An Outlaw Til The End
The Sundance Kid is synonymous with the Old West. A gunslinger plucked straight from a spaghetti western, his life with Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch was one of daring robberies, dynamic gunfights, and thrilling escapes. But his fast living would eventually catch up to him, though not until he was halfway around the world…
1. He Was Not A Western Native
The Sundance Kid was born Harry Alonzo Longabaugh in 1867, though he was a long way from where he would earn his nickname. Born to parents Josiah and Annie, the Longabaugh Kid started life in Mont Clare, Pennsylvania. And he had competition from the start.
Twentieth Century, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
2. He Was The Family Baby
Longabaugh was the youngest of five children born to his parents. Being that he had older brothers, he was the last in line for any potential inheritance his parents may have left. Perhaps it was his familial position that inspired him to strike out on his own.
Campanile Productions, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
3. He Headed West
When he was just 15, Longabaugh’s cousin George decided to up and head west, as many Americans were during the nation’s 19th century expansion. The young man decided to join his cousin to help him set up his homestead near Cortez, Colorado. The two travelled the long, arduous journey by covered wagon. But George had no work for his cousin.
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4. He Got An Early Opportunity
Luckily, the West was a land of opportunity for Longabaugh. Though his cousin had no place for the young man on his farm, Longabaugh quickly found work at a neighboring ranch as a wrangler. Here he began to hone his skills.
Quinn Mattingly, Wikimedia Commons
5. He Learned To Be A Cowboy
While working on the ranch, Longabaugh would develop skills befitting his eventual Old West outlaw role. He learned the tricks of the equestrian trade, gaining proficiency in horse buying and horse breeding. But the kid had an independent streak that he just couldn’t suppress.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Original Trailer [HD] | Coolidge Corner Theatre, thecoolidge
6. He Struck Out On His Own
In 1886, the now-19-year-old Longabaugh left Cortez and hit the road. Over the next few months, he drifted north, picking up odd jobs here and there at various ranches. He eventually entered new territory where another opportunity caught his eye.
Charles O'Rear, Wikimedia Commons
7. He Got A New Job…
Longabaugh eventually entered the newly European-settled Montana Territory. There, he found work at the now-historic N Bar N Ranch, again as a wrangler. His stay there would only be brief, however, because the elements had other plans.
Erwin E. Smith, Wikimedia Commons
8. …And Then He Lost It
The winter of 1886-1887 was infamously harsh, proving especially difficult on the cattle industry in the West. Such was the effect that it led to an entire reorganization of ranching, ending the open range era. Longabaugh suffered too as the winter conditions forced the N Bar N Ranch to lay off several wranglers. Times started to get more desperate for the young rancher.
David Kitto, Wikimedia Commons
9. He Turned To Unlawful Acts
Finding himself adrift once again, Longabaugh made his way to the Black Hills to find work but was unsuccessful. Left with little choice, he turned back toward Montana. By 1887, he had made it as far as Sundance, Wyoming, where the desperate young prospector robbed a firearm, horse, and saddle from a cowboy. Longabaugh had gotten a taste of the outlaw life—and there was no turning back.
Campanile Productions, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
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10. He Paid For His Transgressions
New to the game, Longabaugh’s first stint as an outlaw did not last long. Authorities quickly detained the young bandit in Miles City, Montana. There, a judge sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment. But rather than serve as a deterrence, this internment solidified the young outlaw’s new identity.
11. He Was Reborn
While on the inside, Longabaugh gained the nickname he would adopt for the rest of his life. Named for the town in which he committed his first (known) offence and the fact that he was only 15 when he left home, Longabaugh may have entered that jailhouse, but it was the Sundance Kid that emerged. Now a free man, his first move was…anticlimactic.
12. He Headed Up North
The Sundance Kid did not immediately return to a life of misdeeds. He decided first to seek opportunity in the Great White North, and by 1891, found himself working as a ranch hand at the Bar U Ranch, one of the largest commercial ranches in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The Kid’s adopted country seemed to treat him much better than his native America—or so he thought.
Traveler100, Wikimedia Commons
13. He Became An Entrepreneur
The Sundance Kid continued to find success in Canada. Heading west, he eventually became joint owner of a saloon in Calgary, crossing off another square on his Old West bingo card. However, his outlaw nature soon got the better of him.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
14. He Lost A Dispute
The Sundance Kid evidently had a hot temper, and it didn’t take long before he got into a quarrel with his saloon business partner. There is little information about the nature of the dispute, but it was apparently bad enough for the Kid to not only give up his stake in the saloon but to leave the country entirely. He turned his sights on an old contact.
15. He Came Crawling Back
Bitter about his misfortune in Canada, the Sundance Kid headed back to the good old US, where he resumed his employment at the N Bar N Ranch in Montana. He would return north on occasion, however, as his duties now included rustling cattle and horses across Montana and the bordering regions of Canada. It seems that the Kid was not entirely satisfied with his apparent step back, however.
C. Guy Powles (1872–1951)[1], Wikimedia Commons
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16. He Resumed His Destiny
It appears the Sundance Kid grew tired of ranch life, because it seems he took up a life of lawlessness shortly after returning to the US. In particular, the outlaw was a suspect in two major operations: a train heist in 1892 and a bank heist in 1897. Whether he was actually involved in these transgressions has never been confirmed. But one thing is certain: he had fallen in with the wrong crowd.
Butch Cassidy/Sundance Kid- Train robbery, O-Dog Kubrick
17. He Found A Crew
During this time, the Sundance Kid became associated with an infamous group of criminals. Headed by well-known outlaw Robert Leroy Parker, better known as Butch Cassidy, the Wild Bunch gained notoriety for an unstoppable series of robberies across the Old West. The Kid seems to have fit in quite well.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
18. He Was A Fast Hand
With his years of ranch work, the Sundance Kid had become a dab hand with a firearm. Reportedly one of the fastest draws in the West, and with accuracy to boot, he gained a reputation as a skilled gunfighter. His talent left others in the dust.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Cliff Scene, Movie Clip Microcosm - what movies mean to us.
19. He Gained A Name For Himself
Before the Sundance Kid’s entry into the gang, the Wild Bunch’s most famous gunslinger was a man named Kid Curry, who was infamously responsible for several enemy fatalities during the gang’s exploits. But now there was (literally) a new Kid in town; Longabaugh’s skill was greater than Kid Curry’s and he quickly became even more well known, to civilians and law enforcement alike.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
20. He Defended His Post
The Sundance Kid found himself involved in several thrilling gunfights with the Wild Bunch over the next few years, and his skill was on full display. One incident involved the gang defending their hideout from lawmen, who had trailed another gang to the Wild Bunch’s Hole-in-the-Wall hideout in Wyoming. A massive gunfight broke out in which the Sundance Kid allegedly wounded two officers. This put a price on his head.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - Knife Fight Scene (1/5) | Movieclips, Movieclips
21. His Face Got Plastered Everywhere
The Hole-in-the-Wall gunfight resulted in several casualties, including five law enforcement officers. A manhunt began for the Wild Bunch, and the law posted “Wanted dead or alive” posters of the known members throughout the United States, offering a whopping $30,000 reward for information that would lead to the gang’s capture. The Sundance Kid had to lay low—but he didn’t relax.
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22. He Laid Low…Kinda
The Wild Bunch decided it best to split up for now, and the two gunslinging Kids, Sundance and Curry, holed up in a log cabin in Cody, Wyoming. The outlaws were restless, however, and couldn’t resist the temptation to plan and execute another bank heist, this time in Red Lodge, Montana. They needed to move hideouts anyway.
23. He Took High Ground
From there, the two outlaws moved to a new hideout in the mountains near Kaycee, Wyoming. This was a much safer spot to lay low because, due to the high ground of the hideout, the Kids had a view in all directions of the surrounding territory. Lawmen didn’t dare approach them for fear of getting sniped. By now, the Wild Bunch had cemented their place in history.
Internet Archive Book Images, Wikimedia Commons
24. He Set A Record
The Wild Bunch is the most triumphant robbing gang of all time, holding the Old West record for longest string of successful train and bank robberies in American history. The Sundance Kid played no small part in that success—and the state had to meet that success with equal force.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Original Trailer [HD] | Coolidge Corner Theatre, thecoolidge
25. He Got Hunted
With the long arm of the federal government extending into the West, the authorities had to do something about the outlaw problem. They turned to the notorious Pinkerton Detective Agency, hiring their agents to pursue outlaws like the Sundance Kid for lucrative rewards. With the heat turned up, the Wild Bunch began to feel the pressure.
Infrogmation, Wikimedia Commons
26. His World Fell Around Him
By the turn of the century, the Wild Bunch were beginning to feel the squeeze. The rapidly industrializing, federalizing country meant that Old West outlaws were becoming a thing of the past. With countless law enforcement agencies in pursuit of the gang, it began to fall apart, with members scattering in their separate ways across the land. But the Sundance Kid stuck with his leader.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
27. He Headed East
Together with Wild Bunch leader Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid set his sights on his next destination. The two outlaws decided to head to the last place the law would think to look, the belly of the developed beast, New York City. It was only a pitstop, however.
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28. He Fled Into Exile
Along with his fearless leader, the Sundance Kid also had his romantic companion, Etta Place, in tow. The trio did not stay in NYC for long. On February 20, 1901, they set sail aboard the British steamer Herminius. The Kid’s lady friend provided good cover for Cassidy, the most well known of the Bunch, who posed as Etta’s fake brother, James Ryan. The trio wanted to get as far from the US as possible.
DeYoung Photography Studio, Wikimedia Commons
29. He Headed To The End Of The Earth
With the level of heat on the Wild Bunch members, Cassidy and the Sundance Kid made sure they settled somewhere even the ever-resourceful Pinkertons’ eye could not find them. So, they headed as far south as they could, eventually landing in Argentina. There, they took on a huge new endeavor.
30. He Went Back To His Roots
The Sundance Kid was good at two things: outlawing and ranching. Since the former was no longer an option, the exiled trio purchased a 15,000-acre ranch on the east bank of the Rio Blanco near Cholila, Argentina. With stunning views of the Andes Mountains from their four-room log cabin, they set to work making their living—and it was bigger than anyone imagined.
31. He Had A Lot Of Livestock
A letter written by Butch Cassidy to a friend in Utah dated August 10, 1902, shows just how well the Sundance Kid and his companions did down south. Describing in the letter his “little family of three”, Cassidy went on to claim that the outlaws possessed a whopping 300 cattle, 1500 sheep, and 28 horses. But despite their vast resources, old habits die hard.
Norbert Nagel, Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany, Wikimedia Commons
32. He May Have Gotten Back In The Game
On February 14, 1905, a bank in in Río Gallego, 700 miles south of Cholila, was held up by two English-speaking robbers. After acquiring a substantial sum of money, the two gunmen fled north across the Patagonian grasslands. The pair is widely assumed to be Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It appears the boys were back in the game, and their behavior following the incident lends further credence to the theory.
33. He Felt The Pressure Once Again
Whether or not Cassidy and the Kid committed the heist, the rumors alone were enough to spark paranoia in the outlaws. Fearing that law enforcement had gotten word of their location, they sold their ranch on May 1, 1905, and quickly fled. Turns out they had gotten out of dodge just in time.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Original Trailer [HD] | Coolidge Corner Theatre, thecoolidge
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34. He Got Tracked Down
It turns out the outlaws’ paranoia was not unfounded. The Pinkerton Agency had indeed discovered their location and had known for some time. They sent agent Frank Dimaio down to Argentina to make an arrest. However, by a stroke of sheer luck, a hard, snowy winter hit the Patagonia region which prevented Dimaio from travelling to the Kid’s remote ranch. The Sundance Kid had a head start, but nevertheless, he was on the run again.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Original Trailer [HD] | Coolidge Corner Theatre, thecoolidge
35. He Was A Wanted Man Yet Again
Having found the ranch under new ownership, the Pinkerton Agency used their US government connections and appealed to local law enforcement. Governor Julio Lezana issued a warrant for the arrest of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, fearing the trouble the two Yankee outlaws could bring to the region. But the boys had some lifelines too.
36. He Got A Head Start
Luckily, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid had some friends in law places; a local Welsh-Argentine Sheriff, Edward Humphreys, had befriended the duo. Apparently enamored of the Kid’s partner, Etta Place, too, when the Sheriff got word of the arrest warrant, he tipped the trio off which gave them a head start. It was time to head for the border.
Photo by Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
37. He Left Yet Another Country
With the law hot on their trail, the Sundance Kid and his companions fled north. Rehashing their initial escape plan, the trio once again boarded a steamer, this time heading across the Nahuel Huapi Lake, and into Chile. It didn’t take long for the Kid to hit more trouble with local law.
38. He Assumed A New Identity
There is little information about the Sundance Kid’s activities within the first few months of his arrival in Chile. We do know, however, that he adopted a new identity as Frank Boyd–and that despite the name change, the man remained the same. On August 21, 1905, “Boyd” was detained after fatally wounding an officer in a drunken gunfight in Antofagasta, Chile. Luckily for him, the authorities didn’t know who they had caught.
39. He Had A Risky Escape Plan
Not long after his arrest, Frank Boyd secured release on a substantial bond (equivalent to about US$50,000 in today’s money). His cover was never blown, however. In fact, the Sundance Kid was so confident in his disguise that he actually enlisted the help of the US government! The US vice-consul assisted the expat in leaving Chile, and the Kid eventually ended up in Bolivia. This cover story remained strong for a very long time.
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40. His Cover Lasted Over A Century
Amazingly, the true identity of Frank Boyd remained undiscovered until 2022! A pair of historians documenting the Sundance Kid’s stint in South America unearthed an old and recently digitized news article about the Antofagasta incident and, when paired with the troves of other evidence and documentation they had found, confirmed the truth behind Boyd’s story. Back in 1905, though, things continued to unravel.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Original Trailer [HD] | Coolidge Corner Theatre, thecoolidge
41. His Lady Grew Weary
After another spate of robberies in towns surrounding the Andes Mountains, Etta Place decided she was tired of life on the run. After some persuading, the Sundance Kid agreed to take his beau back to the United States and travelled back with her to San Francisco on June 30, 1906. He was only around the US long enough to evade capture, but Place may have had an influence on him.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Original Trailer [HD] | Coolidge Corner Theatre, thecoolidge
42. He Got An Honest Job
While the Sundance Kid was away, Butch Cassidy adopted the alias James “Santiago” Maxwell. Finding himself alone and with no partner with whom to rob banks, he decided to go legit and got honest work at the Concordia Tin Mine in the central Bolivian Andes. Upon the Sundance Kid’s return to South America, he joined his old partner and the outlaws became miners. It lasted about as long as you’d expect.
Users CDA, Greenmountainboy on en.wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons
43. He Couldn’t Resist The Outlaw Life
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid once again grew tired of honest work. On November 3, 1908, a courier carrying the payroll for the Aramayo Silver Mine was held up by two masked American bandits, widely assumed to be our antiheroes. But the boys had gotten sloppy in their old age.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Original Trailer [HD] | Coolidge Corner Theatre, thecoolidge
44. He Was Careless
Three days later, witnesses spotted Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in San Vicente. Holed up in a small boarding house, a fellow lodger, Bonifacio Casasola, got suspicious when he noticed that his housemates had a mule in tow with the branding of the Aramayo Mine. Word of the heist had reached San Vicente, and Casasola put two and two together.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
45. He Got Snitched On
Casasola quickly notified the local telegraph officer of the presence of the two outlaws, who in turn notified a nearby cavalry regiment station. Three soldiers dispatched and, in tandem with local authorities, the officials closed in on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
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46. He Had One Last Stand
On the evening of November 6, 1908, the Sundance Kid’s lodging house found itself surrounded by soldiers and lawmen, fully intent on arresting the two outlaws. But the last remaining Wild Bunch members were not going down without a fight. They opened fire on the approaching authorities, kicking off a gunfight that would end up lasting several hours into the night.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - Blaze of Glory Scene (5/5) | Movieclips, Movieclips
47. He Had The Final Word
At around 2am, the fighting lulled, with both sides exhausted. The mayor of San Vincente, who was present for the gunfight, later reported hearing three loud screams from inside the boarding house, followed by two successive shots fired. There was no more fighting after that. Authorities braced for the worst.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - Blaze of Glory Scene (5/5) | Movieclips, Movieclips
48. His Friend Took Him Out
The next morning, authorities entered the boarding house, where they found the bodies of the two men. The local police report later determined what happened: from the position of the bodies, it appears as though the Sundance Kid had been fatally wounded and, as a mercy, Butch Cassidy had put him out of his misery before taking his own life. It was a fitting end for the Wild Bunch outlaws…even if the authorities didn’t quite know who they were dealing with.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty
49. He Never Got Identified
Although the Bolivian authorities identified the men as the same ones that had robbed the Amayo payroll transport, they had no idea that the two outlaws were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid of the Wild Bunch infamy. They buried the two bandits unceremoniously in a local cemetery in San Vicente. The Sundance Kid had finally met his demise…or had he?
50. He May Have Survived
Later attempts to find the bodies of the two men proved unsuccessful, leading to rumors that the Sundance Kid may have actually survived the encounter and fled back to the United States. Allegedly, he had taken on the name William Henry Long and settled in Utah.
However, DNA evidence testing on bodies exhumed in San Vicente as well as Long’s remains in Utah failed to find any link with DNA obtained from a distant relative of Longabaugh’s. We may never know what really happened to the Sundance Kid, which only adds to his incredible legend.
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