Butch Cassidy (26 page)

There are aspects of the Phillips-Cassidy identity that are also bothersome and frustrating. One of the most disturbing is that Phillips died in 1937, yet appearances by a man identified as Butch Cassidy continued until 1941.

Could there, then, have been more than one Butch Cassidy claimant? At least one researcher believes there might have been as many as three. It is indeed a conundrum.

Following an analysis of all of the available evidence relative to the hypotheses advanced, we are subsequently in a position to invoke Occam’s Razor: the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions is likely to be correct.

Given all of the hypotheses relative to the so-called death and return of Butch Cassidy, Occam’s Razor supports the decision to reject Cassidy’s death in South America and accept his return to the United States.

Assuming Butch Cassidy returned, was he, in fact, William T. Phillips? Given the evidence presented for and against Phillips as Cassidy, a strong case can be made for this hypothesis. Lurking around the periphery of this case, however, are niggling reminders we need more evidence, evidence we hope will be forthcoming and will answer our questions, or at least clarify and support what we already believe, regardless of our belief.

Selected Bibliography

Books

Adams, Ramon.
Six-Guns and Saddle Leather: A Bibliography of Books and Pamphlets on Western Outlaws and Gunmen
. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1969.

Alexander, Thomas G.
Utah: The Right Place
. Salt Lake City, Utah: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1995.

Baars, Donald L.
Canyonlands Country
. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1993.

Baker, Pearl.
Robbers Roost: Recollections
. Logan: Utah State University Press, 1991.

———.
The Wild Bunch at Robber’s Roost
. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1965.

Betenson, Lula Parker (as told to Dora Flack).
Butch Cassidy, My Brother
. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975.

Bigler, David L.
Forgotten Kingdom: The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847–1896
. Spokane, Wash.: Arthur H. Clarke Company, 1998.

Breihan, Carl W.
Lawmen and Robbers
. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1986.

Brown, Dee.
The American West
. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1994.

Burns, R. H., A. S. Gillespie, and W. G. Richardson.
Wyoming’s Pioneer Ranches
. Laramie, Wyo.: Top-of-the-World Press, 1955.

Burroughs, John Rolfe.
Where the Old West Stayed Young
. New York: Morrow, 1962.

Burton, Doris Karren.
Queen Ann Bassett: Alias Etta Place
. Vernal, Utah: Burton, 1992.

Crutchfield, James A., Bill O’Neal, and Dale L. Walker.
Legends of the Wild West
. Lincolnwood, Ill.: Publications International, 1995.

DeJournette, Dick, and DeJournette, Daun.
One Hundred Years of Brown’s Park and Diamond Mountain
. Vernal, Utah: DeJournette Enterprises, 1996.

Drago, Gail.
Etta Place: Her Life and Times with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
. Plano: Republic of Texas Press, 1996.

Ernst, Donna B.
From Cowboy to Outlaw: The True Story of Will Carver
. Sonora, Tex.: Sutton County Historical Society, 1995.

———.
Sundance: My Uncle
. College Station, Tex.: Creative Publishing, 1992.

Fetter, Richard L., and Suzanne Fetter.
Telluride: From Pick to Powder
. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1979.

French, William.
Further Recollections of a Western Ranchman: New Mexico, 1883–1899
. New York: Argosy-Antiquarian, 1965.

———.
Some Recollections of a Western Ranchman: New Mexico, 1883–1899
. New York: Argosy-Antiquarian, 1995.

Frye, Elnora L.
Atlas of Wyoming Outlaws at the Territorial Penitentiary
. Laramie, Wyo.: Jelm Mountain Press, 1990.

Hafen, LeRoy R., and Ann W. Hafen.
Handcarts to Zion
. Glendale, Calif.: Arthur H. Clarke Company, 1960.

Hendricks, George D.
The Bad Man of the West
. San Antonio, Tex.: Naylor, 1950.

Horan, James D.
Desperate Men
. New York: Doubleday, 1949.

———.
The Gunfighters: The Authentic Wild West
. New York: Crown, 1976.

———.
The Pinkertons: The Detective Dynasty that Made History
. New York: Crown Publishers, 1967.

———.
The Wild Bunch
. New York: Signet, 1958.

Horan, James D., and Paul Sann.
Pictorial History of the Wild West
. New York: Crown Publishers, 1954.

Jameson, W.C.
Billy the Kid: Beyond the Grave
. Lanham, Md.: Taylor Trade, 2005.

Jameson, W.C., and Frederic Bean.
The Return of the Outlaw Billy the Kid
. Plano: Republic of Texas Press, 1998.

Jessen, Kenneth.
Colorado Gunsmoke: True Stories of Outlaws and Lawmen on the
Colorado Frontier
. Boulder, Colo.: Pruett Publishing, 1986.

Kelly, Charles.
The Outlaw Trail: A History of Butch Cassidy and His Wild Bunch
. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1959.

Kirby, Edward M.
The Rise and Fall of the Sundance Kid
. Iola, Wisc.: Western Publications, 1983.

———.
The Saga of Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch
. Palmer Lake, Colo.: Filter Press, 1977.

Knowles, Thomas W., and Joe R. Landsdale.
The West that Was
. New York: Wings Books, 1993.

Kouris, Diana Allen.
The Romantic and Notorious History of Brown’s Park
. Basin, Wyo.: Wolverine Gallery, 1988.

Lamb, F. Bruce.
The Wild Bunch: A Selected Critical Annotated Bibliography of the
Literature
. Worland, Wyo.: High Plains Publishing, 1993.

Larson, T. A.
History of Wyoming
. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1978.

Lavender, David.
The Telluride Story
. Ridgeway, Colo.: Wayfinder Press, 1987.

LeFors, Joe.
Wyoming Peace Officer
. Laramie, Wyo.: Powder River Publishers, 1953.

McCarty, Tom.
Tom McCarty’s Own Story
. Hamilton, Mont.: Rocky Mountain House Press, 1986.

McClure, Grace.
The Bassett Women
. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1985.

Meadows, Ann.
Digging Up Butch and Sundance
. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996.

Metz, Leon Claire.
The Shooters
. El Paso, Tex.: Mangan Books, 1976.

Moran, Frank.
The Eye that Never Sleeps: A History of the Pinkerton National Detective
Agency
. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1982.

Moulton, Candy.
Roadside History of Wyoming
. Missoula, Mont.: Mountain Press Publishing, 1995.

Nickell, Joe.
Ambrose Bierce Is Missing and Other Historical Mysteries
. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992.

O’Neal, Bill.
Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters
. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979.

Patterson, Richard.
Butch Cassidy: A Biography
. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998.

———.
Historical Atlas of the Outlaw West
. Boulder, Colo.: Johnson Books, 1985.

———.
The Train Robbery Era: An Encyclopedia History
. Boulder, Colo.: Pruett Publishing, 1991.

———.
Wyoming’s Outlaw Days
. Boulder, Colo.: Johnson Books, 1982.

Phillips, William T.
The Bandit Invincible: The Story of the Outlaw Butch Cassidy
. Hamilton, Mont.: Rocky Mountain House Press, 1986.

Pinkerton, William A.
Train Robberies, Train Robbers, and the Holdup Men
. New York: Arno Press, 1974.

Pointer, Larry.
In Search of Butch Cassidy
. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1977.

Poll, Richard D., ed.
Utah’s History
. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1978.

Prassel, Frank Richard.
The Great American Outlaw: A Legacy of Fact and Fiction
. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.

Sandoval, Judith Hancock.
Historic Ranches of Wyoming
. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986.

Selcer, Richard F.
Hell’s Half Acre
. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 1991.

Siringo, Charles A.
A Cowboy Detective: A True Story of Twenty-two Years with a World-Famous Detective Agency
. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988.

———.
Riata and Spurs: The Story of a Lifetime Spent in the Saddle as Cowboy and
Detective
. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1927.

Swallow, Alan., ed.
The Wild Bunch
. Denver, Colo.: Sage, 1966.

Trachtman, Paul.
The Gunfighters: Showdowns and Shootouts in the Old West
. New York: Time Life Books, 1974.

Waller, Brown.
Last of the Great Western Train Robbers
. South Brunswick, N.Y.: A. S. Barnes, 1968.

Warner, Matt, and Murray E. King.
The Last of the Bandit Riders
. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1940.

Wilde, Pat.
Treasured Tidbits of Time
. Vol. 1. Montpelier, Idaho: Wilde, 1977.

Articles

Boren, Kerry Ross. “Tom Vernon: Butch Cassidy Came Back.”
Outlaw Trail Journal
(Summer/Fall 1993).

Buck, Daniel, and Ann Meadows. “Escape from Mercedes: What the Wild Bunch Did in South America.”
Journal of
the Western Outlaw-Lawman History Association
(Spring/Summer 1991).

———. “The Many Deaths of Butch Cassidy.”
Pacific Northwest
(July 1987).

———. “Where Lies Butch Cassidy?”
Old West
(Fall 1991).

———. “The Wild Bunch in South America: Closing in on the Bank Robbers.”
Journal of the Western Outlaw-Lawman History Association
(Fall/Winter 1991).

———. “The Wild Bunch in South America: A Maze of Entanglements.”
Journal of the Western Outlaw-Lawman History Association
(Fall 1992).

———. “The Wild Bunch in South America: Merry Christmas from the Pinkertons.”
Journal of the Western Outlaw-Lawman History Association
(Spring 1992).

———. “The Wild Bunch in South America: Neighbors on the Hot Seat; Revelations from the Long-Lost Argentine Police File.”
Journal of the Western Outlaw-Lawman History Association
(Spring/Summer 1996).

Callan, Dan. “Butch Cassidy in Southern Nevada.”
Newsletter of the Western Outlaw-Lawman
History Association
(Summer 1995).

Carlson, Chip. “The Tipton Train Robbery.”
Journal of the Western Outlaw-Lawman History Association
(Summer 1995).

Chapman, Arthur. “Butch Cassidy.”
Elks Magazine
(April 1930).

Coleman, Max. “Cassidy in Wyoming.”
Frontier Times Magazine
, March 1976.

Condit, Thelma Gatchell. “The Hole-in-the-Wall.”
Annals of Wyoming
(October 1955–April 1962).

Crowell, Todd. “Did Cassidy Survive Last Shootout?”
Christian Science Monitor
, June 4, 1978.

Dullenty, Jim. “Did Regan Know Phillips and Cassidy?”
Journal of the Western Outlaw
-
Lawman History Association
(Spring 1992).

———. “Wagner Train Robbery.”
Old West
(Spring 1983).

———. “Was William T. Phillips Really Butch Cassidy?”
Westerners Brand Book
, Chicago Corral (November/December 1982).

———. “Who Really Was William T. Phillips of Spokane: Outlaw or Imposter?”
Journal of
the Western Outlaw-Lawman History Association
(Fall/Winter 1991).

Ernst, Donna B. “Blackened Gold and the Wild Bunch.”
Quarterly of the National Association and Center
for Outlaws and Lawman History
(January-March 1994).

———. “Sundance: The Missing Years.”
Old West
(Spring 1994).

Ernst, Paul D. “The Winnemucca Bank Holdup.”
Wild West
(June 1998).

Flack, Dora. “Butch Cassidy: The Living Dead.”
Frontier Times Magazine
(January 1981.

Francis, A. G. “The End of an Outlaw.”
World Wide Magazine
(May 1913).

Griffith, Elizabeth. “Sundance Kid: The Man in the Attic.”
Journal of the Western Outlaw
-
Lawman Association
(Spring/Summer 1966).

Haden, Willard C. “Butch Cassidy and the Great Montpelier Bank Robbery
.
”
Idaho Yesterdays
(Spring 1971).

Hayden, Willard C. “Butch Cassidy and the Great Montpelier Bank Robbery.”
Idaho Yesterdays
(Spring 1971).

Hunter, Marvin J. “The Wild Bunch of Robbers Roost.”
Frontier Times Magazine
(September 1928).

Kirby, Edward M. “Butch, Sundance, Etta Place Frolicked in ‘Fun City.’”
Newsletter of the
National Association and Center for Outlaw and Lawman History
(Winter 1975–1976).

Kyle, Thomas G. “Did Butch Cassidy Die in Spokane? Phillips Photo Fails.”
Old West
(Fall 1991).

Lacy, Steve, and Jim Dullenty. “Revealing Letters of Outlaw Butch Cassidy.”
Old West
(Winter 1984).

Longabaugh, William D. “The Sundance Kid: View from the Family.”
True West
(July 1984).

Martin, R. I. “A Lively Day at Belle Fourche.”
True West
(April 1962).

Meadows, Ann, and Dan Buck. “The Last Days of Butch and Sundance.”
Wild West
(February 1997).

———. “Showdown at San Vicente: The Case that Butch and Sundance Died in Bolivia.”
True West
(February 1993).

Patterson, Richard. “Butch Cassidy’s First Bank Robbery.”
Old West
(Summer 1995).

———. “Butch Cassidy’s ‘Peaceful Years’: 1889–1894.”
True West
(October 1996).