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You're listening to American Shadows, a

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production of I Heart Radio and Grim

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and Mild from Aaron Manky. Tales

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of the American West have long fascinated

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us. Stories of cowboys,

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wagon trains, and gold rushes speak

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to an unpamed spirit in the eye for

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adventure. Even after the

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Civil War, news articles about the

0:32

new Western frontier were read as

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eagerly as the latest bestsellers.

0:38

Maybe the appeal stemmed from the long ravages

0:40

of war the West offered a new way

0:42

of life, or perhaps people

0:44

were enthralled by the draw of possibilities

0:47

out in open country where people struck

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it rich in gold, oil, or land.

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But it wasn't the prairies or distant

0:54

mountains alone. People were

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the real story, especially horse

0:59

thieves and cattle wrestlers, as well as

1:01

bank, train and stagecoach robbers.

1:04

Equally fascinating were the lawmen who

1:06

went after them.

1:08

When it comes to the sheriffs and marshalls wearing

1:10

that gold star, many of us undoubtedly

1:13

think of why Morgan and Virgil earp

1:15

along with their friend Doc Holiday. Of

1:18

all the histories surrounding them, none

1:20

is more enduring than the shootout at the Okay Corral.

1:23

Though the gunfight itself lasted only thirty

1:25

seconds. As

1:27

for cattle wrestlers, horse thieves, and murderers,

1:30

names like Billy the Kid made for great

1:33

headlines. The kid nickname

1:35

stemmed from his age. He was just twenty

1:37

one when he died, which was also the number

1:39

of men that he killed. Cattle

1:42

and horse theft might have been the equivalent of a

1:44

Wild West car theft ring, but

1:47

the real money was in robbing banks, stage

1:49

coaches, and trains. From

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Jesse James to the Dalton Gang, armed

1:53

robberies were as much a part of the West as cowboys

1:56

and saloons. Jesse

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James pulled off nineteen robberies.

2:01

The Dalton Gang started as lawmen before

2:03

finding better pay pulling off bank heists

2:05

and robbing trains. Part

2:07

of their claim to fame was not one, but two

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bank robberies at the same time in

2:12

broad daylight. But

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few have ever captured our attention like

2:17

Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid. Born

2:20

Robert Leroy Parker, he adopted

2:22

the Cassidy moniker to protect his family's

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good name. He left home early,

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finding life in cattle wrestling more lucrative

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than small town work. Soon

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his gang known as the Wild Bunch,

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began robbing trains. Their

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heists were always well planned. Occasionally

2:39

the addresses waiters at gala events

2:41

to gain information on the trains would

2:44

be on them and other details to help them pull off

2:46

the job. Cassidy had

2:48

a reputation for never batting an eye during

2:50

a robbery, but he did have a

2:52

weak spot. His lack of etiquette

2:54

knowledge made him incredibly nervous as

2:56

he did his best to properly serve the rich

2:59

party guests. Harry

3:01

Longabu, also known as the Sun Dance Kid,

3:04

didn't meet Cassidy until they worked at a ranch

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together. While they would end

3:08

up two of the most famous outlaws,

3:10

neither was prone to gun violence. In

3:13

fact, people thought they were friendly and

3:15

everyone said they were helpful. Though

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Cassidy and sun Dance pulled off robberies

3:21

that would be worth ten million today,

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they had a code of ethics assure

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they had robbed trains and banks, but

3:27

common folk were off limits. Cassidy

3:30

never shot anyone during a hold up either.

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Lawmen on their trail labeled them as the

3:36

most shrewd and daring outlaws in the

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West, but don't mistake

3:40

daring for carelessness. The

3:42

gang's success came from Cassidy

3:44

and sun Dances meticulous planning.

3:48

The men spent hours training horses

3:50

in ways that aided the gang in their robberies.

3:52

They also took their time planning, often

3:54

months, to avoid capture.

3:57

No detail was too small. Over

4:00

the years, though they tired of life on

4:02

the run. Cassidy once

4:04

asked a lawyer if he couldn't do something

4:06

to earn himself a pardon and settle down.

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Disheartened but not surprised at the

4:11

answer, he made plans with Sundance

4:14

for one last heist that used

4:16

the money to fund a new way of life in Bolivia.

4:18

Down in South America. They

4:20

pulled it off too. Before

4:23

leaving, Cassidy stopped by a local ranchers

4:25

place. The rancher's son had

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always been enamored with Cassidy's horse, and

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the outlaw gifted it to him.

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The two fled to South America after that. It's

4:35

still a mystery whether they died during

4:37

a shootout with the Pinkerton detectives who eventually

4:39

tracked them down, or if they escaped

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once more. DNA

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from the bodies at the side of the shootout has since

4:46

proved they were not Cassidy or sun

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Dance. No matter

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whether you envision an epic shootout where

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Butch and Sundance died in a blaze of glory

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or an ingenious dodge where they once

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again planned the perfect escape,

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They've left us with an enduring and legendary

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story. Some outlaws,

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though, have left behind something darker.

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I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. Welcome

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to American Shadows. His

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name was George Friederic Menus.

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Maybe you've never heard of a French

5:27

Wild West outlaw, but George

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was born in Montbeille, of France on March

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eighteen thirty four. He was

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married there too, to Lucie Mathilde

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m Lindon. The

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two shared deep roots in the area and

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soon became parents to a boy.

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All seemed well until George left his family

5:46

and traveled to America on April seventeenth

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of eighteen sixty two. While

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that alone wasn't done heard of, plenty

5:54

of immigrants established themselves in America

5:56

before sending for their families, but

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George didn't. He cut

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ties and changed his first name to George

6:03

and his last name to Parrot like

6:05

the bird, but with a second tea and

6:08

sure immigrants often changed their

6:10

names in an attempt to fit in, or maybe

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to make a name easier for English speakers

6:14

to pronounce George,

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though given his appearance, it

6:19

seems more likely that he took the physical feature

6:21

and embraced it. He stood

6:23

five ft ten and weighed a hundred and sixty pounds.

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His hair and mustache were dark and bushy, and

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his eyes were dark and heavily litted. George

6:32

wasn't really considered handsome, but

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he did have one standout feature,

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his nose. His nose

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was large. Some say it looked

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like a parrot's beak, hence the nickname's

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big Nose George and big beak

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Parrot. George

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headed west, where the lore and promise

6:51

of land parcels were common and railroads

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made the trip easy. Some of the largest

6:56

and richest employers were also out west.

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Once into Code territory, George

7:01

found that an honest man could make an honest

7:03

day's wages if he was willing to put

7:05

in the back breaking work. He

7:08

found employment as a freight wagon driver, hauling

7:11

supplies to gold rushed towns. From

7:14

there, he worked the railroad on gold or

7:16

shipments to the Union Pacific Railroad depots

7:18

in Sydney, Nebraska and Cheyenne,

7:20

Wyoming, all honest

7:23

work and honest pay. George

7:26

found the competition tough, though the

7:28

West was full of other immigrants and settlers,

7:30

all trying to cash in on the government's offer

7:33

of free land, much to the Dakota

7:35

people's dismay. As you might imagine, the

7:38

West was pretty close to a free for all.

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Sure, there were law men, but in some

7:43

cases by the barest of definitions.

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Before long, George found a lucrative

7:48

job with a gang of seven cattle wrestlers.

7:52

Stage coaches became their next target. After

7:55

a string of successful robberies, the emboldened

7:58

gang felt confident in their ability to pull

8:00

off something larger. This

8:02

time, they set their sights on the Union Pacific

8:04

Railroad. Probably

8:06

inspired by the finesse with which Butch

8:08

Cassidy and the Sundance Kid pulled off train

8:10

robberies. George and the gang might

8:12

have thought it would be an easy payday.

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They'd leave the gold it was heavy and

8:17

made fast getaways difficult. Instead,

8:20

they set their sights on the payroll money that

8:22

should be on board. But

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George and the gang didn't train their horses,

8:27

nor did they infiltrate elite parties

8:29

to glean information on their intended target.

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They went with the basic knowledge that the train

8:35

sometimes carried payroll. On

8:38

Sunday, August eighteen seventy

8:40

eight, they took a page from other outlaws

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and loosened a spike along a desolate

8:44

stretch of track near Medicine Bow. When

8:47

the train derailed, their rest would be easy.

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All they had to do was wait. Unfortunately

8:54

for the outlaws, a large crew of repairmen

8:56

arrived ahead of the train to check the tracks.

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They hadn't thought of this. One

9:02

of the gang members wanted to kill the servicemen,

9:04

but George and another member thought missing

9:06

linemen would raise a red flag. Frustrated,

9:10

the would be robbers had to wait in hiding

9:12

all day until the repair crew left

9:14

before removing the spike again. Their

9:17

lack of planning became their undoing. Missing

9:20

spikes had become a popular technique among

9:23

train robbers, and the repairman reported the

9:25

instant upon their return. The

9:27

train stayed at the station while George and the

9:29

others waited for it to arrive. When

9:32

it didn't, the gang realized their mistake

9:34

and fled. Authorities

9:36

weren't far behind, though, a search

9:39

party along with the Carbon County Sheriff Robert

9:41

Whiteford and Railroad special agent

9:43

H. H. Vincent were on the men's trail. The

9:46

two had a good idea of who they were looking for.

9:49

George and the others had been spotted in the area

9:52

just days before. The

9:54

lawmen separated from the rest of the search team,

9:57

finally coming across the gang's hideout

9:59

and rattlesnake can in, finding

10:01

evidence that the camp had recently been vacated.

10:03

They knew they were close, they just

10:05

had no idea how close. George

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and the others had decided to ambush the lawmen.

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Instead of running outnumbered,

10:13

widow Field and Vincent were killed. The

10:16

gang stole their weapons and valuables through

10:18

the bodies into the brush, and left, feeling

10:21

secure that they had covered their tracks. Back

10:24

in town, the remainder of the search party

10:26

suspected foul play. When Widowfield and Vincent

10:29

didn't return, they put together

10:31

a larger search team. Ten days

10:33

later, they found the bodies. Officials

10:37

in Carbon County quickly organized a manhunt

10:39

and offered a hefty reward two thousand

10:42

dollars, which would be over fifty thousand

10:44

in today's money. Widow

10:46

Field and Vincent were the first lawmen killed

10:48

in the line of duty, and authorities

10:50

didn't care if George and the others were captured,

10:53

dead or alive. The

10:56

gang had a botched train robbery, empty

10:58

pockets, and a price on their heads. Naturally,

11:02

they fled. Two men split

11:04

from the group, taking their chances on their own.

11:07

For a short while, it looked like this plan

11:09

worked. Their luck wouldn't

11:12

hold though. A string of bizarre

11:14

twists soon began to unravel their

11:16

plans, and little

11:18

did they know things were

11:20

about to get worse. First,

11:31

one of the outlaws died from tuberculosis.

11:34

Another Dutch, Charlie Burris,

11:37

made the mistake of staying too close to

11:39

town, and the authorities captured him within

11:41

weeks. Days after

11:43

that, the former fugitive sat handcuffed

11:45

and shackled on a train heading back to Carbon

11:48

County. Sheriff Jim Rankin

11:50

wrote along as an escort to ensure

11:52

Dutch Charlie made it to trial. The

11:55

transport had been arranged quietly, but

11:57

in a small western town, secrets

12:00

had a way of traveling at lightning speed.

12:03

As soon as the train stopped to refuel

12:05

at that evening, a

12:08

group of armed and masked men burst

12:10

into the cabin. Within minutes,

12:12

they had dragged Dutch Charlie outside where

12:15

a mob had gathered. Deciding

12:18

that a court of law would take too long, the

12:20

masked men beat the outlaw, finally

12:23

getting a full confession from him.

12:25

The admission didn't save him, though. The

12:28

mob dragged Dutch Charlie to a telegraph

12:30

pole and strung him up as

12:32

a message to other would be outlaws.

12:34

They left his body swinging at the end of the rope

12:36

a full day before cutting him down and

12:39

chucking his body into a coal car, the

12:41

rope still around his neck. Despite

12:44

hearing the news, the rest of the gang returned

12:46

to their old ways. They robbed

12:49

a stagecoach and made off with seven

12:51

thousand dollars that would be over seven

12:53

hundred thousand today. Though

12:56

it was their biggest pay day yet, it

12:58

had come at a cost. One

13:00

member died from gunshot wounds. Once

13:03

again, the gang found themselves on the run.

13:06

They rode for days, putting miles behind

13:08

them, finally stopping in Yellowstone

13:10

County, Montana. With

13:12

their new wealth from a successful heist, two

13:14

of the outlaws decided that this was where they

13:17

parted ways. George

13:19

and a couple of others stayed behind, though within

13:22

a year they spent their entire windfall.

13:26

One February night, the men were sitting

13:28

in a local saloon lamenting their lack

13:30

of funds, when they overheard

13:32

that Morris Can, a merchant

13:34

and one of the richest men in Montana, was

13:37

planning a trip to North Dakota for supplies.

13:40

The desperadoes went right to work on a plan.

13:43

A military ambulance and an escort of

13:45

fifteen soldiers were also making

13:47

their way to North Dakota, and

13:50

Can had managed to secure passage

13:52

with them. Sweetening the deal, the

13:54

soldiers would be carrying a neighboring town's

13:56

payroll. All

13:58

George and the gang needed to do must follow

14:00

the caravan beyond the Powder River, crossing

14:03

into the steep walled valley beyond it. If

14:05

they timed it just right, Can

14:07

and the others would walk straight into

14:09

an ambush. And

14:12

the plan worked. When the first

14:14

segment of riders entered the valley and made

14:16

the first turn around large boulders, George

14:19

and two others held them at gunpoint, then

14:22

secured them and their weapons. Moments

14:24

later, the second group, including Can,

14:27

rounded the bend and found themselves looking

14:29

down the barrels of several shotguns.

14:32

All the men were robbed of cash and valuables.

14:36

To add insult, the outlaws took hands

14:38

peach, Brandy, and the lead sergeant's horse.

14:41

As the gang rode off, they tossed the wagon

14:43

driver a cigar. They

14:45

fled across the Yellowstone River before doubling

14:48

back north, returning to Miles City

14:50

in Montana. It had gone

14:52

perfectly, they thought, except

14:55

for one thing. Despite

14:57

wearing bandanas and wide brimmed hats

14:59

pulled down over their eyes, George's

15:02

big nose had given them away.

15:05

It didn't take long before authorities arrested

15:07

him. Of course, bragging

15:09

about the exploit didn't do him any favors,

15:12

but although he was put on trial for the

15:14

robbery, no one made the connection

15:16

to the wanted poster for murder just a few

15:18

miles south. During

15:21

the trial, a witness testified that George

15:23

had been in Buffalo Springs at the time of the hold

15:25

up, making it impossible for him to have been

15:27

in Powder Springs. The witnesses

15:29

had been paid for the testimony, but it

15:31

did the trick. The case ended

15:34

with an acquittal. George

15:37

felt rather pleased with himself, and

15:39

once back at the saloon, he bragged about

15:41

the crimes to all who would listen. He

15:44

falsely claimed that he had done jobs with more

15:46

renowned outlaws like Jesse James and

15:48

the Wild Bunch, and all

15:50

that attention seeking tipped off locals

15:53

who spread the word. Soon

15:56

the United States Army was rumored to

15:58

be heading to Miles City with a score to

16:00

settle. Once more, the

16:03

gang was forced to flee. They

16:05

made their way three hundred miles north

16:07

to Rocky Gap, where the men took ranch

16:09

jobs while keeping an ear out for stage coach

16:12

runs. When

16:14

the men weren't working, they spent the evenings

16:16

at another local watering hole, planning

16:18

to rob a paymaster's wagon due to arrive

16:20

from Helena, but the

16:23

wagons escort party proved too large

16:25

to take on. Without many

16:27

stage coaches, opportunities proved

16:29

few and far between, and the gang

16:31

headed back to Wyoming. After

16:35

failed attempts at multiple robberies and

16:37

run ins with angry and well armed ranchers,

16:40

they returned to Miles City by

16:43

now though Tom Irvin, the local

16:45

sheriff, had seen the wanted posters.

16:48

While the rest of the gang left town, George

16:50

took refuge at a friend's cabin. The

16:54

sheriff had his own plan, had

16:56

been watching the cabin and noticed that a

16:58

sex worker was a frequent visitor. Irvin

17:01

struck a deal with the woman, who reported back

17:03

to him. Irvin hired

17:05

two additional deputies, both of whom

17:07

George wouldn't know. They

17:09

posed as prospect buyers to scope

17:12

out the property. The first time

17:14

the men showed up, they were met with rifles. When

17:17

the men presented no threat, George let

17:19

his guard down. On the

17:21

second visit, the deputies were greeted unarmed.

17:24

Then the sheriff came out of hiding and

17:26

George was hauled off to jail. Once

17:29

more. The news traveled far and wide.

17:32

Then another of the murdered lawman's killers

17:34

had been caught. Time

17:36

hadn't reduced to the anger of the people living

17:39

in Carbon County. If

17:41

anything, it burned hotter

17:44

and brighter than it ever had before.

17:57

It was a big day for the authorities. On

18:00

August fourteenth of eighteen eighty, Sheriff

18:03

Rankin arrived in Miles City with extradition

18:05

papers and a couple of newly sworn

18:07

in deputies. A posse formed

18:10

to assist with safe passage for the officials and

18:12

their prisoner to the steamboat landing on the

18:14

Yellowstone River. The sheriff

18:16

had taken no chances. Handcuffed

18:18

and shackled, George wasn't going

18:20

to escape. Once

18:23

the steamboat docked in Omaha, Nebraska,

18:26

Rankin ushered the outlaw to the Union Pacific

18:28

Railroad headquarters. George's

18:30

mug shot was taken, one of only

18:33

two known photos of him in existence. Then

18:36

the interrogation began. Though

18:38

they tried for hours, Rankin and the

18:40

others couldn't get a single confession.

18:44

George repeatedly and calmly denied

18:46

his involvement in the robberies and the murders.

18:50

When the train to Cheyenne, Wyoming arrived,

18:52

the officials continued the interrogation on route

18:54

to the next stop. Without

18:56

a confession. The outlaw began to feel

18:59

pretty confident about as chances for another

19:01

acquittal. One

19:03

thing had to sit on his mind. Though.

19:06

They were headed to Rowlins, the

19:08

same trip Dutch Charlie had taken, and

19:11

just like that trip, the train stopped

19:14

for fuel and water. As

19:17

the train pulled into the station, George

19:19

noticed the stores were lit in celebration

19:22

and people danced in the streets. Detecting

19:26

that their prisoners seemed nervous, Rankin

19:28

and the deputies recounted the night the crowds

19:30

had strung up Dutch Charlie. They

19:33

took turns telling the story how

19:35

the mob had dragged him to his fate. They

19:37

spared no detail. George

19:40

began to sweat. As

19:43

they finished with how the body had been

19:45

discarded into a coal bin. The doors

19:47

to the cabin flew open. A

19:49

dozen armed and masked men stormed inside,

19:52

easily overcoming the sheriff and deputies.

19:55

Rankin called upon the passengers to intervene,

19:58

that justice should be in the hands of the corps. The

20:01

passengers eyed the armed men, and,

20:04

figuring an outlaw wasn't worth the effort, stayed

20:06

in their seats. One

20:09

masked man wielding an axe broke

20:11

George's shackles. Feeling

20:14

pretty certain that the mob wasn't there to rescue

20:16

him, he grabbed one of the men's guns. The

20:19

struggle was short lived, and the men quickly

20:21

wrestled the gun away. They

20:24

dragged George off the train. The

20:26

train platform was a sea of angry men

20:28

and women, each of them calling to string

20:30

him up. Some demanded to

20:33

know why he had killed the law men. Still

20:35

protesting to the bitter end, he denied

20:38

both the robbery attempt and the murders.

20:41

His persistent innocence acted

20:43

like a fuel to a fire. Another

20:46

angry round of string him up erupted. More

20:49

hands grabbed him, and as they hauled

20:51

George from the platform, the chanting and cheering

20:54

continued. He begged them to

20:56

shoot him instead, but they ignored his please.

20:59

They dragged him down the street to a corral.

21:01

The crowd applauded and cheered louder when someone

21:04

tossed a rope over a beam. One

21:06

of the men placed the noose over his head. Faced

21:09

with eminent death, George begged

21:11

the crowd once more, telling them he was

21:13

scared, and asked for a few moments

21:16

to compose himself. The crowd

21:18

quieted down and waited. Finally,

21:21

George confessed, at least

21:24

somewhat. He admitted that he

21:26

was part of the gang, and that they had killed the men

21:28

because, as the old adage says, dead

21:30

men told no tales. It

21:33

had been Dutch Charlie's idea, he insisted.

21:36

Then he waited to see what they'd do with

21:39

his partially true confession behind him.

21:41

He expected then hang him anyway.

21:44

Instead, the leader ordered him returned

21:46

to the sheriff. They had gotten a

21:48

confession, after all, let the courts

21:51

order a legal execution. The

21:53

group pushed and shoved him back to the station

21:55

and tossed him unceremoniously into

21:57

the train car. Witnesses

22:00

said George collapsed into a seat, shaking

22:02

and laughing until he cried. Outside.

22:06

The crowd began to dance again, and

22:08

Rankin smiled at his prisoner. He

22:11

had a confession, and as

22:13

far as he was concerned, the townfolk

22:15

hadn't hung an innocent man the night that strung

22:18

up Dutch Charlie. George

22:21

stayed in jail until the preliminary hearings

22:24

in September of eighteen eighty. Right

22:26

from the start he pled guilty, though

22:29

once the court gave him a lawyer, he recanted

22:31

his confession. There

22:33

wouldn't be an acquittal this time. The

22:36

case went to trial and the court found George

22:38

guilty. On December sev the

22:41

judge sentenced him to death by hanging,

22:44

scheduling the date of execution for April

22:46

second of eight one, between the hours

22:48

of ten and four. Bailiffs

22:50

had to support George back to his cell in

22:54

an attempt to protest his execution, he

22:56

staged a hunger strike. It

22:58

didn't take long to figure out that no one

23:01

much cared if a condemned man starved to death.

23:04

When that failed, he claimed had repented

23:06

and had converted to Christianity in the hopes

23:08

that his captors would grant him more freedom,

23:11

and it worked too. Over

23:13

time, they permitted George to roam the hall

23:15

outside his jail cell. Over

23:18

the next few months, he collected a knife and

23:20

a piece of sandstone and began planning

23:22

his escape. That day

23:24

came when Sheriff Rankin left town, putting

23:27

his brother Robert in charge of the jail. On

23:31

the night of March twenty second, George

23:33

used the knife to file down the rivets on

23:35

his leg shackles, and then waited.

23:38

As soon as Robert rounded the corner

23:40

to lock the prisoners in their cells, he

23:42

leaped from his hiding place and struck the jailer

23:45

in the head at the eight pound shackles.

23:48

Robert fought back, all the while shouting

23:50

for his wife. As you might

23:52

imagine, Rosa didn't take to the assault

23:54

on her husband. Sitting down, she

23:57

sweet talked the outlaw back into a cell with

23:59

a loaded still leveled at his head while

24:01

her sister went for help. Later,

24:04

the women were awarded a gold watching key

24:06

in a velvet lined box for their service

24:08

and bravery. Needless

24:11

to say, no one believed George

24:13

had truly found Jesus after that. The

24:16

news of the attack, in the form of Rose's

24:19

sister running down the street in search of help,

24:21

enraged the citizens. Before

24:24

long, a mob formed outside

24:26

the jail. Around

24:28

ten that night, the mob burst through the

24:30

door and stole the cell keys. A

24:33

few masked men headed towards the cells.

24:36

Instead of being afraid, George Oddley

24:38

mistook their intention as a rescue mission.

24:42

The men whisked him from his cell and out

24:44

onto the street. The side of the

24:46

mob made him realize his mistake. They

24:48

were there to watch him drop. With a sudden

24:51

stop. They placed

24:53

the noose around his neck, tied his hands,

24:55

and forced him onto a barrel under a telegraph

24:58

pole. The sister law

25:00

of one of the murdered men, kicked the barrel

25:03

instead of hanging. The rope snapped, and

25:05

George tumbled to the ground, choking and

25:07

gasping for air. Within

25:09

minutes they had another rope ready. They

25:12

forced him up a twelve foot ladder and slid

25:14

the noose around his neck. Just

25:16

as they pushed the ladder away, George

25:18

managed to slide his hands free and grab

25:20

the telegraph pole. He begged

25:22

them to just shoot him. Instead,

25:25

the mob grew quiet and waited

25:27

for him to lose his grip. The

25:30

news spread of how the citizens had hanged

25:32

Big Nose George and Dutch Charlie.

25:35

Other outlaws decided to slip out of town

25:37

rather than meet the same end. But

25:40

hangings weren't the only way citizens had

25:43

of preventing would be outlaws from messing

25:45

with Carbon County, Wyoming. Because

25:48

it seems there really was a fate worse

25:50

than death. No

25:58

family stepped forward to aimed. George's

26:00

body had abandoned them in France

26:02

years before. If any of

26:04

the remaining gang members were still alive, they

26:06

knew better than to step foot in Carbon County.

26:10

But his corpse was claimed by

26:12

two doctors and their medical assistant.

26:16

Doctors McGhee and Osbourne studied

26:18

criminals, and they had a keen interest

26:20

in George's brain. Surely

26:22

there had to be some abnormality that might

26:24

explain his criminal behavior. First,

26:28

they made a death mask of George then

26:30

sawed off the top of the dead man's skull. An

26:33

autopsy of the brain turned up no clues.

26:35

Though disappointed,

26:38

they decided to use the body for well

26:40

other things. Assistant

26:43

Lillian Heath, who would eventually go

26:45

on to become Wyoming's first female physician,

26:48

took Big Nosed George's skull cap as

26:50

a souvenir. Dr

26:52

Osborne sent George's body to a tannery

26:55

in Denver, ordering two things

26:57

made from the human hide, a

26:59

pair shoes and a medical bag.

27:02

The rest of the remains were dismembered, placed

27:05

into a barrel, and buried. Dr

27:08

Osborne was quite proud of those

27:10

shoes when the people of Wyoming

27:13

swore him in years later as governor, he

27:15

wore them to the inauguration and

27:17

the ball that followed. And

27:20

then time moved on, The

27:23

city grew and the story of Big Nose

27:25

George slowly faded away. But

27:29

seventy years later, in nine a

27:32

construction company came upon a grizzly

27:34

discovery a barrel with human

27:36

remains inside. Law

27:38

enforcement were called in, but they determined

27:40

that the body wasn't recent and summoned

27:42

historians instead. Noting

27:45

the missing skull cap. They assumed they had found

27:47

Big Nose George. To be sure,

27:50

though, they called the only person still

27:52

alive who might be able to solve the puzzle,

27:55

doctor Lillian Heath. Intrigued,

27:58

she arrived with a skull cap in hand.

28:00

Over the years she had used it as a planter, a

28:03

paper weight, and even an ashtray.

28:06

As she looked at the skull from the barrel, she placed

28:08

the cap over the clean hole on top, and

28:12

it was a perfect fit, like

28:14

Cinderella's slipper, only darker.

28:18

This time, George received a proper burial,

28:21

minus the skull cap and shoes. Of

28:23

course, those, along

28:25

with the shackles, were all handed over to

28:27

the Carbon County Museum as relics

28:29

from a bygone day. The

28:32

medical bag, though, has never

28:34

been recovered. There's

28:44

more to this story. Stick around after

28:46

this brief sponsor break to hear all about it.

28:59

Nay can be confusing. When

29:02

he was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts,

29:04

in eighteen o nine, his parents called

29:06

him James Allen. Later

29:08

on, though, he went by a number of different aliases

29:12

Jonas Pierce, James York and

29:14

others, but mostly

29:16

folks called him George Walton. Orphaned

29:20

as a child, his grandparents did the best

29:22

they could to raise him, but when

29:24

he was a young teen, they too passed

29:26

away. Now entirely

29:29

on his own, he returned to Lancaster.

29:32

He applied for work as a sailor, but was rejected.

29:35

After holding down a few odd jobs, he turned

29:38

to crime, landing him in jail at

29:40

the age of fifteen. With

29:42

time to kill, Walton read a lot

29:44

and even learned a few trades. After

29:47

his release, he teamed up with a former prisoner

29:50

and the two went back to the life they knew best,

29:52

burglary. Like many

29:55

of the legitimate jobs he had held, Walton

29:57

wasn't very good at stealing, and

30:00

saw him revisiting jail on and off

30:02

for years. Each time

30:04

he had read more and learn new skills,

30:07

yet upon release he always went

30:09

right back to its criminal ways. His

30:13

favorite mode of operation was to hide

30:15

just off the side of the road, then jump

30:17

out when a wagon was passing by. He

30:20

had level a pistol at the driver and shout

30:22

your money or your life. Normally,

30:25

people chose their life, tossed him their

30:27

money and fled, but

30:29

that didn't happen when Walton tried his routine

30:32

on a large and rather intimidating

30:34

traveler named John Fenno. When

30:37

Walton made his usual demand, Fenno

30:40

briefly paused to consider the offer

30:43

and then chose both. Walton

30:46

had never been challenged before, and it took

30:48

him by surprise before

30:51

he could back up his threat. Fenno leapt

30:53

from the wagon and the two fought. Moments

30:56

later, Walton fired his pistol, grazing

30:59

Fenno's chest. Realizing

31:01

he had just shot a man, he fled. Authorities

31:05

offered a one thousand dollar reward for his capture,

31:08

forcing Walton to go into hiding. The

31:11

reward money proved too tempting to one

31:13

of his own criminal friends, and the man turned

31:15

him in. Walton was

31:17

convicted on February twenty one, eighteen

31:20

thirty four, and sentenced to serve

31:22

time at the State Penitentiary in Charlestown.

31:26

Yes, he was headed back behind bars,

31:28

yet again, a common theme for his

31:30

life. This visit turned

31:32

out to be a life sentence, though, but

31:35

not because a judge said so. You

31:37

see, while he was in there, George Walton

31:40

contracted tuberculosis, and

31:43

apparently the fatal illness changed

31:45

him. That along with a

31:47

surprise visit from John Fennel

31:51

Walton spent his last remaining days

31:53

in jail writing his own memoir. When

31:56

he finished, he asked the warden to make two

31:58

copies and then have each bound

32:01

into a book, but not with

32:03

ordinary leather. No, he

32:06

requested that his own skin be

32:08

used as a cover, and

32:10

amazingly, the warden followed

32:13

through with it. After

32:15

George Walton died in eighty seven,

32:17

the warden kept his promise and sent the body

32:20

to a tannery and the memoir to

32:22

a printing press. Two

32:24

copies were made. One stayed

32:26

with the warden and the other went to

32:28

none other than George's last victim,

32:31

John Fenno. Both

32:33

men kept those books for the rest of their lives.

32:37

Eventually, one copy found its way to

32:39

the Boston Atheneum's collection, and

32:42

every year at Halloween the library

32:44

puts the book on display as part of their

32:46

spooky offerings. It's

32:49

unclear how that copy ended up

32:51

in the library's collection. Some

32:53

believed Fenno's daughter, feeling a

32:55

lot less enamored with the book than her father, donated

32:58

it after inheriting his estate. But

33:01

the second Coppy, Well,

33:04

it seems the book is still missing. Maybe

33:07

it's in a private collection or perhaps

33:09

it's sitting forgotten in an attic in

33:11

someone's home. Either

33:14

way, I think it's fair to say that

33:16

George Walton's journey has come

33:19

to a dead end. American

33:33

Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum.

33:36

This episode was written by Michelle Muto

33:38

with researcher Robin Miniter, and

33:40

produced by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor

33:43

Young, with executive producers Aaron

33:45

Minky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick.

33:48

To learn more about the show, visit Grim and

33:50

Mild dot com. For more podcasts

33:52

from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio

33:55

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

33:57

you get your podcasts.

34:00

Who