Our day trip took us to Laramie, the site of the Wyoming Territorial Prison, which was in operation as a federal prison from 1872 to 1890, and then as a state prison from 1891 to 1903. We lucked out this day, not only was it the best weather we had in a week, but there was no entry fee for that day! Score!
I guess this is what we might have looked like if we had the "pleasure" of having our picture taken with Butch Cassidy and other criminals. I guess they wouldn't have had sunglasses those days. Oh, well.
Don was walking along the porch to the warden's house as I took the picture The house was built in 1875 by the prisoners for a total cost of $3000. It had 4 bedrooms and stone was quarried out of the nearby river for the large basement.
Work in the prison was mandatory. There were no workout rooms, TV's or even radios to listen to. Rules were numerous, and prisoners could only talk to each other outside, and then it had to be related to the work they were doing. They had to keep their cells immaculate, and air and dust their bedding twice a week. They could write letters to loved ones only once a month. However, they were allowed to smoke or chew in their cells! I can imagine that was one place where smoke was as thick as an ocean fog.
Doris was ahead of me, and was checking out one of the cells used by the convicts. I bet it was mighty cold in there at times. In 1875 the convicts took out 700 tons of ice from the nearby river, and exchanged it for coal to be used to heat the prison.
Prisoners did escape, but if they were recaptured, it was not a pretty picture. One document told of Convict #182 escaping through the cellar. When he was found, he was put in the dungeon and cuffed to the ceiling for 14 days and subsequently shackled with a ball and chain for another 6 months. Yikes!
There was one story that had a positive outcome. In June, 1877 Clark Pelton started his stage robbing career. In November, 1877, he was arrested in Deadwood, South Dakota for armed robbery and served time in a St. Paul, Minnesota prison. After that, he was tried for the murder of Adoph Cuny and sentenced to 4 years in the Wyoming Territorial Prison. After he was pardoned, he became a successful businessman and merchant, owning a mining claim and a ranch.
He was a friend of the University of Wyoming, a member of various lodges and raised a family. In fact, he was one of the first men in the area to offer shares in his company to employees!
The rest of the convicts didn't turn out so well. Minne Huelett Snyder and her husband were convicted of manslaughter and during their imprisonment were not allowed to speak to each other.
Many of the inmates blamed their actions on their addiction to morphine, which was readily available at that time. I guess some things never change (except now there are no ads for morphine!).
Look at the photo below. How old do you think this guy is? I guessed he was in his early teens, but the records showed William Nash as being 21 upon his arrival He was arrested for check forgery.
But by far, the most infamous of all the convicts here was Butch Cassidy. He first got into trouble at the tender age of 13. He was smart, shrewd and he researched all of the places he robbed before hand. Even the Pinkerton agency and all the law enforcement agencies couldn't outwit him.
The display on the wall marked all the different places he robbed. Some were banks, others were train robberies. He was active in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Montana and New Mexico. He had a large network of friends who could hide him and give him cover when needed.
Below is a photo of a passenger train that was blown up in 1899 with dynamite. Only the safe and the train car were affected. No passengers were hurt.
Here is a picture of him looking quite dapper. Guess he had enough money to buy the best of everything during the height of his career. All the other men in this picture were criminals, those being shot to death, hung from the gallows, committing suicide to prevent capture, and imprisonment. Only Butch Cassidy's fate has never been confirmed.
Some say that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a gun fight in Bolivia. The bodies were never identified. However, his sister published a book in 1975, claiming that he returned home as the prodigal son to his family in Utah. He joined his bachelor brothers and lived on a sheep camp on a mountain above the family homestead.
So, are you still wondering about what happened to him? So am I!
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