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Page 2 of the October 1996 ISSUE OF PASS PATROL CAMPFIRE TALES

The September issue included here contains the stories and not the advertisements. Keep in mind, the stories here were written in 1996.  

This issue includes
Outlaw Trail Spoof, Tipton Hold-up Getaway, Badhat & the Bear, Hancock Pass

WAGNER TRAIN ROBBERY

Kid Curry knew the area well. Prior to his outlaw career, he worked throughout eastern Montana as a ranchhand. Before getting into a fight and killing Pike Landusky, he operated a ranch near the town of Landusky. The hideout he chose for himself and his pals was on an island in the center of the Missouri River. To get there, he took them through a ravine called Hideaway Coulee, to the river's edge where a boat was hidden to get them to the island. A friend took their horses out to open range while the outlaws settled in to wait for the posse to get tired of looking for them.

Hideaway Coulee and Grand Island are on the map, however, there are no roads within five miles of either one so if you want to go there, strap on a pack. The preceding story is loosely based on the way Kid Curry tells it in his biography. That book, simply titled "Kid Curry" was written by F. Bruce Lamb. The ISBN number is 1-55566-084-3 and is published by Johnson Books. There are other versions of the robbery but I chose this one simply because it is the only version told by a participant in the event. If you read the book, keep in mind that outlaws had a tendency to exaggerate the parts they played.

The Wild Bunch had lots of friends everywhere they went. Montana was no different. Ranchers scattered across the state kept an eye on the posse and sent word back to the outlaws when the posse gave up and went back to Malta. The outlaws divided up the money and went separate ways from the island. They were all headed for Ft. Worth, Texas, but decided it would be safer to travel separately. According to Kid Curry, Sundance went east and took a trail along the Musselshell River toward Miles City. Cassidy headed west. Kid Curry headed south through Wyoming to Rawlins which would have taken him past Hole in the Wall.

Our plan was to connect Malta, Montana to Hole in the Wall. We were able to cut cross country in the same general direction as Sundance Kid, then turned south.