Harry Longabaugh
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Harry Alonzo Longabaugh (1867 – November 7, 1908), better known as the Sundance Kid, was an outlaw and member of
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was one of the loosely organized outlaw gangs operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall, near Kaycee in Wyoming, a natural fortress of caves, with a narrow entrance that was constantly guarded. In the beginning, the gang w ...
in the American
Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...
. He likely met
Butch Cassidy Robert LeRoy Parker (April 13, 1866 – November 7, 1908), better known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train robbery, train and bank robbery, bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, ...
(real name Robert LeRoy Parker) during a hunting trip in 1883 or earlier. The gang performed the longest string of successful train and bank robberies in American history. Longabaugh fled the United States along with his consort
Etta Place Etta Place ( , ?) was a companion of the American outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy, and Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, alias Sundance Kid. The three were members of the outlaw gang known as Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. She was princi ...
and Butch Cassidy to escape the dogged pursuit of the
Pinkerton Detective Agency Pinkerton is an American private investigation and security company established around 1850 in the United States by Scottish-born American cooper Allan Pinkerton and Chicago attorney Edward Rucker as the North-Western Police Agency, which lat ...
. The trio fled first to Argentina and then to Bolivia, where most historians believe Parker (Cassidy) and Longabaugh were killed in a shootout in November 1908.


Early life

Longabaugh was born in
Mont Clare, Pennsylvania Mont Clare is a village in Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The village is located on the left bank of the Schuylkill River o ...
, in 1867 to Pennsylvania natives Josiah and Annie G. () Longabaugh, the youngest of five children. At age 15, he traveled west in a covered wagon with his cousin George to help settle George's homestead near
Cortez, Colorado Cortez () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home-rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. The ci ...
. While there, he found work as a wrangler at a neighboring ranch, and he learned to buy and breed horses. He left Cortez in 1886 and struck out on his own, drifting north and working on ranches. He found work on the N Bar N Ranch in
Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...
, but the hard
winter of 1886–1887 Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Differe ...
forced the ranch to lay off wranglers, including Longabaugh. Longabaugh drifted to the
Black Hills The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak, which rises to , is the range's highest summit. The name of the range ...
before turning back to try to find work again at the N Bar N.


Career

In 1887, while traveling across the Three V Ranch near
Sundance, Wyoming Sundance (Lakota language, Lakota: ''Owíwaŋyaŋg Wačhí''; "Sun-watching Dance") is a town in and the county seat of Crook County, Wyoming, United States. Its population was 1,032 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The town is na ...
, he stole a gun, horse, and saddle from a cowboy. He was captured by authorities in
Miles City, Montana Miles City is a city in and the county seat of Custer County, Montana, United States. The population was 8,354 at the 2020 census. History After the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, the U.S. Army created forts in eastern Montana, inclu ...
, and sentenced to 18 months in jail by Judge
William L. Maginnis William Lyman Maginnis (November 4, 1858 – October 26, 1910) was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Wyoming, Supreme Court of Wyoming Territory from November 8, 1886 to October 1, 1889. Early life and career Born in Somerset, Ohio, he att ...
. He adopted the nickname "Sundance Kid" during this time in jail, having derived it from the Wyoming town of the same name and the fact that he left home at the age of 15. After his release, he went back to working as a ranch hand, and he worked at the
Bar U Ranch The Bar U Ranch National Historic Site, located near Longview, Alberta, is a preserved ranch that for 70 years was one of the leading ranching operations in Canada. At its peak, the ranch extended over with 30,000 cattle and 1000 Percheron ...
in the
North-West Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Its estimated pop ...
of Canada in 1891, which was one of the largest commercial ranches of the time. He became joint owner of a saloon in the Grand Central Hotel in
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
, but after quarreling with his partner, he headed south to Montana again. There, he took another job with the N Bar N and began rustling cattle and horses in Montana and Canada. Longabaugh was suspected of taking part in a train robbery in 1892 and a bank robbery in 1897 with five other men. He became associated with a group known as the Wild Bunch, which included Robert Leroy Parker, better known as Butch Cassidy. Longabaugh was reportedly fast with a gun and was often referred to as a gunfighter. He became better known than
Kid Curry (Known month and day) (known month) (known year) --> , birth_place = Richland Township, Tama County, Iowa, United States , death_date = , death_place = Parachute, Colorado, United States , re ...
, a member of his gang whose real name was Harvey Logan; Curry killed numerous men while with the gang. Longabaugh did participate in a shootout with lawmen who trailed a gang led by George Curry to the
Hole-in-the-Wall Hole-in-the-Wall is a remote pass in the Big Horn Mountains of Johnson County, Wyoming. In the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang and Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang met at the log cabin, which is now preserved ...
hideout in
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
, and he was thought to have wounded two men in that shootout. Several people were killed by members of the gang, including five law enforcement officers killed by Logan. "Wanted dead or alive" posters were posted throughout the country, with rewards of as much as $30,000 for information leading to their capture or deaths. Longabaugh and Logan used a log cabin at Old Trail Town in
Cody, Wyoming Cody is a city in and the county seat of Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after Buffalo Bill Cody for his part in the founding of Cody in 1896. The population was 10,028 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, making Cod ...
, as a hide-out, as they planned to rob a bank in Red Lodge, Montana. They then began hiding out at Hole-in-the-Wall, located near
Kaycee, Wyoming Kaycee is a town in Johnson County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 247 at the 2020 census. It is home to a museum that preserves the cattle ranching heritage of the area, especially the history of the Johnson County War. Kaycee wa ...
. From there, they could strike and retreat with little fear of capture, since it was situated on high ground with a view of the surrounding territory in all directions. Pinkerton detectives led by
Charlie Siringo Charles Angelo Siringo (February 7, 1855 – October 18, 1928) was an American lawman, detective, bounty hunter, and agent for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life Siringo was born o ...
, however, hounded the gang for a few years.


Escape to 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 Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, aboard the British steamer ''Herminius'' on February 20, 1901, along with Longabaugh's companion
Etta Place Etta Place ( , ?) was a companion of the American outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy, and Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, alias Sundance Kid. The three were members of the outlaw gang known as Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. She was princi ...
. Cassidy posed as James Ryan, Place's fictitious brother. They settled in a four-room log cabin on a ranch that they purchased on the east bank of the Rio Blanco near Cholila, just east of the
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
in
Chubut Chubut may refer to: * Chubut Province Chubut ( from Tehuelche language, Tehuelche 'transparent'; ) is a provinces of Argentina, province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), ...
.
Bruce Chatwin Charles Bruce Chatwin (13 May 194018 January 1989) was an English travel writer, novelist and journalist. His first book, ''In Patagonia'' (1977), established Chatwin as a travel writer, although he considered himself instead a storytelling, s ...
's '' In Patagonia'' references a letter Butch wrote from Cholila to
Elzy Lay William Ellsworth "Elzy" Lay (November 25, 1869 – November 10, 1934) was an outlaw of the Old West in the United States. He was a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang, operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming. ...
'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 The Utah State Historical Society, founded in 1897, encourages the research, study, and publication of Utah history. From its modest beginnings, the Utah Historical Society has grown to several hundred members, developed a research collection ...
.


1905

Two English-speaking bandits held up the Banco de Tarapacá y Argentino in
Río Gallegos Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...
on February 14, 1905, south of Cholila near the
Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natura ...
, and the pair vanished north across the Patagonian grasslands. The pair might have been Cassidy and Longabaugh. Fearing that law enforcement had located them, Cassidy and Longabaugh sold the Cholila ranch on May 1, 1905. 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 San Carlos de Bariloche (from the Mapuche name ''Vuriloche'', meaning "people from the other side of the mountain"), commonly known simply as Bariloche (), is the largest city in the Argentine province of Río Negro and the seat of the departm ...
, where they embarked on the steamer ''Condor'' across Nahuel Huapí Lake and into
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
; they returned to Argentina by the end of the year. A man going under the name Frank Boyd, who was in reality Sundance/Longabaugh, killed a police officer on August 21, 1905 in a shootout at the port town of
Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by Bolivia follo ...
, Chile. He was released on a bond (equivalent to
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
50,000 in 2022) and then, assisted by the US vice-consul in Antofagasta, fled to Argentina and finally Bolivia. This was not known until 2022, when the old Antofagasta ''El Industrial'' newspaper was digitized. Cassidy, Longabaugh, Place, and an unknown male associate robbed the
Banco de la Nación Argentina Banco de la Nación Argentina (BNA; ) is a large bank in Argentina, and the largest in the country's banking sector. History The Bank of the Argentine Nation was founded on 18 October 1891 by President Carlos Pellegrini, with the purpose of st ...
branch in
Villa Mercedes Villa Mercedes is a city in the province of San Luis, Argentina. It lies on the center-east of the province, on the left-hand banks of the Quinto River, 32 km from the border with Córdoba, on National Route 148, and near the intersection ...
,
San Luis Province San Luis () is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina located near the geographical center of the country (on the 32° South parallel). Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, La Rioja Province (Argentina), La Rioja, Córdo ...
on December 19, 1905, which is west of Buenos Aires, taking 12,000 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 San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. 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 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 in southern
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
, 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. 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. 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. 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. Snow's search formed the basis of the British documentary ''Wanted - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
, April 22, 1993; later screened on ''
Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
'', October 12, 1993). In 2017, a new search was launched 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.


Rumors of survival

Some have claimed that one or both men survived and returned to the United States. One of these claims was that Longabaugh lived under the name of William Henry Long in the small town of
Duchesne, Utah Duchesne ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Duchesne County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,588 at the 2020 census. History 18 September 1776 The Dominguez–Escalante Expedition came from the east where they crossed Blue Be ...
. Long died in 1936, and his remains were exhumed in December 2008 and subjected to DNA testing. Anthropologist John McCullough stated Long's remains did not match the DNA which they had obtained "from a distant relative of the Sundance Kid."


In popular culture

*
Arthur Kennedy John Arthur Kennedy (February 17, 1914January 5, 1990) was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the origi ...
portrayed the Sundance Kid in the 1947 film ''
Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...
'' (later retitled ''The Wyoming Kid''). * Longabaugh was portrayed by
Robert Ryan Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. Known for his portrayals of hardened cops and ruthless villains, Ryan performed for over three decades. He was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...
in the 1948 film ''
Return of the Bad Men ''Return of the Bad Men'', also known as ''Return of the Badmen'', is a 1948 American Western film directed by Ray Enright and starring Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan and Anne Jeffreys.Jarlett p.192-93 A loose sequel to the 1946 film '' Badman's T ...
'', although the film is inaccurate in a number of points, not least of which are the cold-blooded killings by the character and his death at the end of the movie. * He was depicted as a character in the 1951 film '' The Texas Rangers'' played by
Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was an English music critic, journalist and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed te ...
. The fictional tale has real-life outlaws Sam Bass,
John Wesley Hardin John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming he ...
,
Butch Cassidy Robert LeRoy Parker (April 13, 1866 – November 7, 1908), better known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train robbery, train and bank robbery, bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, ...
and
Dave Rudabaugh David Rudabaugh (July 14, 1854February 18, 1886) was a cowboy, outlaw and gunfighter in the American Old West. Modern writers often refer to him as "Dirty Dave" because of his alleged aversion to water, though no evidence has emerged to show ...
and him forming a gang, then squaring off against two convicts recruited by John B. Jones to bring them to justice. * He was portrayed by
Alan Hale, Jr. Alan Hale Jr. (born Alan Hale MacKahan; March 8, 1921 – January 2, 1990) was an American actor and restaurateur. He was the son of actor Alan Hale Sr. His television career spanned four decades, but he was best known for his secondary lead ro ...
in the 1956 film '' The Three Outlaws'', with
Neville Brand Lawrence Neville Brand (August 13, 1920 – April 16, 1992) was an American soldier and actor. He was known for playing villainous or antagonistic character roles in Westerns, crime dramas, and ''films noir'', and was nominated for a BAFTA A ...
as Butch Cassidy. *
Scott Brady Scott Brady (born Gerard Kenneth Tierney; September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the televi ...
played him in the 1956 film '' The Maverick Queen''. *
Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...
played him in the 1969 film ''
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' is a 1969 American Western (genre), Western buddy film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, k ...
''. Redford named the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
after the Sundance Kid. *
Elizabeth Montgomery Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1933 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She portrayed the good witch List of Bewitched characters#Samantha Stephens, Samantha Step ...
played his fugitive girlfriend in the 1974 film ''Mrs. Sundance''. *
William Katt William Theodore Katt (born February 16, 1951) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Ralph Hinkley/Hanley on the ABC television series '' The Greatest American Hero'' (1981–1983). Katt first became k ...
portrayed the Sundance Kid and
Tom Berenger Tom Berenger (born Thomas Michael Moore; May 31, 1949) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in ''Platoon'' (1986). He is also known for playing ...
played Butch in '' Butch and Sundance: The Early Days'' (1979). * Padraic Delaney portrayed him in the 2011 film ''
Blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is an Old World species of flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is locally naturalized in parts of the New World. The fruits are used to make sloe gin in Britain and patxaran in Basq ...
''. * He is an antagonist in the video game '' Call of Juarez: Gunslinger'' (2013). * Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid are supporting characters in the '' Drifters'' manga series by
Kouta Hirano is a Japanese manga artist born in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan, most famous for his manga ''Hellsing'' and ''Drifters''. Career Hirano said he learned how to be a manga artist from reading Akira Toriyama and Akira Sakuma's '' Hetappi Manga Kenkyūj ...
.


See also

*
List of fugitives from justice who disappeared This is a list of fugitives from justice, notable people who disappeared or evaded capture while being sought by law enforcement agencies in connection with a crime, and who are currently sought or were sought for the duration of their presumed ...


References


Bibliography

* Pages 42–47 tell the story of Kid Curry and the failed attempt at a bank robbery in Red Lodge. *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sundance Kid 1867 births 1908 deaths 19th-century American criminals American bank robbers American emigrants to Argentina American escapees American expatriates in Argentina American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Welsh descent Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch Cowboys Deaths by firearm in Bolivia Outlaws of the American Old West People from Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Train robbers Nicknames of outlaws of the American Old West