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Authors: W. C. Jameson
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to Brown’s Park, Cassidy renewed his friendship with Matt Warner and Elzy Lay. By this time, Warner had married Rose Morgan, the eighteen-year-old daughter of a Star Valley Mormon family. Not long after giving birth to their daughter, Hayda, Rose was diagnosed with cancer. In order to receive proper treatment, she moved to Vernal, Utah, while Warner held down a job in Brown’s Park. Warner and Lay shared a cabin, and shortly after arriving in the area, Cassidy moved in with them.
Sometime during 1896, Warner was hired by E. B. Coleman and Bob Swift to keep trespassers and potential claim jumpers and thieves away from their gold mining enterprise in the Uinta Mountains. Like Coleman and Swift, a trio of prospectors—Dave Milton, Dick Staunton, and Ike Staunton—was trying to locate the source of a rich mineral deposit. One afternoon, Milton and the Stauntons entered Coleman’s property and a brief gunfight resulted. By the time it was over, Milton and Dick Staunton were dead. Warner, Coleman, and another man named Bill Wall were arrested, charged with murder, and placed in the Vernal, Utah, jail.
Rumors soon spread through town that Butch Cassidy and Elzy Lay were going to break Warner out of jail. Whether this was true or not, no one knows, but the fact remains that the two men showed up in Vernal a few days later. While in town, Cassidy received a message from Warner that he was desperately in need of money to hire a defense lawyer.
In the meantime, several Vernal residents, outraged at what they considered the wanton killings of Milton and Staunton, threatened to break into the jail, remove the prisoners, and hang them from the nearest tree.
Concerned about the possibility of a lynch mob, or perhaps, as some researchers maintain, that Cassidy and Lay might attempt to break the prisoners out of their cell, the authorities transferred Warner and Wall to the jail at Ogden, Utah, to await trial. Ogden was located 140 miles in a direct line to the northwest.
On learning of the circumstances of Warner’s arrest, Cassidy and Lay were convinced their friend killed only in self-defense. The two immediately turned to lawyer Douglas A. Preston and asked him to represent their companion. Preston agreed and informed Cassidy and Lay that the trial could be long and involved and that his fee would be substantial. The two friends told Preston to begin his preparations and that they would make certain he was paid. According to Lula Parker Betenson, in order to come up with the money to pay Preston, Cassidy and Lay decided to rob the bank in Montpelier, Idaho.
Montpelier was a small town located in the southeastern corner of Idaho and about one hundred miles northeast of Ogden. Originally settled by Mormons in 1865, it was supposedly named after the Vermont birthplace of church leader Brigham Young. In truth, Young was born in Wittingham, Vermont.
The subsequent location of a railroad line through the town of Montpelier brought a number of non-Mormon laborers into the area. The town, located on the side of the tracks opposite the Mormon settlement, was similar to most new and rapidly growing towns of the time in this region—saloons, gambling dens, and dance halls provided a stark contrast to the conservative religious community nearby. The growing numbers of miners, trappers, hunters, gamblers, and drummers, along with their wild ways, troubled and angered the Mormons. Tensions remained high for a time. To make things worse, the railroad eventually brought in federal authorities to enforce monogamy laws on the polygamous Mormons. Soon, Montpelier teemed with saloons, mercantiles, and dance halls. It also had a bank.
During this time Butch Cassidy established a pattern for robbery that, with some few exceptions, he was to follow throughout most of the rest of his outlaw career. Several days prior to a holdup, whether bank or train, Cassidy and his gang would arrive early and study the work schedules, the comings and goings of
Sometime during 1896, Warner was hired by E. B. Coleman and Bob Swift to keep trespassers and potential claim jumpers and thieves away from their gold mining enterprise in the Uinta Mountains. Like Coleman and Swift, a trio of prospectors—Dave Milton, Dick Staunton, and Ike Staunton—was trying to locate the source of a rich mineral deposit. One afternoon, Milton and the Stauntons entered Coleman’s property and a brief gunfight resulted. By the time it was over, Milton and Dick Staunton were dead. Warner, Coleman, and another man named Bill Wall were arrested, charged with murder, and placed in the Vernal, Utah, jail.
Rumors soon spread through town that Butch Cassidy and Elzy Lay were going to break Warner out of jail. Whether this was true or not, no one knows, but the fact remains that the two men showed up in Vernal a few days later. While in town, Cassidy received a message from Warner that he was desperately in need of money to hire a defense lawyer.
In the meantime, several Vernal residents, outraged at what they considered the wanton killings of Milton and Staunton, threatened to break into the jail, remove the prisoners, and hang them from the nearest tree.
Concerned about the possibility of a lynch mob, or perhaps, as some researchers maintain, that Cassidy and Lay might attempt to break the prisoners out of their cell, the authorities transferred Warner and Wall to the jail at Ogden, Utah, to await trial. Ogden was located 140 miles in a direct line to the northwest.
On learning of the circumstances of Warner’s arrest, Cassidy and Lay were convinced their friend killed only in self-defense. The two immediately turned to lawyer Douglas A. Preston and asked him to represent their companion. Preston agreed and informed Cassidy and Lay that the trial could be long and involved and that his fee would be substantial. The two friends told Preston to begin his preparations and that they would make certain he was paid. According to Lula Parker Betenson, in order to come up with the money to pay Preston, Cassidy and Lay decided to rob the bank in Montpelier, Idaho.
Montpelier was a small town located in the southeastern corner of Idaho and about one hundred miles northeast of Ogden. Originally settled by Mormons in 1865, it was supposedly named after the Vermont birthplace of church leader Brigham Young. In truth, Young was born in Wittingham, Vermont.
The subsequent location of a railroad line through the town of Montpelier brought a number of non-Mormon laborers into the area. The town, located on the side of the tracks opposite the Mormon settlement, was similar to most new and rapidly growing towns of the time in this region—saloons, gambling dens, and dance halls provided a stark contrast to the conservative religious community nearby. The growing numbers of miners, trappers, hunters, gamblers, and drummers, along with their wild ways, troubled and angered the Mormons. Tensions remained high for a time. To make things worse, the railroad eventually brought in federal authorities to enforce monogamy laws on the polygamous Mormons. Soon, Montpelier teemed with saloons, mercantiles, and dance halls. It also had a bank.
During this time Butch Cassidy established a pattern for robbery that, with some few exceptions, he was to follow throughout most of the rest of his outlaw career. Several days prior to a holdup, whether bank or train, Cassidy and his gang would arrive early and study the work schedules, the comings and goings of
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