first child after Max's father. They called the boy Robert Leroy Parker, but the world would know him as Butch Cassidy. but the world would know him as Butch Cassidy. The old stubborn mule sat down on its haunches, square in the middle of the towpath, and would not budge. Six-year-old Harry Longaboss stood in front of the mule and yanked on the reins to get it to stand up and keep walking.

Harry's uncle yelled from the canal boat behind the mule. Boats were stacked up behind them. Soon, boat captains began guiding their vessels around the stalled craft, and they hollered at poor Harry. Then, without any prompting, the old mule stood up and followed the young driver down the path toward Erie, Pennsylvania. It was only six in the morning, and it was going to be a long day. stood up and followed the young driver down the path toward Erie, Pennsylvania. It was only six in the morning, and it was going to be a long day.

Harry Longabaugh, the Sundance Kid, was born sometime in the spring of 1867 to a family of German heritage. He was the youngest of five children and soon became his mother's favorite. His father served in the Union Army and had been discharged early, before the end of the Civil War. At age six, Harry worked for his uncle towing a freight boat up and down the canals of Pennsylvania. He learned hard work at a young age and patience tending to the stubborn mules. His only day off was spent sitting next to his mother at the local Baptist church. At 13, he went to work at the nearby Ralston farm. He learned to ride and rope. He learned to gently break a horse. He knew how to whisper and make the horse bend his way. His talent would suit him for the rest of his life. When he wasn't working, he was in the Ralston's library.

He became an avid reader of classics like Moby Dick, The Deerslayer, and Black Beauty. He joined the local library and read the latest in pulp fiction. The tales of Wild Bill Hickok and the adventures of Dead Eye Dick must have sparked a streak for Dangerous Adventure. A year later, at the age of 14, he was ready to head west. After traveling on his own to Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, Harry took up a cousin's offer to move to Colorado. His cousin owned a piece of land near Durango and needed help with the horses. The cousin taught Harry the ins and outs of breeding, trading, and selling. Soon, Harry went to work part-time for the nearby L.C. Ranch.

There, he learned how to truly cowboy up and how to use a gun. A cowboy's work is never done was the truest statement one could speak on a western Colorado ranch. They were up before dawn and didn't return to the bunkhouse until long after the sun went down. Their job was to turn grass into cows, cows into beef, and then drive the beef to market. They spent days in the saddle herding cattle across miles of free range in search of new grass. Branding, chasing strays, and keeping them settled at night with a song were only a few of the cowboys' many jobs. Harry Longbaugh was meant for this life. He'd grown up guiding stubborn mules.

Cows turned out to be just as tough. More than anything, he loved the tales told by the older cowboys at the bunkhouse. And not just the ones about poking stray steers or herding cattle to market. The more they whispered, the more Harry became fascinated with the darker side of the range. Cattle rustling and horse thieving. When the cowboys went to town, Harry was more enticed by long games of five-card stud than drinks or girls. He was also a restless wanderer, a trait he probably inherited from his father. Harry left Colorado and headed to Montana. Soon after, he found work at the N-Bar-N Ranch

and settled into the ranch's routines. He thought he might stay around for a while. The work was good, and he became fast friends with the foreman and the ranch's routines. He thought he might stay around for a while. The work was good, and he became fast friends with the foreman and the other ranch hands. Then, out of the blue north, came the worst snows in decades. Afterward, they called it the Big Die-Up, or the Great Blizzard of 1886-87. By the time Robert Leroy Parker was 13, everyone called him Bob, and he moved with his family to Circleville, Utah.

Their ranch was in an isolated valley with little water. Bob spent long days helping his father clear brush and build the cabin. After a hard winter and several failed plantings, they finally raised a successful wheat crop. Bob's father was often away working other jobs, so the chore of running the ranch fell to Bob. He grew into a responsible leader of the family, and caring for the cows and horses satisfied him the most. That love stayed with him his whole life. Bob's mother was a devout Mormon. Through her insistence on attending church services, Bob learned the value of leading a righteous life. Her devotional readings of the Bible and the Book of Mormon taught him the

strength of family bonds. She also taught him to read and write. But as Bob grew older, he tended to follow in his father's footsteps. They both embraced the term Jack Mormon. Bob began to neglect his studies and eventually stopped going to church. It was the beginning of his mother's heartbreak. Because of his talent for breaking horses, Bob began working for a couple neighboring ranches. He was on his own, and he liked his freedom. One day, he decided he needed a new pair of jeans, and he rode to town. He found the store closed, so he broke in and took the pants.

Bob thought an IOU would be fine. The storekeeper was not impressed and called for the marshal. In a Mormon community, stealing was a shameful act. The misunderstanding was straightened out, but not after Bob had humiliated himself and his family. In his first run-in with the law, Bob learned that just being a good Mormon would not save him from himself or others like him. Soon after, his father lost a civil battle over some land, and Bob became bitter. He thought the Mormon church was not just unfair toward him, but now his father and his entire family too. He never trusted the Mormon church again. Bob went to work on Jim Marshall's

ranch. His mother had already worked there for several months to bring in extra money for the family. She was happy to keep an eye on him. She could go home in the evenings knowing that her son was not getting into trouble. But as hard as she tried, she couldn't stop the dark influence of one cowboy. Mike Cassidy was a cattle rustler. He made no bones about it. He was outgoing, funny, and immediately struck up a friendship with Bob. Cassidy became Bob's mentor, giving him a saddle and pistol as gifts. Cassidy taught Bob how to ride and shoot.

Soon, Bob was the best wrangler of the hired hands. Mike Cassidy's stories of saloon fights and soiled doves enthralled the young cowboy. Bob's mother quickly realized the effect Cassidy was having on her son. She tried to keep Bob away, but it didn't work. Before long, Bob was branding stolen Mavericks alongside Cassidy. Bob's mother could only pray for her son. One evening, when Bob told her he was going to Telluride, Colorado to seek fame and fortune, her heart finally broke. She knew he was riding down a path toward destruction, and she could do nothing to stop him. The real reason he had to leave so suddenly is still up for debate, but there are rumors.

One said that two rustlers, who were friends with Mike Cassidy, got caught with stolen cattle. When asked for a bill of sale, they presented one with Bob's signature. The rustlers went free and the incident made Bob look like a thief. The constable, a friend of Bob's father, suggested he get out of town. Bob left his home and never looked back. The freezing winter wind cut through the cowboy's coat like a burning whip biting into his back. He was out looking for strays again, but the snow drifts covered even the few trees scattered across the range. He was blinded by the driving blizzard.

He nearly lost his way to the bunkhouse. Once inside, he thawed his fingers and pulled out his pencils and paper. As he sat in front of the fire, he drew a single steer standing in the snow, all of its ribs showing, with wolves waiting to pounce. He titled it, Waiting for a Chinook. In a letter to the owner of the ranch, the cowboy's boss talked about the dire conditions. He thought the harsh winter had probably killed most of the cattle. To drive home the point, he included the cowboy's sketch. The young cowboy artist worked for another 11 years on the ranches of Montana before becoming a full-time painter. He would go on to be the most celebrated western artist in America,

He would go on to be the most celebrated Western artist in America, and Harry Longabaugh may have known Charles M. Russell. They might have worked together on the same ranches. Russell survived the winter of 1886-1887, but it was estimated that 90% of all the cattle in Wyoming and Montana did not. It was called the Big Die-Up, and it caused most ranches to go bankrupt. The N-Bar Inn lost nearly 40,000 head, but the owners were determined to make it through the crisis. Harry had been laid off the previous summer because of a severe drought, an event that foretold the brutal winter. While Charles Russell rode the ranges in the blizzards,

the brutal winter. While Charles Russell rode the ranges in the blizzards, Harry hunkered down in Deadwood. In the spring, he headed back to the N-Bar End. Like so many others out of work, Harry must have felt desperate. While passing through the 3V Ranch, a huge spread north of Sundance, Wyoming, he decided to steal a horse, a saddle, and a revolver from a couple cowboys. With one spontaneous act, his innocent days were over. That area was the jurisdiction of Sheriff Jim Ryan. And Sheriff Ryan was not a man to give up, especially when the local papers made fun of him for losing the young cowboy they called The Kid.

Harry escaped and was caught twice before ending up in the Sundance Jail. In the Yellowstone Daily Journal, a story played up The Kid's notoriety to the point that, on paper, he appeared to be a hardened criminal. After reading the article, Harry was offended and he wrote his own rebuttal. It was published as an editorial. Harry tried to escape several more times before he finally pled guilty for his crimes. He was given 18 months hard labor in the Sundance Jail. He tried to escape a couple more times until he settled down and finished out his sentence. When he finally walked free, he was forever known as the Sundance Kid.

On the way back to Deadwood, he ran into some friends just north of Sundance. One of the cowboys was wanted for murder. When the sheriff showed up to take the wanted man to jail, a gunfight ensued and the cowboy was killed. It may have been the first time Sundance had seen someone gunned down. Afterward, he didn't want to have anything to do with killing another man. He drifted from ranch to ranch, finally ending up near Calgary in Alberta, Canada. He stayed for a while and worked as a cowboy. He joined up with another man and bought a saloon. But after a dispute over a horse, Sundance pulled a gun on his partner,

took the money he was owed, and headed back to Montana. He soon ran into a cowboy he knew from his Colorado days. Bill Madden was already famous for one major robbery, and he was all too happy to help Sundance plan his first. Matt Warner owned the fastest horse anywhere around Telluride. The horse's name was Betty. Matt had won a little money on the races down in the San Miguel Valley, but if he had a really good jockey, he could win even more.

One night, Matt met Bob Parker. After a round of drinks and swapping tales of growing up in Utah, they became friends. Bob quickly became the jockey, and they won race after race. It wasn't long before their competitors refused to participate. But then several members of the Ute tribe showed up with a one-eyed horse named Whiteface. The winner of the race would own the other horse. Bob and Betty won the race. Bob, Matt Warner, and Matt's friend Tom McCarty took their prize to Tom's cabin near

Cortez, Colorado. The Utes followed them to Cortez and demanded the return of the horse. Tom began beating one of the men. Guns were pulled. Bob and Matt tried to reason with the Utes, but one of them leveled a rifle at Tom. Tom drew his pistol and shot the man dead. The Utes collected the body of their friend and slowly rode away. The incident left Bob Parker distraught. He'd seen animals killed, of course, and he knew men who'd died in the mines in Telluride, but he'd never seen a man killed in cold blood. The picture of the event stayed with him for the rest of his life. Then Bob Parker and Matt Warner had to get back to work.

They'd spent all their winnings from the horse races in Telluride, and they needed jobs. They rode to the Spectator Ranch north of town. The owner was impressed with both men and offered them a place to settle down. The owner was so impressed, he gave them horses and saddles as gifts, and he was obviously disappointed when they suddenly quit. They rode back to Tom McCarty's cabin near Cortez. Tom had been holed up since the gunfight with the Utes, and now the three young men discussed their situation.

They were broke, and so Tom casually offered a solution. They should head into Telluride and rob the San Miguel Valley Bank. On a hot June morning in 1889, the three cowboys rode down the main street and stopped in front of the bank. Bob and Tom stayed at the hitching post with the horses.

Matt entered and approached the clerk. Matt handed the employee a check. As the clerk looked down at it, Matt grabbed the man's neck, shoved a pistol into his face, and ordered him to stay still. He yelled outside and told his partners to come in. Bob entered, jumped over the counter, and

helped himself to handfuls of cash. In the open safe, he found more cash and canvas bags filled with gold coins. Within minutes, they were out the door, on their horses, and riding down Main Street. It was an easy getaway. That morning, they stole more than $20,000. That would be well over half a million dollars in today's money. As they rode out of town, they pulled their pistols, shot them into the air, and whooped and hollered and scared as many people as possible. On the way, they passed the old rancher who had given horses and saddles to Matt and Bob.

The rancher immediately recognized them. There was no turning back now. All three cowboys had crossed the line, and they were about to hit the outlaw trail. Next time on Legends of the Old West, Bob Parker and his two friends have to outlast numerous posses after the Telluride robbery. Bob becomes Butch Cassidy, and then teams up with a new partner to get into the rustling business. Meanwhile, as the American West evolves, the Sundance Kid slowly leaves the life of a drifting cowboy and begins a life of crime. That's next week on Legends of the Old West. If you're a member of our Black Barrel Plus program, you already have access to the full season. If you're not a member, you can sign up now through the link in the show notes or on our website, blackbarrelmedia.com.

Members receive access to each new season in its entirety one week before the season begins for the general public. And members receive exclusive bonus episodes. Sign up today for just $5 per month. This season was researched and written by Mark C. Jackson, the award-winning author of An Eye for an Eye and The Great Texas Dance from the series The Tales of Zebediah Creed. The closing music is A Theme for Butch and Sundance, written and produced by David R. Morgan and Mark C. Jackson. Audio editing and sound design by Dave Harrison.

Original music by Rob Valliere. I'm your host and producer, Chris Wimmer. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening. Check out our website, blackbarrelmedia.com for more details and join us on social media. We're at Old West Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks for listening. Merci d'avoir écoutant ce balado,

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