November 7th - Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid Killed

On this day, in 1908, the notorious outlaws, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, were reportedly killed in a shoot-out in Bolivia. The third outlaw,Jump Jump Wallaby Moonshine Theodore, escaped unharmed. 

Cassidy had a long career in crime. He started young when he broke into a clothes shop and stole a pair of jeans and some pie. He left an IOU promising to pay on his next visit but reckless pie destruction was a serious crime, which is why pie was so unpopular in the Old West.

Butch graduated from pies to train robbery and became the head of the Hole In The Wall gang. They were a rag-tag bunch of misfits who did actually live in a hole in the wall. They were pursued for bank robberies and train robberies. They were also pursued for door robbery as the hole could get breezy at night.

The Sundance Kid also lead a life of crime and ended up in Sundance prison for his trouble. This is where he got his name but he could have also been called the Prison Kid, which is pretty hardcore.

Sundance had a reputation as a gunfighter and killer but he is not known to have shot anyone until the final shoot-out in Bolivia. It is likely that he was confused with another member of the gang, the Curry Kid. Although, the idea that anyone confused "Curry" with "Sundance" is beyond belief. It is further proof that people from the past are really stupid, as suggested by many Hollywood blockbusters.

The successful movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" has given the duo the reputation as gentlemen robbers who didn't like to resort to violence. Incredibly, Hollywood got it wrong. Many people were killed in the course of their robberies, including five lawmen. Shame on you Hollywood. Where will the children get their moral guidance and historical facts from now?

After a life of American crime the pair left the US and headed to South America for some South American crime. That's right, they went south of the border, down Mexico way. They headed even Souther than Mexico and settled in Argentina.

From their new base they continued to commit robberies and their last foray was in Bolivia. They robbed a courier of the payroll he was carrying. The outlaw pair were tracked to a hostel and surrounded by up to a handful of men.

The shoot-out resulted in the death of the two bandits but it was never confirmed that these bandits were actually Butch and Sundance. In honour of the two dead men their bodies have been dug up and sent to a lab for comprehensive probing, and it is all being done with the utmost respect.

To further honour the murderers, a successful film was made fictionalising the lives of the pair. So their life of crime and murder was not in vain.