A Legend Like No Other
Few outlaws met stranger or more disturbing ends than Big Nose George Parrott. A highwayman, cattle rustler, and confessed murderer, his violent crimes made him infamous across Wyoming. But it was what happened after his death that ensured him a permanent place in the pages of Wild West history.
Born Far From The Frontier
George Parrott was born on March 20, 1834, in Montbéliard, France. Little is known with certainty about his childhood or education. Sometime during the 1860s, he left Europe for America, abandoning the life he had known in search of opportunity on a rapidly expanding frontier.
Reinventing Himself
Like many frontier criminals, Parrott used multiple aliases, including George Warden and George Manuse. His large, distinctive nose earned him the nickname "Big Nose George," though some historians believe the name may also have reflected a variation of his French surname.
Drifting Into Crime
Rather than becoming a rancher or prospector, Parrott took more of a liking to to the outlaw life. By the 1870s he was involved in horse theft, cattle rustling, and highway robbery throughout Wyoming Territory, developing a reputation as an unpredictable and dangerous criminal.
Robbing The Stagecoaches
Parrott and his associates frequently targeted stagecoaches carrying cash, payrolls, and valuables. The isolated roads of Wyoming offered ideal conditions for ambushes, allowing the gang to disappear into rugged country before organized posses could respond.
Bigger Targets Beckoned
Success encouraged greater ambition. Instead of robbing travelers, Parrott began plotting attacks on Union Pacific payroll trains. Railroad payrolls often contained thousands of dollars in cash, making them irresistible prizes for increasingly daring outlaw gangs.
The Medicine Bow Plot
In August 1878, Parrott's gang attempted to derail a Union Pacific payroll train near the Medicine Bow River by loosening a rail and preparing to pull it free with telegraph wire. Alert railroad workers spotted the damaged track before disaster struck.
A Failed Robbery
The train never left the rails, and the attempted robbery collapsed before it began. Forced to abandon the scene, Parrott and his companions fled into the nearby hills, hoping to avoid the inevitable pursuit by railroad detectives and local law enforcement.
The Pursuit Begins
Union Pacific detective Tip Vincent and Carbon County deputy sheriff Robert Widdowfield were assigned to track down the fleeing outlaws. Their search led them toward Rattlesnake Canyon near Elk Mountain, where Parrott's gang had established a temporary camp.
An Ambush In The Canyon
The officers unknowingly approached a hidden gang lying in wait. After realizing the campfire ashes were still warm, Widdowfield recognized the outlaws were nearby—but before either lawman could react, Parrott's gang opened fire from concealment.
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Two Officers Gunned Down
Widdowfield was shot in the face and killed almost instantly. Vincent attempted to escape but was also gunned down before he could flee the canyon. The gang stole weapons and horses before hiding the bodies and disappearing into Wyoming's wilderness.
Wyoming Demanded Justice
The murders shocked Wyoming Territory. Authorities offered a substantial reward for the killers, and Parrott became one of the territory's most wanted fugitives. Newspapers eagerly covered every rumor concerning the outlaw responsible for the notorious double homicide.
Life On The Run
For nearly two years, Parrott successfully avoided capture while continuing criminal activities. Although he enjoyed some success robbing travelers, he never again attempted a robbery as ambitious as the failed Union Pacific payroll train plot.
Loose Lips Ended Everything
Parrott's downfall came about not through brilliant detective work but through his own drunken boasting. After robbing a train in Terry, Montana, he and his associate "Dutch" Charlie Burris were arrested in Miles City, Montana. Over the course of his drunken ranting, Parrott bragged about murdering the Wyoming officers, unknowingly revealing his identity to local authorities.
Returned To Wyoming
Once identified, Parrott was extradited to Rawlins, Wyoming, to stand trial. Public opinion had already turned overwhelmingly against him, and many residents viewed the coming proceedings as little more than a formality before execution.
Convicted Of Murder
Parrott pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the deaths of Widdowfield and Vincent. The court sentenced him to hang, scheduling the execution for April 2, 1881. Few doubted he would soon face justice for his crimes.
One Last Escape Attempt
While awaiting execution, Parrott managed to loosen his leg irons using a pocketknife and a piece of sandstone. He assaulted jailer Robert Rankin and attempted to seize his revolver before Rankin's wife Rosa intervened with remarkable courage.
The Mob Takes Over
Enraged townspeople feared another escape attempt might succeed. On March 22, 1881, an angry mob stormed the jail, dragged Parrott into the streets, and carried him toward a telegraph pole to conduct their own immediate form of frontier justice.
A Brutal Lynching
The first hanging attempt failed when the rope broke, dropping Parrott violently to the ground. After replacing the rope, the mob forced him back onto a ladder and completed the lynching before hundreds of spectators gathered in Rawlins.
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Claimed By A Doctor
Because no relatives claimed the body, physicians Dr. John Eugene Osborne and Dr. Thomas Maghee requested possession of the corpse. They intended to study Parrott's brain, believing criminal behavior might leave visible physical abnormalities inside the skull.
Science Became Desecration
The examination quickly crossed into something far more disturbing. Osborne created a death mask, removed large sections of skin from Parrott's thighs and chest, and sent the hide to a Denver tannery with highly unusual instructions.
Shoes Made From Human Skin
The tannery fashioned Parrott's skin into a pair of leather shoes and a medical bag for Osborne. Although the bag later disappeared, the shoes survived and became among the most infamous artifacts associated with any American outlaw.
The Skull's Strange Journey
Parrott's skull was sawn into two pieces. The upper portion eventually went to medical assistant Lillian Heath, who later became Wyoming's first female physician. The lower portion remained with the rest of the skeleton, which was stored in a whiskey barrel.
Governor Osborne's Grisly Fashion
Years later, Osborne entered his inaugural celebration after becoming Wyoming's governor while wearing the shoes crafted from Big Nose George's skin. The bizarre act permanently linked the respected physician and politician with the notorious outlaw he had dissected.
Rediscovered Decades Later
Construction workers unearthed Parrott's buried remains in 1950. The whiskey barrel still contained bones, the lower skull, and other evidence connecting the remains to the infamous outlaw. Later examinations confirmed the remarkable story was rooted in historical fact.
Myths And Misconceptions
Legends later falsely claimed Parrott belonged to Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, despite dying years before that gang existed. Rumors were also swapped around many a campfire linking him to Frank and Jesse James, but historians generally dismiss those stories as falsehoods.
An Unforgettable Legacy
Big Nose George's crimes alone would have earned him a place in Wyoming history. Instead, his shocking postmortem fate transformed him into one of the American West's strangest legends—a reminder that frontier justice could sometimes become every bit as disturbing as the criminals it punished.
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