Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!
We're in the middle of a series about two of America's most famous and successful outlaws, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In the last post we left off with the boys buying and building a ranch operation in Cholila, Argentina in the beautiful Patagonia grasslands. Etta Place was with them.
This location was like a dream come true with lush grasslands, plenty of lakes and streams, very isolated. They were having the best time building their ranch operation.
This is a photo of one area of the Patagonia grasslands:
But, while they were hard at work building a cabin, corals, and outbuildings, not to mention working and herding cattle, sheep and horses, a Wild Bunch robbery was committed back in the States.
It was a train robbery this time and executed in basically the same manner as all the other Butch-designed jobs except this one had alot of shooting!
If you remember me talking about Harvey Logan, he was the most dangerous member of the gang because he was unpredictable and had a hair trigger finger(meaning he liked to shoot people).
When Butch was there he was under control and never acted out or got violent.
Here's Harvey with one of his girlfriends:
The train was held up the same way as the gang had done it before, this was in a desolate area of Montana which was a good choice for a location, many miles from towns or posses. Harvey climbed over the Tender car and took control of the train through the engineer.
Shooting people for the fun of it
The mail and express cars were separated from the passenger cars like Butch had done and all was going according to plan but two railroad workers were shot down while they were running alongside the track.
They were getting ready to place flares as a warning to any oncoming trains to avoid a collision. One of them died of his gunshot wounds.
Of course, there was no reason to shoot them but Logan didn't need a reason. There was also an 18 year old girl who had been shot in the shoulder when she leaned out a passenger car window to see what was going on, but she recovered.
Those boys liked their dynamite
The gang blew open the safe and made off with about $40,000 and as they left they shot, or maybe it was just Logan, shot quite a few rounds at the passenger cars, just out of meanness. Thankfully no one was hurt by that last act.
The authorities of course blamed Butch and Sundance and some even claimed that they were there. This kept the Pinkertons enthused about searching for them, especially with the violence that was done and that innocent railroad worker being shot down in cold blood.
Anyone who knew the way the gang operated with Butch at the helm knew that there is No Way he was involved. He would never have allowed such senseless violence. No, this had Harvey Logan written all over it.
Two arrested
Two of the Wild Bunch were arrested, Ben Kilpatrick and Laura Bullion who was his girlfriend at the time because he'd won her in a card game! lol. It's true. You can't make this stuff up! Detectives identified bills taken in the robbery that they had in their possession. See, law enforcement was getting more sophisticated.
Here's a picture of ol Ben, better known as The Tall Texan but this shot was taken in better days:
And here's his mug shot after getting arrested:
And here is Laura Bullion, she was used mostly(besides companionship and poker bets) for money laundering:
This was the last robbery committed by the Wild Bunch but the damage was already done as far as intensifying the search for Butch and Sundance, who authorities ultimately held accountable even though there was no evidence that they were anywhere near the area.
This was nothing new though. There were other murders and crimes committed that they were blamed for. In fact other outlaws tried to make holdups look like one of the Wild Bunch's jobs to throw them off the trail. That worked especially well in the early days.
In the next post we'll catch up with Butch, Sundance and Etta in their ranch building and find out how they got along with the locals.
Thanks for reading, God bless you all!
-jonboy Texas
the gentleman redneck
PS- ya know...you might just be a redneck if:
A full-grown ostrich has fewer feathers than your cowboy hat!
I don't need a ranch, but I think I would like a a cabin in Patagonia! What a beautiful place. I'm starting to worry that the old saying 'You can run, but you can't hide' may be appropriate here.
haha! well, they were in the world at the wrong time. Ten or twenty years before with no telegraph and phones and such they could have made it. Patagonia though, I'm thinking of moving there! That's how much I like that place, it hasn't changed much or been overwhelmed with subdivisions!
I wonder if you can get a decent internet connection there.
haha! great minds think alike Melinda, that's exactly what I thought. That would be interesting to find out! How are you doing tonight and how has today gone?
A good day! I may have some additional support for the shadow contest, and my eyes are blurry from reading and commenting, so I must have kept busy! The leaderboard says 135 for me!
holy moly! you're ahead of me at this point aren't you? I did do some commenting on steemit though. Well that is great news about the shadow contest, yay! It's about time huh?
I am never ahead of you! 166 for you and 129 for me. That's what I get for stopping for 15 minutes!
You know that I don't come over here very often even though I love to talk to you.. and this brings me to something what I've noticed just now.. I remember the time when we were talking about you improving your posts.. and oh boy! You did it! It is so pleasant to read and it looks completely different than before :)
I don't have much to say about the story of course (I know that you don't mind) :) Just wanted to say: WELL DONE JOHN!
Howdy again Martina! No, I don't mind at all, I totally understand. This part of the story is just about them having fun, going straight and working hard on their ranch and there hasn't been any violence to their story in many posts until this one.
In fact the last two posts were about fashion in New York city, especially the ladies fashion, and about travel in those days. The vintage photos of the way the ladies dressed back then got alot of admiring comments from my lady followers. Big floor length, layered, heavy dresses with huge hats..I think that would have been such a huge hassle and so much work to be a lady back then! lol. But they look elegant and classy.
Thank you so much for your kind words and for helping me improve. If in the future it's been a few days since I've talked to you then you can always drop in to comment, you don't have to read the posts. lol. God bless you.
“Gentleman redneck” ☺️
So many posts about Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid! What inspired your passion for these two?
Love all the old time photos!
I'm so glad you enjoy the old photos, I really was facinated by the ladies' fashion photos in the post a couple days ago, I hope you got to see that one. I grew up out by Dodge City, Kansas on a farm and ranch, surrounded by cowboy history and culture along with all the history of Dodge being a Wild West cowtown so it's just part of who I am. That and along with many books about the Old West that I've always been interested in, especially the Indian tribes.
So it was a natural to do stories about the classic Wild West, outlaws as well as Lawmen, cowboys and Indians so that's mostly what my posts have been. As far as Butch and Sundance, their movie was one of my favorites and are very popular with people.
I asked my readers if they were interested in me doing a series about those guys even though we all know the ending..because most of my stories have surprise endings...and everyone that commented said yes, we want their story! lol..so it's kind of like by popular demand. lol.
thanks for getting back to me, that's a great question. They have a big story. It won't be my longest series but it's a good length for sure. I try to keep the individual posts short. People only have an attention span of about 800 to 1,000 words.
Thanks for using eSteem!
Your post has been voted as a part of eSteem encouragement program. Keep up the good work! Install Android, iOS Mobile app or Windows, Mac, Linux Surfer app, if you haven't already!
Learn more: https://esteem.app
Join our discord: https://discord.gg/8eHupPq
Howdy esteemapp! thanks for the upvote and for creating such a great platform!
Hi, @janton!
You just got a 8.56% upvote from SteemPlus!
To get higher upvotes, earn more SteemPlus Points (SPP). On your Steemit wallet, check your SPP balance and click on "How to earn SPP?" to find out all the ways to earn.
If you're not using SteemPlus yet, please check our last posts in here to see the many ways in which SteemPlus can improve your Steem experience on Steemit and Busy.
Howdy steem-plus and thank you for the upvote and for helping so many people!
Howdy @janton 😉 I just enjoy your story and feels like watching the movie in my head (i have a good imagination about it😊) .. keep posting😉 you have a special way to telling us about the wild wild west🎠
well howdy there cicisaja! so glad to see you here...how are things on your side of the world? Are you guys still selling things out of your garage?
Thank you for the kind words, I'm so glad you are enjoying the story!
Well..coffee and other soft drinks still selling from the garage 😉 sometimes the community leader have a meeting to discusd about general election at that place too😊 so.. everything is still fascinating fine here @janton.
Let me ask.. butch and sundance in Argentina, but the authorities still blaming them for the robberies😯 that's just to classic for cowboy stories, right😉 .. now I know why it said as classic or old fashioned way of thinking😅
Howdy today cicisja! Well that sounds like a good thing that you and your husband have going by selling beverages. Is your husband still on steemit?
Regarding Butch and Sundance..yes it was common for gangs to make it look like a famous gang did a robbery. But in this case it was indeed their gang even though they had nothing to do with it. That's why they blamed Butch and Sundance because it was their gang. Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
Howdy Janton! I am back catching up as usual! I got haircut yesterday, finally! My daughter had to reschedule today appointment for yesterday after she finished working, because today was snow storm and freezing rain again. The lovely weather of Canada, lol. And how are you?
Not to forget, I just read the latest about the boys starting new life in Argentina and their old gang making mess of things back home. Anyway, the palce they build their ranch is absolutely magical. Altough I am not supporter of that type of a business neither, I know that those days things were different and I am trying to be objective about that. Well, will see how everything is going to unfold.
The joke is hilarious too by the way, lol. Oh, and I posted delicious smoothie recipe Monday, so you my like to check it out 🍊😊🥝
Howdy Miss Lena! Yes it is very true that back then I guess people didn't even know about the vegan lifestyle did they? I don't know how long it's been around. So you will have to forgive them because of their ignorance ok? lol.
But yes, the place they found is unreal and totally gorgeous and still is. I'm thinking about moving there but I need to learn Spanish I think.
So more snow and freezing rain. Shouldn't it be too cold for freezing rain this time of year? What's Canada's problem this year?
I'll go check out your post, thanks so much for letting me know!
Getting blamed for something they didn't do, at a time when they were turning straight - that sucks! :-)
howdy sir Vincent! yes sir it makes me slightly angry since I've gotten to know them through my materials. Being blamed for robbing is bad enough but for murder, that sucks!
Now, Jesse James and Cole Younger, when that would happen to them they would have an article printed in the paper explaining why it couldn't have been them. They would list witnesses and such to prove their case.
I guess Butch and Sundance can't do that (explain why it can't be them) because that would give their location away. Aww. Sucks!
Well I'm sure they never heard about the robbery but if they had and wanted to tell their side you are right, I don't know how they could have without at least risking their location being found out. Good thinking sir Vincent!
Enjoyable reading. Those days must of been hard.
Howdy again sir old-guy-photos! Yes sir, it was a crazy time to be living and the outlaws were on borrowed time with all the new technology coming online. Thanks so much for reading and commenting sir!
It’s too bad the authorities thought Butch & Sundance were involved, especially with the killings.
One scene I remember from the movies was when they were in Argentina was Paul Newman taking Katherine Ross for a bike ride. she was sitting on the front and they both were laughing and happy.
howdy redheadpei! yes Ma'am it wouldn't be too bad if they got blamed for robberies but getting blamed for murder is a whole different thing. Yes those guys had a great time down there!
Expensive hats sometimes have a feather - very stylish janton.
howdy again angiemitchell! I guess I need to research that. I mean, I don't see that over here, I wonder if it's just an Australian and Brittish thing? In fact, over here we rarely see any hats at all for fashion,just sometimes for practical if it's cold or for protection against the sun.
Hi janton, how would the charges stick against Butch and Sundance in today's courts? They were guilty of robbery but not murder etc.
So cowboys in Texas have feathers in their hats??
Oh I forgot to address the Ostrich feather question! lol..yes well having a feather in your cowboy hat is fine but some funny people put a whole lot of them in and it looks ridiculous! lol...no taste. Now, remember Belle Starr that a did a series on? She wore an ostrich feather but it was classy.
Ahhh, classy can turn into a redneck look with too many, haha. Having a feather in a lady's lady is still in fashion janton.
oh is it? a feather is still in fashion? See I know nothing about fashion but that is very interesting!
howdy angiemitchell! Well, the robbery charges, or enough of them, would stick so they would serve life sentences or even hang just for the robberies. I think it would be up to the jury about the murder charges and who knows how that would turn out. But they would be tried in at least 5 states so at least a few of those states would throw the book at them.
They best keep on the run I reckon and stay in Patagonia!!
Yes I agree! Well they should have changed their names again, it was a surprising mistake.
Yeah, the definitely should have done a couple more name changes and maybe a couple stylistic changes, too, with their "pals" going on murderous rampages back in the States. Maybe "Bernardo Casanova?" Too obvious? haha.
hahaha that's a good one sir fotosdenada! lol..do you joke around in class at all?
Depends on the class. The one I teach, I try to make it as interesting and engaging for my students as possible. Throing a little fun into the mix helps, there.
The online classes I take usually involve sipping a beer and trying not to fall asleep although, on rare occasions, they can get interesting. I have another tonight. I may just start speaking with my thick Andalusian accent to keep myself entertained.
Haha! To keep yourself entertained! what is an Andalusian accent though?
WEll, my classes are in Spanish and I lived in the southern part of Spain (Andalucía) for several years. I have to try and speak in a more "standard" accent most of the time so people can understand me. The dialect I picked up in Spain is really hard for non-native speakers to understand.
Wow ok, so if someone was fluent in Spanish that they learned here they still might not understand if they went to Andalucia?
There are people from other areas of Spain that have trouble understanding people from certain parts of Andalucía. In Jerez de la Frontera, for example, people don't pronounce the "s" sound at all. They also cut the ends of words off completely and speak much more quickly than other dialects.
Ha, well... When I moved to Los Barrios, the regional dialect there was very hard to understand. This one time a student asked my co-teacher (lady from another part of Andalucía) a question and she turned and asked me if I caught a word of it. lol
The accent varies quite a bit across southern Spain. The one I picked up isn't the most difficult, by a long shot, but is still hard for many people to understand.
Very interesting! The first thing I learned was I'm playing in altogether the wrong sort of card games! Wow, who knew... I can see how this robbery would be blamed on Butch and Sundance, but I can't see how it would have caused them a problem way down in South America, considering how isolated they were. Were the boys back in the states when this happened?
haha! The wrong kind of card games! lol...that's too funny sir Keith. Well, it had been almost 2 years since there had been a big train robbery by the gang but there were still Pinkertons trying to find them. However, and I haven't read about it specifically but they had to be slacking off some with nothing happening for 2 years, no robberies and no sightings of the boys.
But now this comes about and with a murder and the railroad goes nuts again and the heat and pressure is back on to find them.So it's only a matter of time before they find out what country they went to and with modern communications and printing and so forth, and that photo that they took in the studio. They can reach into other countries now and the Pinkertons never give up or stop searching.
No, they were working on building their ranch in Argentina.
Hey Cowboy! How are you! As for me..I'm preparing for yet another round of shoveling 😂😂😂 I was delighted to see that you stopped by my blog 💖 I will be replying to your comments tomorrow morning while having my coffee..but wanted to stop in and have a look around and say hi 😀 its been awhile 😝 How about That Look on Laura's face tho haha 😂
Posted using Partiko Android
haha! that look on Laura's face..yes indeed, she was highly ticked off! Hey you do the crime you gotta be willing to do the time. Thanks so much for coming by, go attack the driveway now, I feel sorry for that snow! lol.
Howdy @janton! No, you can't make this stuff up. LOL! That is what happens when you have a nad reputation. Man oh man, Laura Bullion looks pissed. An enjoyable read @janton. : )
P.S. I decided not to move to Texas. I am now moving to the Patagonia grasslands. : )
Howdy today whatisnew! It's about time you showed up! lol. Isn't it your bedtime? Hey that's my idea, to move to the Patagonia grasslands, it's still amazing down there! It hasn't been overun by subdivisions and malls. I don't know if they have internet service though, we better check that out!
haha! Laura was highly pissed off! lol. Hey, you do the crime you gotta be willing to do the time!
Howdy @janton! I still laugh when I say Howdy. Yup, it is past my bedtime. Running behind today. I am very happy to hear that malls and homes haven't taken over down there. No internet service? How would we ever survive without it? : )
well I don't know if they have it or not. you'll have to go down and check it out and report back to me! lol.
I am on my way now! LOL!
haha! It DOES look like paradise to me too. If I ever move again it will be checked out!
Jon, please got to my account and click on "replies." See if you have any ideas about what happened to those first three replies you made to me last night.
Thanks!
I can't tell what post they went with...and it says they don't exist...??
what in the world? I went there and clicked on replies and the only one there was the one I just did about the vaccines. After that it was a blank page. Smithlabs told me that several of my posts were blank too so I have no idea what that's about either, they are all showing up on my computer. weird stuff going on! You first made this comment 9 hours ago so I guess it's still messed up?
Have you been getting downvoted?
I got my first downvotes from bernie and a couple of bots, I suppose, about 8 hours ago.
Soylent Greeb was the universal "food" that everyone got a daily allotment of. It was made from the people who had reached liquidation age....
oh yeah, that's right. I remember Charlton Heston shouting "Solent Green is people!" lol.
Uh oh.
Hmmm...What did you do?
It's probably related somehow.
I didn't do anything, what is there to do, anything?
I mean, do you have any idea why he did it?
He had a decent mustache!
haha! howdy blacklux! yes he did have a good mustache, you can tell the wild ones with the big mustaches!
You got a 16.14% upvote from @ocdb courtesy of @janton! :)
@ocdb is a non-profit bidbot for whitelisted Steemians, current max bid is 16 SBD and the equivalent amount in STEEM.
Check our website https://thegoodwhales.io/ for the whitelist, queue and delegation info. Join our Discord channel for more information.
If you like what @ocd does, consider voting for ocd-witness through SteemConnect or on the Steemit Witnesses page. :)
Howdy there ocdb! Thanks so much for the upvote and for helping so many of us!
This is interesting story.
We may not see this kind of thing lately but the mindset of making quick bucks always on the lazy mind.
Keep on postin
Posted using Partiko iOS
Howdy sir pouchon! yes sir, the greed of men has always been with us, we've just made it harder for them to rob us! Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
To look at Harvey in the photo above, you'd think butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. You never know what goes on behind the facade of what appears to be the face of a peace loving fellow.
And I'm pretty sure this is the first time I ever heard of a woman being given as a prize for winning cards. Makes you wonder if she was willing to be used in such a way and if the looser was very upset at having to part with her. Ahhh......the complexities of human nature! (U & R )
Howdy today Trudee! "you'd think butter wouldn't melt in his mouth." haha! Does that mean because he looks warm hearted?
That photo is him looking his best, I have only seen three photos of him, I think that's all there was.
About Laura Bullion, she was from Fannie Porter's brothel in San Antonio so she was used to being passed around but I have no idea what she thought, maybe she liked the change I don't know. Ben Kilpatrick was the most handsome of the Wild Bunch so maybe she thought she was being traded up a notch! Hard to imagine for most of us isn't it?
Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
The saying, "Butter wouldn't melt in your mouth" refers to someone being insincere or overly coy. It can mean that a person appears so cool that butter would not melt in that persons mouth if out there. It is quite a common saying down our way.
Maybe Laura was more pleased about the deal than Ben Kilpatrick was......but as you say. who knows? That wild bunch were great at making up their own rules. 😊
Howdy again Trudee! Ok, I get that saying about the melting butter now. I couldn't tell if it was a compliment to the way he looked in that photo or not. But yes, he was very unfeeling and enjoyed shooting people as demonstrated in that last train robbery that they blamed on Butch. But he had a long history of killing and murdering people before he got with the Wild Bunch.
I think Ben Kilpatrick, the Tall Texan, like Laura, or at least it was convenient for them, because they were still together a couple years later when they were arrested together for money laundering. She looks rough in that mug shot but probably looked pretty nice when she smiled but I think that's the only photo we have of her.
Anyway I'm babbling! lol...thanks for the explanation.
Congratulations @janton! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click here to view your Board
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPDo not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
well howdy there steemitboard and thank you so much for keeping track of all these important stats for us!
terrible times were .... now when hackers break into bank accounts, even though people do not kill :)