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Rattlesnake Dick

As a teenager, Charlie Lazure came out west to the New Mexico Territory where he got into a shooting fracas. It’s not known what happened to the other guy, but Charlie was shot in the leg, which resulted in his having a limp for the rest of his life.

Charlie stole a horse and mule, and before long there was a posse after him. He escaped to the Arizona Territory, eventually ending up in Tombstone, where his luck ran out. He was arrested and returned to New Mexico. But fortunately, for Charley, the complainant failed to show up, and he was released.

Two years later, in 1885, Charley got into another shootout in Silver City. Again Charley was arrested. But he was released on a bond posted by County Sheriff, Harvey Whitehill. Quite possibly Harvey stepped forward with the bond because he and Charley had been involved in some illegal dealings together… for later Harvey Whitehill was indicted on a number of crimes.

While out on bond, Charley again stole a couple of horses. And again, he was arrested and brought back to Silver City. This time the complainant showed up, and no one posted bond. As a result, Long Neck Charley spent two years at the Santa Fe Territorial Penitentiary.

On May 4, 1887, Charley Lazure was released from prison. Not wanting to have anything to do with prison again, he dropped out of sight.Then again, maybe that’s how he picked up the nickname, Rattlesnake Dick. Charley Lazure mayhave just slithered under a rock somewhere.

February 7, 2016 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »

The Oxbow Stage Route

By 1858, the population of California and the west had grown considerably, and there were a number of people traveling from the East to the West, and the West to the East. Stage routes were a series of undependable smaller lines. So Congress decided to pass legislation to authorize the establishment of one line that would transport passengers and mail from St. Louis to San Francisco.

As the Northern legislators saw it, the stage line would follow the great emigrant trail… a route that was a straight line between the two cities. However, the Southern legislators had a different view of the route. According to the legislation, the choice of the route was up to the Postmaster General. And the Postmaster General was from Tennessee.

The Postmaster General decided there would be two starting points… St. Louis and Memphis, his hometown. This was nearly 1,000 miles longer than necessary, and it lay across vast amounts of unsettled country. The press dubbed it “the oxbow route.”

The contract, with a $600,000 a year subsidy, was given to John Butterfield. A lesser man would have failed… but not Butterfield. On September 15, 1858, the first stage started down the oxbow route. The route was to have been traveled in 25 days. But Butterfield scheduled his stages to make it in 24 days.

With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, the oxbow route was suspended. However, by that time The Butterfield Overland Stage Line was delivering more mail to the West than all the ships at sea.

February 2, 2016 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »

Black Faced Charlie & The Dalton Gang

It seems that everyone in the Old West had nicknames… And some of them were very strange. But, none was as strange as Charles Bryant’s. He was called “Black Faced Charlie.” It seems that he was shot point-blank in the face. The bullet just creased his cheek. But, the burnt powder coming out of the pistol imbedded in his face, giving him his nickname.

Later, Bryant joined the Dalton gang. And during the gang’s shootout with a posse was heard to say something like, “Me, I want to get killed in one heck of a minute of action.” Well, Bryant put it out there, and on August 23, 1891, he got his wish.

Being arrested, Bryant had to be transported to jail by Deputy U.S. Marshal Ed Short. Marshal Short was transporting the handcuffed Bryant in a train baggage car when he had to visit the john. Marshal Short gave his pistol to the railroad messenger and left. The messenger put the pistol in a desk drawer and went about his chores.

Unnoticed, Bryant moved around to the desk and got the pistol, just as Marshal Short entered the baggage car. Bryant placed one shot into Marshal Short’s chest. Short, carrying a rifle, shot Bryant…severing his spine. Bryant continued firing the pistol until it was empty. The rest of his shots went wild.

Bryant was killed in one heck of a minute of action just as he wished. Marshal Short helped the messenger pick up Bryant’s body. Marshal Short then laid down on the cot and died… also the victim of heck of a minute of action.

Both bodies were left on the train platform at the next stop.

January 21, 2016 | Categories: Old West History, Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »

McCarty Crime Family

The McCartys were from Utah, and for a while, brothers Tom, Bill & George ran with the Wild Bunch. When Tom McCarty got married, he not only gained a wife, he also gained a member of the gang, brother-in-law Matt Warner.

In 1892, they robbed a bank in Roslyn, Washington. During the robbery, the locals assembled outside the bank. As the McCartys exited the bank, the crowd stood there with their guns and did nothing. The McCartys opened fire, shooting two men. While the crowd stood there stunned, the McCartys rode away.

But the crowd wasn’t always paralyzed into inaction. On September 7, 1893, brothers Tom and Bill decided to rob a bank in Delta, Colorado. Brother-in-law Matt Warner was in jail, so they brought along nephew Fred McCarty.

While the uncles were inside gathering the money, the nephew was holding the horses. In the middle of the robbery, nephew Fred ran inside with the news that a crowd was gathering. Using the same tactic as before, the McCartys came out of the bank with guns a-blazing. What they hadn’t counted on was a hardware merchant by the name of Ray Simpson. Simpson grabbed a repeating rifle from the shelf, and ran into the street. As the three robbers passed him at full gallop, Simpson dropped Uncle Bill with a shot to the head. When nephew Fred turned to help his uncle, Simpson also killed him.

Tom McCarty was able to escape. And he wisely abandoned the outlaw trail to become a Montana sheepherder… But, always a man easy to anger, four years later, he got into his last argument. The man he was arguing with shot him dead. And that was the end of the McCartys.

January 13, 2016 | Categories: Old West History | Leave A Comment »

The Reno Gang

A short-lived, but very active gang of the 1860s was the Reno gang. They were the first gang to rob a train. They also engaged in crimes of all kinds, including counterfeiting.

With the Pinkertons dogging their trail, key members of the gang were arrested, and placed in the Council Bluffs, Indiana jail. But, they escaped a short time later.

Following another dramatic train robbery two of the gang members were arrested and put in jail. To make sure they didn’t escape again, the local citizens hanged them. Shortly afterward, three more members of the gang were arrested. This time, as the Pinkertons were taking them to jail, a vigilante gang overcame the Pinkertons, escorted the members of the gang to a nearby tree, and hanged them.

Seeing the writing on the wall, five members of the gang, including Frank Reno escaped to Canada.

But, the Pinkertons also crossed over the border, and arrested them. After an extradition battle that even included the involvement of President Andrew Johnson, these members of the gang were returned to the States and secured in the New Albany jail.

Everyone knew that these men wouldn’t stand trial…even the remaining free gang members. The free gang members declared open warfare on the members of the Indiana Vigilantes by shooting, and beating them. They even threw rocks through their windows with notes tied to them saying: “If the Renos are lynched you die.”

But it did no good. On the evening of December 11, a group of men wearing scarlet masks rushed the jail, wounded the sheriff,

and secured the keys. One at a time, the Indiana Vigilantes hanged the jailed members of the Reno gang.

January 8, 2016 | Categories: Old West History | Leave A Comment »