Outlaws, train robbers
and cattle rustlers:
Castle Country's wild history
Butch Cassidy and Matt Warner are just
two in the long list of famous outlaws who found their
home in Castle Country during the days of the "Wild
West." In the late 1800s the "dirty dozen" and Cassidy's
"wild bunch" made their homes in the plateaus of
southeastern Utah and along the famous Green River.
Visit the
Emery County Pioneer Museum
to see a special exhibit on outlaws.
Castle Gate Payroll Robbery
Butch Cassidy was the mastermind behind the Castle Gate
Payroll Robbery, the most daring robbery of all time. On
April 21, 1897, with the help of Joe Walker and Bub
Meeks, he robbed payroll. The heavily secured train
brought the payroll in to the Pleasant Valley Coal
Company's office located in the bottom of Castle Gate.
There were very limited escape routes in the steep
canyon. Cassidy waited until the payroll bag was
unloaded off of the train. Standing on the front steps
of the office, with 100 people watching, Cassidy took
$8000.
He and his band successfully escaped with $7000 out
of the bag. They hid at a place called "Robbers Roost"
east Hanksville and later on the Green River. The gang
was never caught. They went up to Dixon and Baggs
Wyoming and spent most of the money at a wild party.
Matt Warner
Cassidy's mentor, Matt Warner, was born the southern
Utah in the town of Beaver. He robbed the Telluride bank
in Colorado. He was caught and arrested for the crime.
But who says that bank robbers don't plan ahead? Warner
bribed the judge, jury and witnesses with $42,000 that
he had saved and buried on his property. It shouldn't be
much of a surprise to hear that Warner was acquitted on
all charges.
Matt was a very colorful outlaw that operated from New
Mexico to Washington State for over 18 years. During
that period, he frequented Green River, operating a
saloon and brothel there. On a sandstone ledge, in
Buckhorn Wash about 40 feet above the road, is the Matt
Warner inscription, dated Feb 17 1920. If you want to
visit the inscription you'll need directions to
Buckhorn Wash.
On a different occasion, Warner was arrested on
murder charges. Warner knew that he needed a good lawyer
so he solicited his friend Cassidy to rob the Montpieler
bank in Idaho. Warner had the money he needed and was
given a light sentence, 3 years in the Utah
Penitentiary. While he was in prison, his wife died.
Before her death, Warner promised her that he would "go
honest."
After serving his term, Warner moved to Carbon
County. The now reformed outlaw became the deputy
sheriff and a Justice of the Peace in Price. He died in
1938. |
