Charlie Siringo | |
|---|---|
 Charlie Siringo,circa 1890 | |
| Born | Charles Angelo Siringo (1855-02-07)February 7, 1855[1]: xvii [2] |
| Died | October 18, 1928(1928-10-18) (aged 73) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Lawman, detective,bounty hunter, cowboy, author, merchant |
| Known for | Being a lawman andPinkerton detective |
Charles Angelo Siringo (February 7, 1855 – October 18, 1928) was an American lawman, detective,bounty hunter, and agent for thePinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Siringo was born onMatagorda Peninsula inMatagorda County, Texas, to anIrishimmigrant mother and anItalian immigrant father fromGenoa.[3][4] His father died when Siringo was a year old. He attended public school until the start of theAmerican Civil War, then took his firstcowpuncher lessons in 1867 before moving to St. Louis after his mother remarried. Siringo attended Fisk public school for a time while in New Orleans but then started work as acowboy forAbel Head "Shanghai" Pierce in April 1871, after returning to Texas.[5][6][2][1]: 75–76
In July 1877, Siringo was inDodge City, Kansas, where he survived an encounter withBat Masterson.[2]: 123–125
Siringo was already working as acattle drive cowboy when he started working for theLX Ranch in 1877. This job entailed chasing after LX cattle stolen byBilly the Kid in 1880. Siringo stopped working for the LX Ranch when he married Mamie in 1884 and opened a tobacco store inCaldwell, Kansas. Their daughter Viola was born on 28 February 1885. He began writing his autobiography,A Texas Cow Boy; Or Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony. A year later it was published to wide acclaim, and Siringo moved his family to Chicago in the spring of 1886 for publication of a second printing.[1][2]: 98–100
.jpg)
In 1886, Siringo witnessed theChicagoHaymarket affair. This prompted him to join the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usinggunmanPat Garrett's name as a reference to get the job, having met Garrett in 1880 when they were searching for Billy the Kid. Siringo was assigned to Denver, reporting toJames McParland, and moved his family there. His wife died in 1890, and his daughter went to live with his wife's aunt and her husband, Emma and Will F. Read.[1]: 15, 21–22 [2]
He was immediately assigned several cases, which took him as far north asAlaska, for theTreadwell mine, and as far south asMexico City.[1]: 16–17 [2]: 79 He began operatingunder cover, a relatively new technique at the time, and infiltrated gangs ofrobbers andrustlers, making more than 100 arrests.[7]
In the early 1890s, he found himself assigned to office work in theDenver office of the agency, work which he greatly despised. During that time, he worked with noted Pinkerton agent, gunman, and laterassassinTom Horn. He greatly admired Horn's talents and skills in tracking down suspects, but reflected later that Horn had a dark side that could easily be accessed when need be.
In February 1891, assuming the name Charles T. Leon, Siringo undertook a 6-month investigation for New Mexico GovernorL. Bradford Prince. Siringo investigated the attempted assassination ofElias S. Stover,Thomas B. Catron, T.B. Mills, and Joseph Anchete. Siringo was able to infiltrateLas Gorras Blancas and theKnights of Labor, while understanding their relationship with theSanta Fe Ring. The investigation was called off before Siringo could gather enough evidence to definitively state who was behind the shooting. Siringo did, however, purchase 265 acres nearSanta Fe, New Mexico, and established his Sunny Slope Ranch. Located north of Arroyo Chamiso, Siringo built a two-roomadobe home, with a view of theSangre de Cristo Mountains.[1]: 25–32 [2]: 48–55, 58–59
In 1892, Siringo was assigned to a case in theIdaho Panhandle,Silver Valley, for theMine Owners' Protective Association. He assumed the identity of Charles Leon Allison, working as a shoveler in the Gem Mine. Siringo at first turned down the assignment, telling his boss, James McParland, that he sympathized with the union miners. McParland later asked him to go anyway, with the agreement that Siringo could leave if he still felt the same way after seeing the situation. Siringo infiltrated the Gem Miners' Union, and decided that the leadership was in the hands of anarchists such asGeorge Pettibone.[8] After 14 months, which included theCoeur d'Alene, Idaho labor strike of 1892, Siringo's undercover work and testimony helped convict 18 union leaders.[1]: 33–46 [2]: 55–76
Siringo married Lillie Thomas in 1893, and their son William Lee Roy was born in 1896. However, they soon divorced, when she wanted to live in Los Angeles, California.[1]: 48, 55
For 4 years starting in 1899, posing under the aliases "Charles L. Carter", an alleged Mexican outlaw on the run from the law formurder, "Chas. Tony Lloyd", and later as "Harry Blevins", Siringo infiltratedoutlawButch Cassidy'sWild Bunch. Siringo called Butch Cassidy, "the shrewdest and most daring out law of the present age," and the Wild Bunch "kept a system of blind post offices all the way from theHole-in-the-Wall in northern Wyoming toAlma in southern New Mexico, these post offices being in rocky crevices or on top of round mounds on the desert." In Siringo's words, "I closed theUnion Pacific train robbery case after having traveled more than 25,000 miles by rail, vehicles, afoot, and on horseback, and after being on the operation constantly for about four years. The 'Wild Bunch' during these four years were pretty well scattered, many being put in their graves and others in prison." During that time, Siringo referred to both Tom Horn andJoe Lefors as friends.[7][1]: 59–60 [2]: 92–93, 120–148
On that case, Siringo often coordinated with Tom Horn, who was by that time working for large cattle companies as a stock detective, but who also was retained by the Pinkerton Agency on contract to assist in the robbery investigation. Horn was able to obtain vital information from explosives expert Bill Speck that revealed to investigators who the suspects were who had killed Sheriff Josiah Hazen,[9] who had been shot and killed during the pursuit of the robbers.[10]
.jpg)
In 1907, during the trial of theWestern Federation of Miners'Bill Haywood, Siringo was assigned as a bodyguard forAlbert Horsley. After theacquittal, Siringo warned Idaho GovernorFrank Gooding of plans tolynch Haywood, Pettibone,Charles Moyer, and Haywood'slawyerClarence Darrow, which prevented the hanging.[1]: 61–63
In 1907, Siringo married Grace, after resigning from the Pinkertons. That marriage ended in divorce in 1909. Siringo accepted some assignments fromWilliam J. Burns'Detective Agency.[1]: 64, 67–68
Siringo wrote another book,Pinkerton's Cowboy Detective. The Pinkerton Detective Agency delayed publication for two years, feeling it violated the confidentiality agreement that Siringo had signed upon hiring. Siringo capitulated, and deleted their name from the book title and elsewhere in the book. Thus,Pinkerton's Cowboy Detective becameA Cowboy Detective, and the names of other characters were fictionalized.[7][1]: 69–74
In 1913, Siringo was briefly married to Ellen Partain. This was Siringo's last attempt at marriage.[1]: 76
Angry with the agency after it sabotaged the publication of his cowboy memoirs, Siringo publishedTwo Evil Isms: Pinkertonism and Anarchism, a revealing chronicle of Pinkerton methods and deception. Siringo wrote that he had been instructed to commit voter fraud in the re-election campaign of Colorado GovernorJames Peabody. Siringo said, "I voted eight times, as per [Pinkerton supervisor]McParland's orders—three times before the same election judges".[11] The election was unique, owing to fraud by Democrats and Republicans that resulted in Colorado having three different governors seated during the course of one day. In the book, Siringo defended his work against the leadership of the Western Federation of Miners, but he admitted "one dark blot on my conscience" for his work as an informant among the coal miners of southern Colorado, for the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company: "... I hated to report their threats against the greedy corporation which treated them as slaves."[12]
The Pinkerton Agency succeeded in suppressing the book, charging Siringo with criminal libel, and calling for his arrest and extradition to Chicago. New Mexico GovernorMcDonald denied the extradition request. Yet, Pinkerton was successful in getting a court order impounding the book's plates and remaining copies.[1]: 84–85
In 1916, Siringo began working as aNew Mexico Mounted Patrolman to assist in the capture of numerousrustlers in the area, holding that position until 1918. His health began to fail, and his ranch was failing owing to his absence. He moved toLos Angeles, where he became somewhat of a celebrity due to his exploits. He renewed his relationship with Wyatt Earp during this period.[13]
In 1920, Siringo published theHistory of "Billy the Kid". By 1922, Siringo's financial difficulties required relinquishing his Santa Fe ranch, and moving to Los Angeles. In 1924, Siringo played the part of an old cowboy in the movieNine Scars Make a Man. In 1925, Siringo served as a consultant forWilliam S. Hart'sTumbleweeds.[1]: 95, 99, 102–103, 105, 109
In 1927, he released another book,Riata and Spurs, a composite ofLone Star Cowboy andA Cowboy Detective. The Pinkerton Agency again halted publication, resulting in a bowdlerized copy, with many fictional accounts rather than the true accounts that Siringo had envisioned.[1]: 112, 123, 127–133
Siringo died inAltadena, California, on October 18, 1928. He was buried atInglewood Park Cemetery,Inglewood, California.[1]: 149
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Ward, Nathan. Son of the Old West. NY: Grove Atlantic,2023. Coming on 5 September 2023. ISBN 978-0-8021-6208-3
