Butch Cassidy Read Online Free PDF Page B

belonged to him and could provide several witnesses to support his claim.
    Roy decided it was time to leave. He rode away to the northwest and was arrested a short time later and placed in the county jail at Montrose, located about forty miles north of Telluride. A few of Roy’s friends, convinced he was innocent, sent a wire to Maxi explaining the situation. Maxi left immediately for Montrose to try to help his son.
    During the subsequent trial, Roy was found not guilty. Following his courtroom experience, Robert was urged by his father to return with him to Circleville. Roy refused, explaining that he felt trapped in Utah, that he had few opportunities beyond the dullness of working on a ranch. He longed for adventure and excitement, and it was not to be found in the Mormon communities of Utah. Maxi returned alone.
    A short time after Roy was found innocent of stealing his own horse, he departed Telluride and traveled to Wyoming, earning his living by taking odd jobs. Not only was he eager to leave the town in which he was nearly judged a criminal, but also he was still searching for adventure. In the spring of 1887, he wound up in Miles City, Montana. Life in Wyoming and Montana was not what he expected. He suffered one employment disappointment after another. After a time, he realized he missed the excitement of Telluride and the prospects of making money. He made the decision to return to Colorado.
    The year was 1888. Soon after arriving in Telluride a second time, Roy found employment. Unfortunately, he returned to another job with long hours. Though he was making money, he quickly grew bored with the day-to-day drudgery of earning a living. He had not been back in town long when he met Matt Warner, an adventurous, free-living person who appealed to Parker. Warner, whose real name was Willard Erastus Christiansen, was from Levan, Utah. Like Roy, he had grown up in a Mormon household.
    Warner’s father was a Mormon bishop. According to research, Warner ran away from home in the belief he had killed another youth in a fight. Cassidy and Warner soon became fast friends. They discovered they both had a common interest—horses.
    Other than drinking, gambling, and whoring, the only diversion in Telluride during those times was horseracing, which quickly became established as the main spectator sport of the area. Since Warner was earning his living at this time racing horses, he found Telluride quite to his liking. Roy, whose horsemanship skills were soon apparent to Warner, became the principal jockey.
    During a horseracing event in Cortez in southeastern Colorado, Roy and Warner encountered Tom McCarty. Warner and McCarty were old friends. McCarty had married Warner’s sister, making them brothers-in-law. Around this time, McCarty, who was over forty years old, had a reputation as a horse thief, cattle rustler, and gambler. Some believe he had robbed a bank only a short time before meeting Cassidy and Warner in Telluride. McCarty was wanted in at least one state. It has been written by some that McCarty, as well as Warner, had once been companions to Mike Cassidy, perhaps even members of his gang that rustled cattle. Though often stated, the relationship between Cassidy, McCarty, and Warner has never been verified to anyone’s satisfaction.
    Parker, McCarty, and Warner began spending a lot of time together racing horses. During the next several days they experienced a number of successes and were soon stuffing their pockets with their winnings.
    As a result of a disagreement on the outcome of a horse race, the three men found themselves involved in an argument with a group of Indians. At one point during the quarrel, one of the Indians raised a rifle in a threatening gesture. McCarty responded by pulling his revolver and shooting the man, killing him instantly. The death of their companion took the fight out of the rest of the Indians, and after loading the dead man onto his horse, they rode away.
    The incident, however,