20. The Hole in the Wall
A year after robbing his first bank, Butch Cassidy bought a ranch in Wyoming, near a notorious bandit hideout known as Hole in the Wall. In 1894, he was arrested and convicted of horse theft and extortion. Sentenced to two years, he was released and pardoned after a year and a half by Wyoming’s governor. In hindsight, the governor might have regretted his leniency.
Just a few months after the pardon, Cassidy formed the “Wild Bunch” gang and robbed an Idaho bank. Soon thereafter, he recruited Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, AKA The Sundance Kid. In 1897, Cassidy robbed a coal company’s payroll of $7000. In June of 1899, the Wild Bunch robbed a Union Pacific passenger train in Wyoming, which led to a massive manhunt, during which a Sheriff was killed in a shootout. A month later, Cassidy directed a train robbery in New Mexico, during which a Sheriff and another lawman were killed.