There's never been any dispute that some Cannonville residents attempted to arrest the robbers. However, the actual details of that daring caper have never before been fully known in the detail described here.
William J. Henderson, Jr. was born in Kaysville, Utah, in 1863, and the Family settled at Cannonville in 1877. During The Great Depression, the federal government Works Progress Administration sought to document the stories of as many Utah Old Timers as possible. Henderson filled out a questionnaire for the Utah WPA's "Pioneer personal history" survey. In early January 1939 David Kern Owens prepared a typescript of Henderson's answers. The 18-page document is a priceless, endearing and mesmerizing time capsule of early Cannonville. Henderson was 26 years old when the four robbers rode into the small village near the headwaters of the Paria River. What transpired instantly became an enduring chapter of Cannonville's long history. It's probably safe to claim there will never be anything like it again in Cannonville future.
Note that many of Henderson's recollections of events outside of Utah are dubious at best. However, we feel his account of what happened in Cannonville itself is as credible as credible can possibly get. As far as we're concerned, Henderson's story is THE Story of how it all came down in The Cannonville Caper.
Here is the link to the tremendous resource: https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6vt3xcs
THANKS, Lyman!
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| Here's a sample of the typescript we transcribed. |
"Late in March of 1888 the Santa Fe Limited left Winslow with orders through to Flagstaff. In the strong box of the Wells Fargo Express was $40,000.
Buckey O'Neill, the Sheriff and three deputies from Coconino County, Ariz. was on the trail before the break of day (the train was held up at night). He decided the robbers would head for Lees Ferry and a hiding place in southern Utah. The Sheriff and deputies reached Lees Ferry the following day and were informed that no one had crossed over the ferry in the past two days. O'Neill, wise to the ways of bandits crossed the Colorado and discovered the tracks of four horsemen on the sands of the desert.
He knew he was on a hot trail. The bandits had came to the river at night and crossed unbeknown to the owner of the ferry. Once across the river they figured themselves safe. O'Neill and party camped at Lower Pahreah to give their horses a chance to rest, sending two local men, Joe Stewart and Jack Smith ahead to notify the people of Cannonville to be on the lookout for the robbers.
When these two advance men for O’Neill arrived in Cannonville they found the bandits comfortably quartered at the local hotel. They conferred with the local authorities and it was decided that Smith return to Pahreah and inform O’Neill of the discovery. Joe Stewart conferred with the local justice of peace, Edwin Pierce and they decided the best thing to do was to arrest the robbers, with the help of some local men.
They were afraid the robbers may become suspicious and move on before the Arizona officers arrived. They decided to make the arrest early in the morning. The men chosen were Will Pollock, Hite Elmer, Lou Willis, Henry Meacham, and W. J. Henderson. (William Jasper Henderson Jr. the man who told me this story). Henderson recommended that they wait for O’Neill, that the men were inexperienced and that there were no first class guns available in Cannonville in case of trouble.
Stewart assured the party that there need be no fear that he would “fill that bunch of bandits so full of lead that it would take 40 men a week to find plugs to plug then up." As he made his boasts he twirled his gun around and round on his fore finger. The robbers were sleeping two in the barn and two in the small ranch house used as a hotel. They decided to make the arrest in the house first. This went over fine. The two bandits were speedily relieved of their guns and marched out to the barn yard.
The leader of the robbers was sleeping in the hay loft with the other bandit. Pollock, Elmer and Justice Pierce went to make the arrest in the bar. They located a hole in the side of the barn, stuck the barrels of their guns through and demanded surrender. The two bandits got out of their blankets and Stewart went in and supposedly took their fire arms. The leader of the robbers was in a very pleasant mood, asked Stewart for a chew of tobacco and proceeded to put on his clothes with leisure. On the hay laid a pair of Indian gauntlets.
He stooped over, picked up the gauntlets put one on and quicker than a flash pulled a Colt from the other and covered Stewart, placing him between himself and the guns in the wall. He demanded to know who the leader of the posse was. Stewart claimed he was. All right, command your men to give my men back their guns, he told Stewart as he rubbed his .44 in Stewart's ribs. Stewart was quick to give orders. The bandits were released.
The bandit leader gave orders to his men to get their horses and ride out of the yard. The posse guns had all been piled some distance away. The bandit leader told Stewart that he was a brick of an officer, apologized for the trouble they had been put to, and joined his party.
Sheriff Buckey O’Neill and deputies arrived in Cannonville about two hours after the bandits had left. He soon picked up the trail of the bandits in Pole Hollow and followed it across the bench into Henrieville Valley, through the gaps into Dry Valley and Butler Valley where him and his posse stopped at a sheep camp for the night. The bandits had camped just a few miles ahead on the Upper Wahweap, and were just leaving camp the next morning when the Sheriff and posse arrived.
There was a running gun fight for bout one and one half miles. One of the bandit’s horse was killed and the bandit captured. The posse followed the trail of the other bandits and found where two of them had gotten ledged up and left their horses, going on afoot. The horses were taken back to the camp where the captured bandit was being held and from there the posse proceeded on to the town of Pahreah.
The bandit (who still had a saddle horse) found a trail for his horse through the mountains and canyons and arrived at Tom Haycock's sheep camp on the Lower Wahweap, about sundown of the same day. Haycock had been to Pahreah Town for supplies and arrived back at his camp a short time after the bandit. In town he had learned of the bandits and the posse, and he was sure this man was one of the bandits. He told the bandit that he was welcome to stay at the camp for the night, but that he (Tom) would go on to another camp so there would be more room. Haycock rode to Tom Sevy's sheep camp, and the two of them returned to Pahrean Town that night.
The posse from the Upper Wahweap had arrived in town just ahead of them, and when told about the man returned to the sheep camp with Sevy and Haycock. They arrived about day break the next morning and arrested the bandit. The posse ate breakfast and leaving the bandit at the sheep camp with some one to guard him, returned to the Upper Wahweap, a distance of 20 miles. They picked up the trail of the two bandits at Cottonwood (the two that had left their horses) and followed it into the ledges just on top of the mountain north of Lees Ferry, where the two bandits were discovered.
They exchanged several shots with posse, but were finally forced to surrender. The two bandits were taken back to Haycock's sheep camp, and in company with the third bandit were were taken to Pahreah Town. After a night's rest the four bandits were taken to Cannonville in a wagon, a distance of 30 miles. The next day they were taken to Panguitch, Utah, 35 miles north and west. Here shackles was riveted on their wrists. The next day they were taken to Milford, Utah, where they boarded a train for Flagstaff, Ariz.
On the trip to Flagstaff the leader of the bandits jumped through the window of the car and escaped. Sheriff O'Neill stopped the train and left one of his Deputies, Black by name, to trail the bandit and bring him back to Flagstaff. Sheriff O'Neil took the other three bandits on to Flagstaff, where they were tried and found guilty. The judge gave them 20 years each in the Ariz. State Prison. Deputy Black continued to follow the trail of the bandit the best he could. He did not get a definite clue until he came to a large cattle ranch.
Here a young girl, a member of the ranch family, told him how she had been lost in the timbered country and how a man on a horse had come upon her and had taken her back to the ranch in safety. She said while she was riding behind him on his horse she discovered a part of a hand cuff on his arm. After several days Black traced the bandit to his Mother's home in Oklahoma. The bandit was just setting down to breakfast when Black arrived. Black and the bandit ate breakfast together and then Black took him to the nearest railroad station and boarded it for Flagstaff, Ariz. At the trial of the bandit, Black told the story of the young girl and the judge sentenced him to 5 years in the Ariz. State Prison."
