Butch Cassidy

Robert LeRoy Parker, better known as Butch Cassidy was a notorious train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Hole in the Wall Gang in the late 1800’s. Butch grew up in a Mormon family in Utah and was the first of 13 children. Butch ran away from home in his early teens and met up with a horse thief by the name of Mike Cassidy. Along his quest for money Cassidy became a butcher giving him the nickname “Butch” and taking his partners last name “Cassidy” thus creating the name of Butch Cassidy. In around 1880 Butch wandered into a clothier store to get a pair of jeans and a pie, leaving an IOU for the owner. The owner however wasn’t having it and pressed charges against Butch, and his life of crime began. Next a trio consisting of Matthew Warner, Butch, and an unknown assailant robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride where they stole about $21,000. The trio escaped to a remote farm but was shortly hunted down in 1894. Butch was again released in 1896 and his streak of robbing was only going to get larger. He formed a new gang called the Wild Bunch which was a circle of criminals and close friends. The Wild Bunch over the years has been said to be nonviolent but in actuality was responsible for many killings. One in particular was a train robbery where Butch and his bunch were confronted by a Sherrif and two Deputy’s. All three of those men died and that’s when the hunt was on for the Wild Bunch. Knowing America was too dangerous in 1905 the outlaws went on a boat to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Upon arrival and robbed Banco de Tarapacá y Argentino for what would be $100,000 today. Somehow the bunch escaped to Chile. Eventually the bandits were found and their house surrounded by the Chilean army, where an epic standoff took place in a cabin. Eventually however the two were outmatched and at the verge of death Butch seeing his only bunch member left Longabaugh having bullets all through his arms and legs, put him out of his misery. The two bodies were found after the gunfight seeing Longabaugh with a bullet in his head from Butch and a bullet in Butch’s temple from killing himself.