I’m so excited! In just a few short days, it’s RELEASE DAY! My latest novella, The Brigand and The Bride, releases in The Mail-Order Brides Collection on February 1. Of any novella I’ve written so far, I think this one is my favorite. The heroine is a woman trying to escape her outlaw brother’s control. The hero is a man convicted of bank robbery.
Now if you watch very many western movies, there’s often a bank robbery. It’s a common staple in older western films. I can think of plenty of scenes I’ve watched where they use dynamite to blow the bank safe, or several masked robbers step in and empty the bank’s coffers at gunpoint, then gallop away on horseback.
But how often did banks really get robbed in the Old West? Truth be told, not near as often as the old western flicks would lead you to believe. That’s not to say that banks were never robbed—they were! But it certainly didn’t happen “regularly,” as one might believe from the cinema’s portrayal.
So what are the details of some of the real bank robberies of the Old West, you might ask? I’m so glad you did!
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| Jesse and Frank James (Photo in Public Domain) |
Historians believe the first bank robbery to occur in the United States was perpetrated by none other than Frank and Jesse James. On February 13, 1866, they marched into the Clay County Savings Association in Liberty, Missouri, and escaped with $60,000 (that’s $883,533.86 in today’s dollars!). Why did they rob the bank? Well, aside from greed, the bank owner had served as a Union militiaman during the Civil War, and Frank and Jesse James were bitter ex-Confederates. With the Civil War being over for only a year, they were still fighting for their cause. During their escape, a single bystander was injured by gunfire, but the robbers were not caught.
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| The Youngers (l-r: Bob, Jim, and Cole, pictured with sister Henrietta) (Photo in Public Domain) |
With that success under their belts, the James brothers soon teamed up with the Younger family—Cole, Jim, John, and Bob—and several other outlaws to form the James-Younger Gang. They headed to the American Southwest where they committed a series of robberies—on both banks and stagecoaches—from the 1860s into the early 1880s. The James-Younger gang met its end when Jesse was killed by Robert Ford on April 3, 1882, and his brother Frank surrendered in October of the same year. Several of the Youngers also ended up in prison around the same time span.
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| Butch Cassidy (Photo in Public Domain) |
One of the most notorious bank robbers was Robert Leroy Parker, born on April 13, 1866. He was the oldest of thirteen children, and left his home in Beaver, Utah, as a teenager to find the riches he didn’t have with his family. Initially, he worked as a cowhand at various ranches with brief stints as a butcher interspersed between. It was during this time he befriended Mike Cassidy, a horse thief and cattle rustler. Their friendship would change the direction of Robert Leroy Parker’s life. Wanting to be like his friend, ol’ Robert changed his name—to Butch Cassidy.
Cassidy’s first major bank robbery happened in Telluride, Colorado, in 1889. There, he and three other cowboys robbed the bank of $20,000 ($508,176 in today’s dollars). With his ill-gotten gain, Cassidy bought a ranch in Wyoming. He continued to steal horses and cattle, and the law did catch up to him. In 1891, he spent two years in prison.
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| The Wild Bunch (front row l-r: Sundance Kid, The Tall Texan, and Butch Cassidy. back row l-r: Will Carver and Kid Curry) (Photo in Public Domain) |
The time away didn’t lessen Cassidy’s resolve. Once he was freed, he continued
Since the Union Pacific continued to get hit by this infamous gang, they finally employed the Pinkerton Detective Agency to stop them. The Pinkertons drove Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch into South America, where Butch and fellow gang member, The Sundance Kid, are said to have continued robbing banks until their deaths in a shootout in Bolivia.
The thing I find crazy about both gangs is that they were elevated to almost hero status. People followed the newspaper articles about their exploits, seemed excited to see them in action, and some even bragged that they’d been robbed by one gang or the other.
So I started out saying that the robbing of banks wasn’t anywhere near as prevalent in the Old West as the cinema once portrayed it. Just how often were banks robbed in the days of old? One statistic I saw said that in a 40-year time span, from 1859-1899, there were a whopping ten bank robberies in the U.S. and its territories. Perhaps that’s because banks weren’t on every street corner like they are today. Or maybe it is because the people of that era often carried guns, and a robber would’ve risked his own injury or death to rob banks and trains. However, we have historic proof that gangs like the James-Youngers and The Wild Bunch made a lifestyle of robbery, which fuels the myth that they were much more common than they really were.
I do have to say, it was rather fun to use a bank robbery in my story, The Brigand and The Bride, even if the real history says such events weren’t all that common.
It’s Your Turn: Did you know that bank robberies weren’t as common in the Old West as western films and books make them out to be? Do you like stories that contain this staple of western lore, even though it may not be as true to life? Leave your answer to both questions, plus your email address, and I’ll enter you in a drawing for an autographed copy of The Mail-Order Brides Collection.
Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has won and finaled in numerous writing competitions. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, college-aged son, and four fur children.
The Mail-Order Brides Collection
What kind of woman would answer an advertisement and marry a stranger?
Escape into the history of the American West along with nine couples whose relationships begin with advertisements for mail-order brides. Placing their dreams for new beginnings in the hands of a stranger, will each bride be disappointed, or will some find true love?
Perfect for the Preacher by Megan Besing
The Outlaw’s Inconvenient Bride by Noelle Marchand
Train Ride to Heartbreak by Donna Schlachter
Mail Order Mix-Up by Sherri Shackelford
To Heal Thy Heart by Michelle Shocklee
Miss-Delivered Mail by Ann Shorey
A Fairy-Tale Bride by Liz Tolsma
The Brigand and the Bride by Jennifer Uhlarik
The Mail Order Mistake by Kathleen Y’Barbo
