The Three Rs

Robbers Rogues and Ruffians: True Tales of the Wild West

By Howard Bryan (1991)

This book is filled with fascinating anecdotes of the Old Wild West.

Elfego Baca and Jesse Evans (two of my favorite characters in the Old Wild West) are mentioned but no stories are devoted to them.

Charles Kennedy was an innkeeper who murdered innocent travelers until he was lynched in 1870.

Coal Oil Jimmy was a stagecoach robber who was killed by bounty hunters in 1871.

Davy Crockett (grandson of the hero who died at the Alamo) was terrorizing the town of Cimarron, New Mexico in 1876. Deputy sheriff Holbrook confronted Crockett, who dared the deputy to shoot him. Holbrook killed Crockett with a shotgun blast.

Clay Allison was one of the most feared killers in the Old Wild West. He died from a head injury sustained in a wagon accident in 1887. His epitaph reads, “He never killed a man that did not need killing.”

Dutch Joe Hubert was a stagecoach robber. He was sent to prison in 1877 on the testimony of two convicted horse thieves. The two won their release by testifying against Hubert. One of the released men joined the notorious gang of rustlers led by Jesse Evans, the other was soon sent to prison for stealing government mules.

Marino Leyba (The Sandia Mountain Desperado) terrorized travelers for years before he was finally gunned down by deputy sheriffs in 1887.

Gus Mentzer was lynched in Raton, New Mexico in 1882 after he instigated a gunfight that left several men dead. The incident caused the citizens to expel from the town “all professional gamblers, footpads, thieves, cappers, dance hall men, bunk men, and all those who have no visible means of support.”

Joel Fowler was called “The Human Exterminator.” One of Fowler’s tricks was to ask someone for a chaw of tobacco, and then shoot them when they reached into their pocket for the tobacco, claiming that they were reaching for a gun. It was claimed that Fowler would murder his hired hands on payday so that he would not have to pay them. It was alleged that Fowler killed dozens of men. Finally, in 1883, he was found guilty in the murder of a clothing salesman and sentenced to hang. Fowler was lynched in 1884 before he could be legally hanged.

Milt Yarberry, a lawman himself, was hanged for murder because he shot an unarmed man in the back in front of numerous witnesses. The Albuquerque Morning Journal said of Yarberry, “Naturally a man of less than ordinary intelligence, Yarberry’s education has not tended to improve the work of nature.” Yarberry’s final words were, “Gentlemen, you are hanging an innocent man.”

The Gage Train Robbers consisted of George Cleveland, Frank Taggart, Mitch Lee, and Kit Joy. They robbed a train in New Mexico in 1883. During the robbery, Mitch Lee killed the engineer. By 1884, the outlaws were eventually captured. They soon broke out of the Silver City jail. A posse tracked them down and a gunfight ensued. George Cleveland was killed outright. Frank Taggart and Mitch Lee surrendered. Kit Joy killed a member of the posse. The posse was so enraged that they lynched Taggart and Lee. Kit Joy escaped. Kit Joy was later captured and convicted. Kit Joy only served part of a life sentence.

George Musgrave killed an unarmed man in front of witnesses. He walked up to the man as if to shake his hand, pulled his gun, and shot him dead. He was acquitted on grounds of self-defense.

This book is definitely worth reading, more than once.