Big Nose George
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| − | '''George Parrott''', also known as '''Big Nose George''', '''George Manuse''' and '''George Warden''', was a [[cattle rustler]] and [[highwayman]] in the American | + | '''George Parrott''', also known as '''Big Nose George''', '''"Au-Groz-Nez" George''', '''George Manuse''' and '''George Warden''', was a [[cattle rustler]] and [[highwayman]] in the American Wild West in the late 19th century. His skin was made into a pair of shoes after his execution and part of his skull was used as an ashtray. |
==Outlaw== | ==Outlaw== | ||
| − | + | A noted [[outlaw]] and [[road agent]], whose territory covered the [[Black Hills]] to Elk Mountain country, near Rawlins, WY. Numerous holdups of the [[Cheyenne - Black Hills Stage Line]]. | |
| − | In | + | In 1878, Parrott and his gang murdered two law enforcement officers—[[Wyoming]] deputy sheriff Robert Widdowfield and [[Union Pacific]] detective Tip Vincent—while trying to escape following a bungled train robbery. |
| − | + | They removed a tie (or a rail?) from the track of the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] and laid it across the track in order to cause the train to wreck and plunge into the 150 deep gorge. A railroad worker spotted the damage in time to avert the wreck. | |
| − | + | (more details needed here) | |
| − | + | Widdowfield and Vincent were ordered to track down Parrott's gang on August 19, 1878, following the attempted robbery on an isolated stretch of track near the [[Medicine Bow River]]. The officers traced the outlaws to a camp at Rattlesnake Canyon, near [[Elk Mountain, Wyoming|Elk Mountain]], where they were spotted by a gang lookout. The robbers stamped out their fire and hid in a bush but, when Widdowfield arrived at the scene, he realised the ashes of the fire were still hot. The gang then opened fire and Widdowfield was shot in the face. Vincent tried to escape, but was shot before he made it out of the canyon. The gang stole the weapons of both men, as well as one of their horses, before covering up the bodies and fleeing the area. The murder of the two lawmen was quickly discovered and a $10,000 reward was offered for the "apprehension of their murderers". This was later doubled to $20,000. | |
| − | [[ | + | In February (?or January?) 1879, Big Nose George and his cohorts were in Milestown, later present day [[Miles City, Montana]]. It was known around Milestown that a prosperous local merchant, one [[Morris Cahn]] would be taking money east to buy stocks of merchandise. Big Nose George, Charlie Burris and two others planned and carried out a daring daylight robbery even though Morris Cahn was traveling with a group of 15 soldiers, two officers, an ambulance and a wagon from [[Fort Keogh]], who were going east to collect the army payroll. At a site about 10 miles beyond the Powder River Crossing, about 2 miles west of present day Terry, Montana, there is a steep coulee (known ever since as "Cahn's Coulee"). Approaching the coulee over a five-mile plateau, the soldiers, ambulance and the wagon got strung out. The gang donned masks and stationed themselves at the bottom of the coulee, at a turn in the trail. The gang first surprised and then captured the lead element of soldiers, as well as the ambulance with Cahn and the officers. Then they waited and likewise captured the rear element of soldiers with the wagon. Cahn was robbed of somewhere between $3,200 and $14,000, depending on who was doing the reporting. |
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| + | ==Arrests== | ||
| + | Following the robbery of Cahn, the boys live it up in Miles City. | ||
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| + | :From Jim Masterson's "It Happened in Montana- Vol IV": During the winter of '86 (sic), this bill, dilapidated, torn and crudely patched, made the rounds of the commercial channels common to Miles City in those care free, law free days. Gamblers said it brought bad luck. One of them, Conn, leaving for Bismark by stage (sic) offered to take it out of town. That night the stage was held up by a lone bandit (sic) and the passengers robbed four miles west (sic) of Terry at what has since been known as Conn's Coulee. The next day Big Nose George, who had long been suspected of nefarious deeds, strolled into the [[Gray Mule Saloon]] in Miles City, ordered drinks for the house, nonchalantly tendered in payment- the patched twenty dollar bill. | ||
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| + | [[Hank Wormwood]] arrested Big Nose (and probably a few others) near Buffalo Rapids a couple of months later [March 1879?]. They are soon freed on perjured evidence. | ||
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| + | Through the rest of 1879 and into 1880, Parrott and his gang hang around Miles City, frequenting the saloons and [[John Chinick]]'s cabin at his ranch a few block north of Main Street. (Chinnick's hosting of outlaws and toughs would culminate in the fake "lynching" of his bartender in 1883 by "vigilantes" and his accidental death during his expulsion from town.) | ||
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| + | Big Nose George Parrott and his second, [[Charlie Burris]] or "Dutch Charley" (another account refers to [[Jack Campbell]] instead, were arrested in Miles City by two local deputies, [[Lem Wilson]] and [[Fred Schmalsle]], after Big Nose and Charlie got drunk and boasted of killing the two Wyoming lawmen, thus identifying themselves as men with a price on their head. A ruse was used to arrest them, with Sheriff Tom Irvine and Deputy Jack Johnson staying away to avoid alerting the gang. Parott was returned to Wyoming to face charges of murder. [[19 July 1880]] Lem Wilson and Fred Schmalsle approached Parrott at John Chinick's cabin, where he was staying. Parrott was sitting the doorway enjoying the evening breezes when Schmalsle "told him to throw up, placing a pistol to his left ear." They then did the same with Jack Campbell at at a local saloon. | ||
==Lynching== | ==Lynching== | ||
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Beidler suffered his frustrations regarding "Big Nose" George. When Schalsle made the last arrest in 1880 the Wyoming athorities were contacted immediately. Quietly and secretly a small detachment of lawdogs from down there came up, whisked Parrott out the back door of the county jail at Miles City (to avoid potential reprisal from gang members) and took him back to Wyoming to face 1878 murder charges. | Beidler suffered his frustrations regarding "Big Nose" George. When Schalsle made the last arrest in 1880 the Wyoming athorities were contacted immediately. Quietly and secretly a small detachment of lawdogs from down there came up, whisked Parrott out the back door of the county jail at Miles City (to avoid potential reprisal from gang members) and took him back to Wyoming to face 1878 murder charges. | ||
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==See also== | ==See also== | ||
