'{{Short description|American Old West outlaw (1866–1908/1937)}} {{other uses}} {{Multiple issues| {{More citations needed|date=December 2023}} {{More footnotes needed|date=December 2023}} }} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Infobox criminal | name = Butch Cassidy | birth_name = Robert LeRoy Parker | birth_date = {{Birth date|1866|04|13}} | birth_place = [[Beaver, Utah|Beaver]], [[Utah Territory]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1908|11|7|1866|04|13}} | death_place = Bolivia | occupation = Farm hand, cowboy, butcher, thief, robber, gang leader, outlaw | spouse = | children = | allegiance = [[Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch]] | motive = | conviction = Imprisoned in the territorial prison in [[Laramie, Wyoming]] for horse theft | partners = | image_name = Butch Cassidy with bowler hat.jpg | image_caption = Cassidy c. 1900 | cause = [[Gunshot wounds]] | alias = Butch Cassidy, Mike Cassidy, George Cassidy, Jim Lowe, Santiago Maxwell | charge = Horse theft, cattle rustling, bank and train robbery | conviction_penalty = Served 18 months of a two-year sentence; released January 1896 | years_active = 1889–1908 }} '''Robert LeRoy Parker''' (April 13, 1866 – November 7, 1908), better known as '''Butch Cassidy''',<ref name="alias">{{cite web|url=http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/Education_in_BLM/Learning_Landscapes/For_Kids/History_Mystery/hm1/alias.html|title=What's Up With All These Names?|website=[[Bureau of Land Management]]|date=October 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231100446/https://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/Education_in_BLM/Learning_Landscapes/For_Kids/History_Mystery/hm1/alias.html|archive-date=December 31, 2016|access-date=February 24, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> was an American [[train robbery|train]] and [[bank robbery|bank robber]] and the leader of a gang of criminal [[outlaw]]s known as the "[[Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch|Wild Bunch]]" in the [[American Old West|Old West]]. Parker engaged in criminal activity for more than a decade at the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century, but the pressures of being pursued by law enforcement, notably the [[Pinkerton Government Services|Pinkerton detective agency]], forced him to flee the United States. He fled with his accomplice Harry Longabaugh, known as the "[[Sundance Kid]]", and Longabaugh's girlfriend [[Etta Place]]. The trio traveled first to Argentina and then to Bolivia, where Parker and Longabaugh are believed to have been killed in a shootout with the [[Bolivian Army]] in November 1908; the exact circumstances of their fate continue to be disputed. Parker's life and death have been extensively dramatized in [[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid|film]], television and literature, and he remains one of the best-known icons of the "Wild West" mythos in modern times. == Early life of butch cassidy == [[File:Robert Leroy Parker Childhood Cabin.jpg|thumb|left|The log cabin in Circleville, Utah, where Robert LeRoy Parker grew up]] Robert LeRoy Parker was born on April 13, 1866, in [[Beaver, Utah|Beaver]], [[Utah Territory]], the first of thirteen children of [[English people|English]] immigrants Maximillian Parker and Ann Campbell Gillies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Butch Cassidy|url=http://www.biography.com/people/butch-cassidy-9240908#early-years|website=Biography.com|access-date=February 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090518/https://www.biography.com/people/butch-cassidy-9240908#early-years|archive-date=March 27, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Butch Cassidy: Facts Summary|url=http://www.historynet.com/butch-cassidy|website=History.net|access-date=February 27, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=History of Butch Cassidy – Leroy Parker|url=http://www.utah.com/oldwest/butch_cassidy.htm|website=Utah.com|access-date=February 27, 2015|archive-date=May 17, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070517114231/http://www.utah.com/oldwest/butch_cassidy.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Parker and Gillies families had converted to [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]] while still living in the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]. Maximillian Parker was twelve years old when his family arrived in [[Salt Lake City]] in 1856 as [[Mormon pioneers]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Daniel D. McArthur Company |url=https://history.lds.org/overlandtravels/companyPioneers?lang=eng&companyId=195 |website=Pioneer Overland Travel |publisher=LDS Church |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100626/https://history.lds.org/overlandtravels/companyPioneers?lang=eng&companyId=195 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 }}</ref> Ann Gillies was born and lived in [[Sunderland]] in northeast England before immigrating to the U.S. with her family in 1859 at age 14.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ann Campbell Gillies |url=https://history.lds.org/overlandtravels/pioneerDetail?lang=eng&pioneerId=58265 |website=Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel |publisher=LDS Church |access-date= February 28, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125730/https://history.lds.org/overlandtravels/pioneerDetail?lang=eng&pioneerId=58265 |archive-date= April 2, 2015 }}</ref><ref name=cassidy>{{cite news| last = Armstrong| first = Jeremy| title = Outlaw's mum born & bred on Tyneside| quote = Geordie lass Ann Sinclair Gillies who was born and bred on Tyneside...| newspaper = Daily Mirror| date = December 10, 2008| url = https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-190265260| access-date = December 10, 2008}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=cassidy2>{{cite news| last = Knapton| first = Sarah| title = Outlaw Butch Cassidy had Geordie roots| quote = American outlaw Butch Cassidy may be a US hero but newly discovered records show he had Geordie heritage.| publisher = Telegraph.co.uk| date = December 9, 2008| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3698026/Outlaw-Butch-Cassidy-had-Geordie-roots.html| access-date = April 10, 2015}}</ref> The couple were married in July 1865.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hatch |first=Thom |date=2013 |title=The Last Outlaws: The Lives and Legends of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid |publisher=New American Library (Penguin)}}</ref> Robert Parker grew up on his parents' ranch near [[Circleville, Utah|Circleville]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Redford |first1=Robert |title=The Outlaw Trail: A Journey Through Time |date=1976 |publisher=Grosset & Dunlap |location=New York |isbn=0448145901 |pages=209–219}}</ref> Parker fled his home as a teenager and, while working on a dairy ranch, met [[cattle rustling|cattle thief]] Mike Cassidy. He subsequently worked on several ranches, in addition to a brief apprenticeship with a butcher in [[Rock Springs, Wyoming|Rock Springs]], [[Wyoming Territory]], where he got his nickname (by the word "butcher", which morphed later into "Butch"), to which he soon added the last name Cassidy in honor of his old friend and mentor. == Criminal career of Muhammed aways == Butch Cassidy's first criminal offense was minor. Around 1880 he journeyed to a clothier shop in another town but found it closed. He broke into the shop and stole a pair of jeans and some pie, leaving an [[IOU]] promising to pay on his next visit. The clothier pressed charges, but Cassidy was [[acquittal|acquitted]] by a jury. He continued to work on ranches until 1884, when he moved to [[Telluride, Colorado|Telluride]], [[Colorado]], ostensibly to seek work, but perhaps to deliver [[horse theft|stolen horses]] to buyers. Cassidy led a cowboy's life{{Vague|date={{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}} in Wyoming Territory and [[Montana Territory]] before returning to Telluride in 1887, where he met [[Matt Warner]], the owner of a [[racehorse]]. Cassidy and Warner raced the horse at various events, dividing the winnings between them. === 1889–1895 === [[File:San Miguel Valley Bank In Telluride.jpg|thumb|left|The building that housed the San Miguel Valley Bank, the site of Cassidy's first bank robbery in 1889.]] Cassidy's first [[bank robbery]] took place on June 24, 1889, when he, Warner, and two of the McCarty brothers robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride. Businessman [[L. L. Nunn]] had taken a [[controlling interest]] in the bank the previous year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historynet.com/l-l-nunn-made-mine-profitable-running-mill-ac-power.htm|title=L.L. Nunn Made His Mine Profitable By Running His Mill With AC Power|last=Pettengill|first=Jim|date=March 3, 2017|website=HistoryNet|language=en-US|access-date=September 24, 2019}}</ref> The robbers stole around $21,000 ({{inflation|US|21,000|1889|fmt=eq|r=-3}}), after which they fled to the [[Robbers Roost]], a remote hideout in the southeastern corner of Utah Territory. [[File:ButchCassidy CattleBrand.svg|thumb|Butch Cassidy's cattle brand of "Reverse-E, Box, E"<ref name="books.google.co.uk">[https://books.google.com/books?id=2ZMl6rZjdN0C&dq=reverse+e+box+e+cassidy&pg=PA22 Pointer, Larry, ''In Search of Butch Cassidy'', p.22]</ref>]] In 1890, Cassidy purchased a ranch on the outskirts of [[Dubois, Wyoming|Dubois]], [[Wyoming]]. This location was across the state from the notorious [[Hole-in-the-Wall]], a natural geological formation, and a popular hideout for [[outlaw]] gangs, including Cassidy's, during the era. Cassidy's ranching was possibly a façade for clandestine activities, perhaps with Hole-in-the-Wall outlaws, as he was never financially successful at ranching.<ref>[http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/CRM/heritage_education/history_mystery/hm1/the_outlaw_trail.html ''The Outlaw Trail''.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011090544/http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/CRM/heritage_education/history_mystery/hm1/the_outlaw_trail.html |date=October 11, 2008 }} Bureau of Land Management. January 18, 2008. Accessed June 13, 2008.</ref> Cassidy's ranch used the "unmistakable [[livestock branding|brand]]" of "Reverse-E, Box, E".<ref name="books.google.co.uk"/> In early 1894, Cassidy became involved romantically with rancher and outlaw [[Ann Bassett]]. Her father was a rancher who did business with Cassidy, supplying him with fresh horses and beef. That same year, Cassidy was arrested at [[Lander, Wyoming]], for stealing horses and possibly for running a [[protection racket]] among the local ranchers there. He was imprisoned in the [[Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site|Wyoming State Prison]] in [[Laramie, Wyoming|Laramie]], where he served eighteen months of a two-year sentence; he was released and pardoned in January 1896 by [[Governor of Wyoming|Governor]] [[William Alford Richards]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = On This Day in Wyoming History... Butch Cassidy is Pardoned, 1896|url = https://wyostatearchives.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/on-this-day-in-wyoming-history-butch-cassidy-is-pardoned-1896/|website = Wyoming Postscripts|date = January 20, 2016|access-date = January 22, 2016}}</ref> He became involved briefly with Bassett's older sister [[Josie Bassett|Josie]] before returning to Ann. === Formation of the Wild Bunch also known as tik tok rizz party === Cassidy associated with a wide circle of criminals, most notably his closest friend [[Elzy Lay|William Ellsworth "Elzy" Lay]], [[Kid Curry|Harvey "Kid Curry" Logan]], [[Ben Kilpatrick|Ben "The Tall Texan" Kilpatrick]], [[Harry Tracy]], [[William Carver (Wild Bunch)|Will "News" Carver]], [[Laura Bullion]] and [[George "Flat Nose" Curry]], who collectively became the so-called "[[Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch|Wild Bunch]]". The gang assembled sometime after Cassidy's release from prison in 1896 and took its name from the [[Wild Bunch|Doolin–Dalton gang]], also known as the "Wild Bunch".<ref name="Betenson">Betenson, Lula, and Dora Flack, ''[[Butch Cassidy, My Brother]]'', Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975. {{ISBN|978-0-84251-222-0}}.</ref> [[File:Butch Cassidy mugshot detail.jpg|thumb|Cassidy's mugshot from the Wyoming State Prison in 1894]] On August 13, 1896, Cassidy, Lay, Logan and Bob Meeks<ref>Idaho State Historical Society: Public Archives and Research Library, inmate files: Henry "Bob" Meeks, #574.</ref> robbed the bank at [[Montpelier, Idaho|Montpelier]], [[Idaho]], escaping with roughly $7,000. Cassidy recruited [[Harry Alonzo Longabaugh]], also known as the "Sundance Kid", into the gang soon after. Bassett, Lay and Lay's girlfriend Maude Davis all joined Cassidy at Robbers Roost in early 1897. The four hid there until early April, when Lay and Cassidy sent the women home so that the men could plan their next robbery. They ambushed a small group of men carrying the payroll of the Pleasant Valley Coal Company in the mining town of [[Castle Gate, Utah]], on April 22, 1897, stealing a sack of silver coins, with which they fled back to the Robbers Roost.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CONTENTdm |url=https://images.archives.utah.gov/digital/collection/p17010coll29/id/21/rec/1 |access-date=April 13, 2022 |website=images.archives.utah.gov}}</ref> On June 2, 1899, the gang robbed a [[Union Pacific]] ''[[Overland Limited (UP train)|Overland Flyer]]'' passenger train near [[Wilcox, Wyoming]], a robbery that earned them a great deal of notoriety and resulted in a massive [[Manhunt (law enforcement)|manhunt]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Alleged Train Robber Taken|date=October 23, 1899|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/10/23/102083713.pdf|access-date=May 26, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/butch2.html |title=Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid: The Montpelier, Castle Gate, Wilcox and Winnemucca Robberies |work=Wyoming Tales and Trails |access-date=May 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610213030/http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/butch2.html |archive-date=June 10, 2009 }}</ref> Many notable lawmen took part in the hunt but did not find them. Kid Curry and George Curry had a shootout with lawmen following the train robbery, killing Sheriff Joe Hazen. [[Tom Horn]], a [[contract killer|killer-for-hire]] employed by the [[Pinkerton National Detective Agency]], was told by explosives expert Bill Speck about the Hazen shooting. Pinkerton detective [[Charlie Siringo]] was then assigned the task of capturing the outlaws. He became friends with Elfie Landusky, who was using the last name Curry after becoming pregnant by Kid Curry's brother Lonny Logan, and Siringo intended to locate the gang through her. On July 11, 1899, Lay and others were involved in a [[Colorado and Southern Railroad]] train robbery near [[Folsom, New Mexico]], which Cassidy might have planned and personally directed. A shootout ensued with local law enforcement, during which Lay killed Sheriff Edward Farr and Henry Love; Lay was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at the [[New Mexico State Penitentiary]]. The Wild Bunch typically separated following a robbery and fled in different directions, later reuniting at a predetermined location such as the Hole-in-the-Wall, Robbers Roost, or [[Fannie Porter]]'s brothel in [[San Antonio, Texas|San Antonio]]. === 1899 plea for amnesty === Cassidy approached [[Governor of Utah|Utah Governor]] [[Heber Wells]] to negotiate an [[amnesty]]. Wells advised him to ask the Union Pacific Railroad to drop their criminal complaints against him, and Union Pacific chairman [[E. H. Harriman]] attempted to meet with Cassidy through Warner. On August 29, 1900, Cassidy, Longabaugh, and others robbed Union Pacific train No. 3 near Tipton, Wyoming, breaking Cassidy's earlier promise to the governor of Wyoming and ending any chance for amnesty. === 1900–01 === {{WikiProject AOW WildBunch | width = 220 | caption = "Fort Worth Five", December 1900; Cassidy is seated on the far right}} On February 28, 1900, lawmen attempted to arrest Lonny Logan at his aunt's home. Lonny was killed in the shootout that followed, and his cousin Bob Lee was arrested for rustling and sent to prison in Wyoming. On March 28, George Curry and News Carver were pursued by a posse from [[St. Johns, Apache County, Arizona]], after using currency they had stolen in the Wilcox train robbery. The posse engaged them in a shootout, during which Deputies Andrew Gibbons and Frank LeSueur were killed, while Carver and Curry escaped. On April 17, George Curry was killed in a shootout with [[Grand County, Utah]], Sheriff John Tyler and Deputy Sam Jenkins. On May 26, Kid Curry rode into [[Moab, Utah]], and killed both Tyler and Jenkins in another shootout in retaliation for the deaths of George and Lonny. In December, Cassidy posed alongside Longabaugh, Logan, Carver, and Ben Kilpatrick in [[Fort Worth, Texas]], for the now-famous "Fort Worth Five" photograph. The Pinkerton Agency obtained a copy of the photograph and began to use it for wanted posters. On July 3, 1901, Kid Curry and a group of men robbed a [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern]] train near [[Wagner, Montana]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85058130/1901-07-05/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1901&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=robbery+train&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=17&state=Utah&date2=1901&proxtext=Train+Robbery&y=8&x=14&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|title=''The Salt Lake Herald''. (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1870–1909, July 05, 1901, Image 1|work=loc.gov|date=July 5, 1901}}</ref> stealing more than $60,000 in cash ({{inflation|US|60,000|1901|fmt=eq|r=-4}}). The gang split up, but a posse led by Sheriff Elijah Briant caught up with News Carver and killed him. Kilpatrick was captured in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] on November 5 at Josie Blakey's resort on Chestnut Street. In his pocket, they found a key to a room at The Laclede Hotel. The next morning, they found Laura Bullion in the lobby, checking out with her luggage. In her [[valise]] was $8500 in unsigned banknotes from the Great Northern robbery. Curry killed [[Knoxville]] policemen William Dinwiddle and Robert Saylor in another shootout on December 13, then escaped. He returned to Montana, pursued by Pinkertons and other law enforcement officers, where he shot and killed rancher James Winters in retaliation for killing his brother Johnny years before.<ref>Gibson, Elizabeth. [http://hometown.aol.com/Gibson0817/KidCurry.htm "Kid Curry, the Wildest of the Bunch."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031219164331/http://hometown.aol.com/Gibson0817/KidCurry.htm |date=December 19, 2003 }} ''WOLA Journal''. Spring 1999. reprinted at HometownAOL.com.</ref> == Escape to South America == [[File:Sundance Kid and wife-clean.jpg|thumb|[[Harry Longabaugh]] (the Sundance Kid) and [[Etta Place]] just before they sailed for South America]] Cassidy and Longabaugh fled to New York City, feeling continuous pressure from the numerous law enforcement agencies pursuing them and seeing their gang falling apart. They departed from there to [[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]] aboard the British steamer ''Herminius'' on February 20, 1901,<ref>Richard M. Patterson, ''Butch Cassidy: A Biography'' (University of Nebraska Press, 1998), p. 316.</ref><ref>Beau Riffenburgh, ''Pinkerton's Great Detective: The Rough-and-Tumble Career of James McParland, America's Sherlock Holmes'' (Penguin, 2013), p. 17.</ref><ref>Leon Claire Metz, "Longabaugh, Harry", in ''The Encyclopedia of Lawmen, Outlaws, and Gunfighters'' (Infobase Publishing, 2014) p. 159.</ref><ref>W. C. Jameson, ''Butch Cassidy: Beyond the Grave'' (Taylor Trade Publications, 2012, {{ISBN|978-1-58979-739-0}}), p. 88.</ref> along with Longabaugh's companion [[Etta Place]]. Cassidy posed as James Ryan, Place's fictitious brother. They settled in a four-room log cabin on a {{convert|15,000|acre|km2|adj=on}} ranch that they purchased on the east bank of the Rio Blanco near [[Cholila, Argentina|Cholila]], just east of the [[Andes]] in the [[Chubut Province|Chubut]]. [[Bruce Chatwin]]'s ''[[In Patagonia]]'' references a letter Butch wrote from Cholila to Elza Lay's mother-in-law in Utah, dated August 10, 1902. The letter cites "our little family of 3" living in a 4 room house with 300 cattle, 1500 sheep, and 28 horses. Chatwin states the letter resides with the [[Utah State Historical Society]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chatwin |first1=Bruce |title=In Patagonia |date=1977 |publisher=Summit Books |location=New York |isbn=0671448579 |pages=42–44, 202}}</ref> === 1905 === Two English-speaking bandits held up the Banco de Tarapacá y Argentino in [[Río Gallegos]] on February 14, 1905, {{convert|700|mi|km}} south of Cholila near the [[Strait of Magellan]], and the pair vanished north across the Patagonian grasslands. Cassidy and Longabaugh sold the Cholila ranch on May 1, fearing that law enforcement had located them. The Pinkerton Agency had known their location for some time, but the snow and the hard winter of Patagonia had prevented their agent Frank Dimaio from making an arrest. Governor Julio Lezana issued an arrest warrant, but Sheriff Edward Humphreys, a Welsh-Argentine who was friendly with Cassidy and enamored of Place, tipped them off. The trio then fled north to [[San Carlos de Bariloche]], where they embarked on the steamer ''Condor'' across [[Nahuel Huapí Lake]] and into [[Chile]]; they returned to Argentina by the end of the year. Cassidy, Longabaugh, Place, and an unknown male associate robbed the [[Banco de la Nación Argentina]] branch in Villa Mercedes on December 19, {{convert|400|mi|km}} west of Buenos Aires, taking 12,000 [[Argentine peso|pesos]]. They fled across the Andes to reach the safety of Chile. On June 30, 1906, Place decided that she had enough of life on the run, so Longabaugh took her back to [[San Francisco]]. Cassidy obtained honest work under the alias James "Santiago" Maxwell at the Concordia Tin Mine in the Santa Vera Cruz range of the central Bolivian Andes, where Longabaugh joined him upon his return. Their main duties included guarding the company payroll. The two traveled to [[Santa Cruz de la Sierra|Santa Cruz]] in late 1907, a frontier town in Bolivia's eastern savannah, still wanting to settle down as respectable ranchers. === Death === A courier was carrying the payroll for the Aramayo Franke and Cia Silver Mine on November 3, 1908, near the small mining town of [[San Vicente Canton, Bolivia|San Vicente]] in southern [[Bolivia]], when he was attacked by two masked American bandits believed to be Cassidy and Longabaugh. Witnesses saw them three days later in San Vicente, where they lodged in a small boarding house owned by miner Bonifacio Casasola.<ref name=history>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/news/the-mysterious-deaths-of-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid|title=The Mysterious Deaths of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid|website=[[History (U.S. TV network)|History]]|last=Klein|first=Christopher|date=April 13, 2016|access-date=September 22, 2018}}</ref> Casasola became suspicious of them because they had a mule from the Aramayo Mine, identifiable from the company's brand. He notified a nearby telegraph officer, who notified the Abaroa cavalry regiment stationed nearby. The unit dispatched three soldiers under the command of Captain Justo Concha, and they notified the local authorities. The soldiers, the police chief, the local mayor, and some of his officials all surrounded the lodging house on the evening of November 6, intending to arrest the Aramayo robbers. As they approached the house, the bandits opened fire, killing one of the soldiers and wounding another and starting a gunfight which lasted for several hours into the evening and the night. At around 2:00 am, during a lull in the fighting, the mayor heard a man scream three times inside the house, then two successive shots were fired from inside the house.<ref name=history/> The authorities entered the house the next morning, where they found two bodies with numerous bullet wounds to the arms and legs. The man assumed to be Longabaugh had a bullet wound in the forehead, and the man thought to be Cassidy had a bullet hole in the temple. The local police report speculated that judging from the positions of the bodies, Cassidy had probably shot the fatally wounded Longabaugh to put him out of his misery, then killed himself with his final bullet. The Tupiza police identified the bandits as the men who robbed the Aramayo payroll transport, but the Bolivian authorities did not know their real names, nor could they positively identify them.<ref name=history/> The two bodies were buried at the small San Vicente cemetery, near the grave of a German miner named Gustav Zimmer. American forensic anthropologist [[Clyde Snow]] and his researchers attempted to find the graves in 1991, but they did not find any remains with DNA matching the living relatives of Cassidy and Longabaugh.<ref name=history/> Snow's search formed the basis of the British documentary ''Wanted - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' ([[Channel 4]], April 22, 1993;<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.windfallfilms.com/show/1222/wanted-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid.aspx | title=Wanted: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Windfall Films }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150405580 | title=Collections Search &#124; BFI &#124; British Film Institute }}</ref> later screened on ''[[Nova (American TV program)|Nova]]'', October 12, 1993<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/programs/2011_butch.html | title=NOVA Online &#124; Teachers &#124; Program Overview &#124; Wanted—Butch and Sundance &#124; PBS | website=[[PBS]] }}</ref>). In 2017, a new search was launched<!-- see the ref {{by whom|date=March 2019}} --> for Cassidy's grave, which zeroed in on a mine outside [[Goodsprings, Nevada]]. The dig found human remains, but they did not match the DNA provided.<ref>''Expedition Unknown'' season four, episode five, "Butch Cassidy's Lost Loot"</ref> === Rumors of survival === [[John McPhee]]'s ''[[Annals of the Former World]]'' repeats a story that Dr. Francis Smith told to geologist [[David Love (geologist)|David Love]] in the 1930s. Smith stated that he had seen Cassidy, who told him that his face had been altered by a surgeon in [[Paris]], and he showed Smith an old bullet wound that Smith recognized as work that he had done.<ref>McPhee, John. ''[[Annals of the Former World]]''. 1998. {{ISBN|0-374-10520-0}}. p. 358.</ref> Josie Bassett claimed in 1960 that Cassidy came to visit her in the 1920s "after returning from South America," and that he "died in Johnnie, Nevada<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/johnnie.html|title=Johnnie – Nevada Ghost Town|website=www.ghosttowns.com}}</ref> about 15 years ago."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prospector-utah.com/bassett.htm |title=A Personal Interview with Josie Bassett |access-date=January 5, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819052014/http://www.prospector-utah.com/bassett.htm |archive-date=August 19, 2010 }}</ref> Residents in Cassidy's hometown of Circleville, Utah, claimed in an interview that he worked in Nevada until his death.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20060724/ai_n16641373/ | work=Deseret News | title=Little left of Butch's life in Circleville | date=July 24, 2006}}</ref> Western historian [[Charles Kelly (historian)|Charles Kelly]] observed in his 1938 book ''The Outlaw Trail: A History of Butch Cassidy and His Wild Bunch'', "it seems exceedingly strange" that Cassidy never returned to Circleville, Utah, to visit his father if he were still alive.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://diggingupbutchandsundance.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/didbcreturn.pdf|title=Did Butch Cassidy Return? WOLA Journal Archive Vol. VI, no. 3 by Daniel Buck & Anne Meadows (1998)|website=wordpress.com}}</ref> According to his great nephew, Bill Betenson, he did return to Utah to visit his family in Circleville many times.<ref>{{cite book |last=Betenson |first=Bill |date=2012 |title=Butch Cassidy, My Uncle |publisher=High Plains Press |asin=B0182PZ180}}</ref> Bruce Chatwin, in his classic travel book ''In Patagonia'', says, "I went to see the star witness; his sister, Mrs. Lulu[sic] Parker Betenson, a forthright and energetic woman in her nineties ... She has no doubts: her brother came back and ate blueberry pie with family at Circleville in ... 1925. She believes he died of pneumonia in [[Washington (state)|Washington]] in the late 1930s."<ref>pp. 63–64; published Vintage 2005.</ref> An episode of the television series ''[[In Search of... (TV series)|In Search of...]]'' (1978) examined the claims and possible evidence for Cassidy's return to America during the 1920s in a series of interviews with residents of [[Baggs, Wyoming]], a popular destination for the Wild Bunch during their raiding years. Residents claimed that Cassidy had visited for several days in 1924, driving a [[Ford Model T]]. Betenson stated that he returned to the family home in Circleville during this period, and picked up his brother Mark in a Ford, then drove to their father's home,<ref>Jameson, ''Butch Cassidy: Beyond the Grave''. 2012, p. 138.</ref> where she also lived. Her father allegedly said to her, "I'll bet you don't know who this is. This is your brother Robert LeRoy." She stated that Cassidy was full of regrets, particularly at having disappointed his mother. She quoted him lamenting, "all I did is make a wreck of my life." Betenson claims that Cassidy lived out his years in "the Northwest" and died in 1937 and that the family had agreed not to disclose his final resting place, since "they had chased him all his life, and now he's going to rest in peace." This story is also recounted by [[W. C. Jameson]] in ''Butch Cassidy: Beyond the Grave'',<ref>Jameson, ''Butch Cassidy: Beyond the Grave''. 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-58979-739-0}}.</ref> referencing the 1975 book Betenson co-authored with Dora Flack, ''Butch Cassidy, My Brother''.<ref name=Betenson /> On an episode of the series ''Mission Declassified'' (2019), investigative journalist [[Christof Putzel]] met with local researcher Marilyn Grace at Cassidy's childhood log cabin on the Parker ranch in Circleville to talk about the alleged burial of Cassidy there on July 20, 1937. Grace explains that Cassidy was secretly buried at Tom's Cabin, a former sheepherders' log cabin located in a remote area of the property, a favorite camping spot for his brothers and him. Grace says an eyewitness, neighbor Dee Crosby, saw the burial take place at the cabin. Earlier, Putzel spoke to Alta Orton, another Parker neighbor, who described the family as having been dressed in funeral-like attire on that same day. Grace goes on to say that [[Detection dog|cadaver dogs]] had been brought to the cabin in an attempt to locate remains and led to a positive indication. The underside of the cabin was later dug and two bones discovered, identified as a human spinal bone and a toe bone. Putzel had forensic scientist Suzanna Ryan at Pure Gold Forensics in [[Redlands, California]] conduct a [[DNA profiling|DNA test]] on the bones. Ryan confirmed they were human, but lacked enough DNA for a complete profile. As the site may have become public knowledge, the Parker family is believed to have since excavated Cassidy's remains at the cabin and moved them to a different burial site, leaving the spinal and toe bones behind in the process.<ref>{{cite web |title=Butch Cassidy's Buried Secrets |url=https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/mission-declassified/episodes/butch-cassidys-buried-secrets |website=[[Travel Channel]] |language=en}}</ref> == Aliases == * George Parker<ref>Patterson, Richard. [http://www.historynet.com/butch-cassidys-surrender-offer.htm ''Butch Cassidy's Surrender Offer'']. HistoryNet.com. February 2006. Accessed June 13, 2008.</ref> * George Cassidy<ref name="alias" /> * Lowe Maxwell<ref name="alias" /> * James "Santiago" Maxwell<ref name="slatta">{{cite book |chapter=Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid |title=The Mythical West: An Encyclopedia of Legend, Lore, and Popular Culture |last1=Meadows |first1=Anne |last2=Buck |first2=Daniel |editor-last=Slatta |editor-first=Richard W. |year=2001 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/danne/slatta.htm |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050920152107/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/danne/slatta.htm |archive-date=September 20, 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref> * James Ryan<ref name="slatta" /> * Butch Cassidy<ref name="alias" /> * Santiago Lowe * Jim Lowe == Alleged friends == [[William T. Phillips]] claimed to have known Cassidy since childhood.<ref>Phillips, William T. [http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/pbb,133 ''The Bandit Invincible: The Story of the Outlaw Butch Cassidy''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115060800/http://content.lib.utah.edu/u/?%2Fpbb%2C133 |date=January 15, 2009 }}. J. Willard Marriott Library. University of Utah. January 1986. Accessed June 13, 2008.</ref> In his book ''In Search of Butch Cassidy'',<ref>{{Cite book|title=In Search of Butch Cassidy|last=Pointer|first=Larry|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=1977|isbn=978-0-8061-2143-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/insearchofbutchc00larr}}</ref> Larry Pointer speculated that Phillips was actually Cassidy, based upon stories in Phillips's unpublished manuscript, ''The Bandit Invincible,'' and a resemblance between the two men. In 2012, though, Pointer obtained a copy of the Wyoming Territorial Prison mugshot of William T. Wilcox, a previously unknown associate of Cassidy's. Observing the similarities between the two men, he revised his previous theory and concluded that Phillips was Wilcox, and not Cassidy.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/jul/22/an-about-face/|title=Man who wrote Butch Cassidy died in Spokane changes story|last=Kershner|first=Jim|date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=Spokesman.com|publisher=Spokesman Review|access-date=December 17, 2016}}</ref> == In popular culture == {{Unreferenced section|date=January 2015}}{{excessive examples|section|date=February 2015}} === Literature === * 1967: ''[[Henry Wilson Allen#Partial bibliography|Alias Butch Cassidy]]'', a novel written by [[Henry Wilson Allen]] under the pseudonym Will Henry * 1975: ''Butch Cassidy, My Brother'' by Lula Parker Betenson * 1990: The mystery novel ''[[Coyote Waits]]'' by [[Tony Hillerman]] is about a fictional "lost treasure" hidden by Butch Cassidy. * 2004: The travel book ''Riding the Outlaw Trail'' follows authors Simon Casson and Richard Adamson as they recreate Butch and Sundance's 2,000-mile horseback ride from Mexico to Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://eye-books.com/books/riding-the-outlaw-trail|title = Riding the Outlaw Trail by Simon Casson &#124; Eye Books}}</ref> * 2009: He appears in [[Kouta Hirano]]'s ''[[Drifters (manga)|Drifters]]'', alongside Sundance Kid, as a drifter who is sent to the unknown realm to battle against the Ends. * 2013: He appears in the novel ''Butch Cassidy: The Lost Years'' by [[William W. Johnstone]] and J.A. Johnstone, in which he survived the infamous Bolivian shootout in 1908 and returned to the United States, ending up in Texas and becoming a successful rancher under the name Jim Strickland. * 2022: Something Wilder, by Christina Lauren. The plot revolves around the myth of Cassidy's hidden treasure. * 2024: The Outlaw Noble Salt, by Amy Harmon. The plot shows Parker (Butch Cassidy) using the alias Noble Salt while working as a bodyguard of a well-known singer and her young son. He and Longabaugh had parted ways after their time in South America. === Television === * 1954: In the ''Stories of the Century'' season-one episode "The Wild Bunch of Wyoming" (episode 20)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxiCYtispJU&list=PL_zO7cYdYLBRrYbMR2wGTDOsD3KjKeR62&index=20| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211031/uxiCYtispJU| archive-date=October 31, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Stories of the Century| website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> * 1958: In the ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'' (October 13) episode "Butch Cassidy", Cassidy is played by [[Charles Bronson]]. * 1969: In the ''[[Death Valley Days]]'' episode "Drop Out", a young Butch Cassidy is played by [[Michael Margotta]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0959695/?ref_=tt_ep_nx|title=Drop Out on ''Death Valley Days''|publisher=[[IMDb|Internet Movie Database]]|date=April 25, 1969|access-date=July 15, 2015}}</ref> * 1974: Mrs. Sundance, a TV movie starring Elizabeth Montgomery as Etta Place.<ref>{{Citation |last=Chomsky |first=Marvin J. |title=Mrs. Sundance |date=1974-01-15 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071868/ |type=Western |access-date=2023-10-28 |others=Elizabeth Montgomery, Robert Foxworth, L. Q. Jones |publisher=20th Century Fox Television}}</ref> * 2002: Cassidy is mentioned in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Treehouse of Horror XIII]]". * 2005: In [[The Office (American season 2)|The Office]] episode "Office Olympics". * 2006: ''[[The Legend of Butch & Sundance]]'' is a TV movie that has [[David Clayton Rogers]] as Butch, Ryan Browning as Sundance, and [[Rachelle Lefevre]] as [[Etta Place]].<ref>{{IMDb title|id=0366709|title=The Legend of Butch & Sundance}}</ref> * 2014: In the ''[[American Experience|PBS: American Experience]]'' episode "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2657292/?ref_=tt_ep_nx|title=PBS American Experience: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid|publisher=[[IMDb|Internet Movie Database]]|date=February 11, 2014|access-date=April 15, 2017}}</ref> * 2014: In the ''[[Murdoch Mysteries]]'' episode "Glory Days"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3904398/?ref_=ttep_ep3|title=Glory Days|publisher=[[IMDb|Internet Movie Database]]|date=October 20, 2014|access-date=April 12, 2018}}</ref> <!-- weak *In the [[Pokemon (anime)|''Pokémon'' anime series]], two characters, one male and one female, act as recurring villains of the show and are respectively named [[Butch and Cassidy]] as a reference to the real-life outlaw. Similarly, another two villainous characters named Jessie and James are a reference to outlaw [[Jesse James]]. --> === Film === * 1951: ''[[The Texas Rangers (1951 film)|The Texas Rangers]]'' is a film where Cassidy is played by [[John Doucette]] and the Sundance Kid is played by [[Ian MacDonald (actor)|Ian MacDonald]]. They square off against two convicts recruited by [[John B. Jones]] to bring them to justice. * 1955: ''[[Wyoming Renegades]]'', featuring [[Gene Evans]] as Butch Cassidy and [[William Bishop (actor)|William Bishop]] as Sundance. * 1956: ''The Three Outlaws'', starring [[Neville Brand]] as Butch Cassidy and [[Alan Hale Jr]] as the Sundance Kid, is a film about the famed outlaws' lives with Wild Bunch member William "News" Carver.<ref>{{IMDb title|id=0049848|title=The Three Outlaws}}</ref> * 1956: Butch and Sundance appear as supporting characters in the film ''[[The Maverick Queen]]''. * 1965: ''[[Cat Ballou]]'' is a comedy Western where a fictionalized version of Butch Cassidy is played by [[Arthur Hunnicutt]]. * 1967: Butch Cassidy and Sundance appear as supporting characters in the film ''[[Return of the Gunfighter]]''. * 1969: ''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]'' is a film where Butch Cassidy is played by [[Paul Newman]] and Sundance is played by [[Robert Redford]]. * 1979: ''[[Butch and Sundance: The Early Days]]'' is a film that is a prequel to the 1969 Paul Newman film. Butch Cassidy is played by [[Tom Berenger]] and Sundance is played by [[William Katt]]. * 1994: ''[[The Gambler (film series)|The Gambler V: Playing for Keeps]]'' is a film about a fictionalized adventure where the main character finds out his son is running with the Wild Bunch. Butch Cassidy is played by [[Scott Paulin]]. * 1999: ''The Secret of Giving'' is a Family movie that has a fictionalized version of Butch Cassidy under the alias Harry Withers. He is played by [[Thomas Ian Griffith]].<ref>{{IMDb title|id=0215167|title=The Secret of Giving}}</ref> * 2006: ''[[Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy]]'' is an adventure film about a fictional "lost treasure" hidden by Butch Cassidy. *2011: [[Blackthorn (film)|''Blackthorn'']] is a film that has [[Sam Shepard]] as an aged Butch Cassidy living under the assumed name James Blackthorn in a secluded village in Bolivia 20 years after his disappearance in 1908. == See also == {{Portal|Biography}} * [[List of fugitives from justice who disappeared]] == References == {{Reflist|30em}} ==Further reading== * (1994) [https://web.archive.org/web/20240321165103/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CASSIDY_BUTCH.shtml "Cassidy, Butch"] article in the [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ ''Utah History Encyclopedia''.] The article was written by John D. Barton and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CASSIDY_BUTCH.shtml the original] on March 21, 2024 and retrieved on April 6, 2024. == External links == * {{commons category-inline|Butch Cassidy}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070614195503/http://www.historynet.com/magazines/wild_west/3037101.html Butch Cassidy's Surrender Offer] article by Richard Patterson * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37Zw1q3eLFM In Search Of…Butch Cassidy] hosted by Leonard Nimoy {{Wild West}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassidy, Butch}} [[Category:1866 births]] [[Category:1908 deaths]] [[Category:19th-century American criminals]] [[Category:20th-century American criminals]] [[Category:American bank robbers]] [[Category:American escapees]] [[Category:American emigrants to Argentina]] [[Category:American people of English descent]] [[Category:American people of Scottish descent]] [[Category:Articles containing image maps]] [[Category:Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch]] [[Category:Cowboys]] [[Category:Deaths by firearm in Bolivia]] [[Category:Outlaws of the American Old West]] [[Category:People from Beaver, Utah]] [[Category:People from Dubois, Wyoming]] [[Category:People from Piute County, Utah]] [[Category:Train robbers]] [[Category:Fugitives wanted by the United States]]'