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Harvey Logan | |
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| Born | Harvey Alexander Logan 1867 Richland Township, Tama County, Iowa, United States |
| Died | June 17, 1904(1904-06-17) (aged 36–37) Parachute, Colorado, United States |
| Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
| Resting place | Linwood Cemetery, Glenwood Springs, CO |
| Other names | Kid Curry |
| Occupation(s) | Cowboy, bank robber, train robber, outlaw |
| Allegiance | Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
Harvey Alexander Logan (1867 – June 17, 1904), also known asKid Curry, was an Americanoutlaw andgunman who rode withButch Cassidy and theSundance Kid's infamousWild Bunch gang during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite being less well-known than his fellow gang members, he has since been referred to as "the wildest of the Wild Bunch",[1] having reputedly killed at least nine law enforcement officers in five shootings and another two men in other instances. He was involved in numerous shootouts with police and civilians and participated in severalbank andtrain robberies with various gangs during his outlaw days.
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Logan was born in Richland Township,Tama County,Iowa in 1867. His mother died in 1876, and his brothers, Hank, Johnny and Lonny, moved to Dodson,Missouri to live with their aunt Lee Logan. Until at least 1883, Harvey made his living breaking horses on the Cross Lranch, nearRising Star, Texas. While there, he met and befriended a man named"Flat Nose" George Curry, from whom he took his new last name. His brothers soon adopted the same last name. The Logan brothers were known as hard workers until they got paid. Money did not stay in their pockets for long. They all had a taste for alcohol and women. Kid Curry would often return from a train or bank robbery, get drunk and lay up with prostitutes until his share of the take was gone. After Kid Curry became famous, the prostitutes would frequently name him as the father when they became pregnant. The children were referred to as "Curry Kids"; the number of children he actually fathered was probably fewer than five.[citation needed]
In 1883, Curry rode as acowboy on acattle drive toPueblo, Colorado. While in Pueblo, he was involved in asaloon brawl. To avoid arrest, he fled, settling in southernWyoming, where he began work at the "Circle Diamond" ranch. By all accounts, when sober, Curry was mild-mannered, likable, and loyal to both his friends and brothers.
The events that changed the course of his life began when his brother Hank and friend Jim Thornhill bought a ranch at Rock Creek, in what was thenChouteau County, Montana (nowPhillips County).[2][3][4] The ranch was near the site of a mine strike made by local miner and lawman Powell "Pike" Landusky. Landusky, according to some reports of the day, confronted Curry and attacked him, believing Curry was involved romantically with his daughter Elfie. Landusky then filed assault charges against Curry, who was arrested and beaten[by whom?].
Two friends of Curry's, A.S. Lohman and Frank Plunkett, paid a $500 bond for Curry's release. Landusky's daughter Elfie later claimed it was Curry's brother, Lonny, with whom she had been involved. However, the confession came much too late. On December 27, 1894, Curry caught Landusky at a local saloon and hit Landusky, stunning him. Curry, evidently believing the fight was over, began walking away. Landusky pulled his pistol and began threatening Curry, who was unarmed. Curry's friend and his brother's partner, Jim Thornhill, gave Curry his pistol. Landusky's gun jammed and Curry shot him dead.
Curry was arrested, but was released at an inquest when it was judged that he acted inself-defense. However, a formal trial was set. Curry believed he would not get a fair trial because the judge was close friends with Landusky. For this reason, Curry left town.
Curry started riding with outlawTom "Black Jack" Ketchum.Pinkerton detectives began trailing Curry shortly after his departure fromMontana. In January 1896, Curry received word that an old friend of Landusky's, rancher James Winters, had been spying on him for the reward offered in his arrest. Curry and two of his brothers, Johnny and Lonny, went to Winters' ranch to confront him. However, a shootout erupted. Johnny was killed, while Curry and Lonny escaped. Shortly after, Curry and Lonny argued with Black Jack Ketchum over the take in atrain robbery. The two brothers left the gang and joined the circus.[5]
The brothers then received employment on a cattle ranch, arranged by their cousin, Bob Lee, nearSand Gulch, Colorado. Pinkerton agents trailing Curry gave up his trail briefly. Curry, Lonny, Walt Putnam and George Curry formed their own gang around this time. Curry temporarily left Colorado, intending to scout good targets for potential robberies. On April 15, 1897, Curry was reportedly involved in the killing of Deputy Sheriff William Deane ofPowder River, Wyoming,[6] as he and his gang gathered fresh horses on a ranch in thePowder River Basin. After this, he returned to Colorado to the ranch where he was working.
By June 1897, the cowboy job had ended, and Curry ventured north with the rest of the gang. They robbed a bank inBelle Fourche, South Dakota, and met resistance outside the bank from the townspeople. One of their friends, Tom O'Day, was captured when his horse spooked and ran away without him. The others escaped, but while planning a second robbery aposse from the town caught up with them inFergus County, Montana. During a shootout, Curry was shot through the wrist, and his horse was shot from under him, resulting in his capture. George Curry and Walt Putnam were also captured. All three were held in theDeadwood, South Dakota jail, but only briefly; they overpowered the jailer and escaped. They headed back into Montana and robbed two post offices.[7][8]
During this time Curry began riding withButch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang. On June 2, 1899, the gang robbed theUnion Pacific RailroadOverland Flyer passenger train nearWilcox, Wyoming, a robbery that became famous. Many notable lawmen of the day took part in the hunt for the robbers, but they were not captured.
During one shootout with lawmen following that robbery, Kid Curry and George Curry shot and killedConverse County Sheriff Joe Hazen.[7]Tom Horn, a noted killer-for-hire and contract employee of the Pinkerton Agency, obtained information from explosives expert Bill Speck that identified George Curry and Kid Curry as Hazen's murderers, which Horn passed on to Pinkerton detectiveCharlie Siringo. The gang escaped into its hideout at theHole-in-the-Wall.[9][10]
Siringo had been assigned the task of bringing in the outlaw gang. He became friends with Elfie Landusky. Elfie was using the last name of Curry, alleging that Lonny Curry had got her pregnant. Through her, Siringo intended to locate the gang. Siringo changed his name to Charles L. Carter, disguised himself as an on-the-run gunman, and began mingling with people who might know the Currys, becoming friends with Jim Thornhill.
However, Kid Curry was hiding inRobbers Roost, another hideout used by the Wild Bunch in the remote canyon country ofUtah. Curry then went toAlma, New Mexico, with Cassidy and others, intending to hide for a while. On July 11, 1899, while working at the W.S. Ranch, Curry robbed aColorado and Southern Railroad train nearFolsom, New Mexico with gang membersElzy Lay and Sam Ketchum, the brother of Tom "Black Jack" Ketchum. A posse led byHuerfano County, Colorado Sheriff Ed Farr[11] cornered the gang near an area called Turkey Creek, which resulted in two gun battles over a period of four days. Lay and Ketchum were both wounded and later captured, with Lay killing the sheriff and mortally woundingColfax County Deputy Henry Love in the process. Ketchum died from his wounds days later while in custody, and Lay received a life sentence for the murders.[12] Curry escaped, but he, Cassidy, and other members of the gang were forced to leaveNew Mexico. Curry traveled toSan Antonio, where he stayed briefly. While there he met prostituteDella Moore (also known as Annie Rogers or Maude Williams), with whom he became romantically involved. At the time of their meeting, she was working inMadame Fannie Porter'sbrothel, which was a regular hideout for the Wild Bunch gang.
On February 28, 1900, lawmen attempted to arrest Lonny Curry at his aunt's home inDodson, Montana but was killed in the shootout that followed, and his cousin Bob Lee was arrested the same day atCripple Creek, Colorado, forrustling and sent to prison inCheyenne, Wyoming, and sentenced on 28 May 1900 to ten years in thestate penitentiary at Rawlins, Wyoming.[13] Kid Curry was now the last surviving Logan brother. Meanwhile, Curry was identified inSt. Johns, Arizona as he was passing notes suspected of being from the Wilcox robbery. LocalApache County Sheriff Edward Beeler gathered a posse and began tracking Curry, who was accompanied byBill "News" Carver. The posse shot it out with Curry and Carver on March 28. Curry and Carver killed Deputy Andrew Gibbons and Deputy Frank LeSueur. On May 26, Kid Curry rode into Utah and killedGrand County Sheriff Jesse Tyler and Deputy Sam Jenkins in a brazen shootout inMoab.[14] Both killings were in retaliation for Tyler and Jenkins having killed George Curry and his brother Lonny.
Curry then returned to the Wild Bunch. On August 29, 1900, they robbedUnion Pacific train No. 3 nearTipton, Wyoming,[15] from which newspaper stories claimed the gang got more than $55,000. The gang again split up, with Kid Curry andBen Kilpatrick heading south toFort Worth, Texas, while Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and Bill Carver immediately pulled off another robbery inWinnemucca, Nevada.
Siringo, still working the case for the Pinkertons, was inCircleville, Utah, where Butch Cassidy had been raised. Curry rejoined the gang, and they hit aGreat Northern train nearWagner, Montana, on July 3. This time, they took over $60,000 in cash. Gang member Bill Carver was killed inSonora, Texas, bySutton County, Sheriff Elijah Briant during the pursuit following that robbery.
Again the gang split up. In October 1901, Della Moore was arrested inNashville, Tennessee, for passing money tied to an earlier robbery involving Curry. On November 5 and 6, gang members Ben Kilpatrick andLaura Bullion were captured inSt. Louis, Missouri.[16] On December 13, Kid Curry shotKnoxville, Tennessee, policemen William Dinwiddle[17] and Robert Saylor[18] in a shootout and escaped. Despite being pursued by Pinkerton agents and other law enforcement officials, Curry returned to Montana, where he shot and killed rancher James Winters, who was responsible for the killing of his brother Johnny years before.[1]
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Curry then traveled back to Knoxville. In a pool hall on November 30, 1902, Curry was captured after a lengthy physical fight with lawmen. He was convicted of robbery because facts in the murder of the two policemen were not definite and no witnesses would testify, and he received a sentence of 20 years of hard labor and a $5,000 fine. On June 27, 1903, Curry escaped. Rumors that a deputy had received an $8,000 bribe to allow his escape spread, but this was never proven.
On June 7, 1904, Kid Curry was tracked down by a posse outside ofParachute, Colorado. Curry and two others had robbed aDenver and Rio Grande train outside Parachute. As they escaped, they stole fresh horses owned by Roll Gardner and a neighbor. The next morning, when Gardner and the neighbor discovered their horses had been stolen, they set out in pursuit of the gang. They joined up with a posse and continued tracking the outlaws. The gang shot Gardner's and his neighbor's horses from under them; Gardner found cover while his neighbor started running. Kid Curry took aim at the neighbor and Gardner shot Curry. The wounded Curry decided to end it at that time, and fatally shot himself in the head to avoid capture. The other two robbers escaped.[19][20] The rifle Gardner used is still in the family today. Rumors persist that Curry was not killed in Parachute and was misidentified, having actually departed for South America with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Charlie Siringo resigned from the Pinkertons, believing they got the wrong man.
Curry is buried in Pioneer (Linwood) Cemetery overlookingGlenwood Springs, Colorado, a short distance from fellow gunfighterDoc Holliday's memorial.
Curry appears as a character inMr American byGeorge MacDonald Fraser. The novel, set in 1909, uses the controversy surrounding Curry's death to portray him as surviving the shootout near Parachute and later tracking the novel's protagonist, Mark Franklin, to England, where Curry attempts to kill Franklin.
Phillip Pine played Kid Curry in the episode "Kid Curry" on the TV seriesTales of Wells Fargo (1959).
Ted Cassidy played Curry in the 1969 filmButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Ben Murphy portrayed a fictionalised Kid Curry in the 1970s television showAlias Smith and Jones.
TheMythBusters tested theclaim that Curry could drop a silver dollar off his hand and then draw and fire five shots from his revolver before it hit the ground. They found the claim to be highly unlikely.[21]
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