Harry Head

Last updated April 06, 2019

Harry Head (died 1881) (known as Harry the Kid), was a cattle rustler and stagecoach robber. One of his better known robberies occurred outside Contention City, a boomtown in the Arizona Territory.

Contention City or Contention is a ghost mining town in Cochise County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. It was occupied from the early-1880s through the late-1880s in what was then known as the Arizona Territory. Only a few foundations now remain of this boomtown which was settled and abandoned with the rise and fall of silver mining in and around the area of Tombstone.

A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons, such as a proximity to a major metropolitan area, huge construction project, or attractive climate.

The Territory of Arizona was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Arizona. It was created from the western half of the New Mexico Territory during the American Civil War.

Drew Station Stagecoach Robbery

On March 15, 1881, Head and three of his known Cowboy companions, Bill Leonard, Jim Crane, and Luther King, were set to rob a Wells Fargo stagecoach. The monetary gain, however, wasn't the only motive for robbing the stagecoach. Killing Bob Paul was reportedly a secondary objective.^{[ citation needed ]} Paul had been sent out with the stagecoach to prevent robberies from occurring, riding shotgun. Two well-known local families during the time, the Clantons and the Earps, are rumored to have had an interest in trying to kill Paul.^[1]

Cochise County Cowboys confederation of rustlers and robbers in Cochise County, Arizona

The Cochise County Cowboys were a loosely associated group of outlaw cowboys in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona Territory in the late 19th century. The term cowboy had only begun to come into wider usage during the 1870s, and in the place and time, Cowboy was synonymous with rustler. Cattle thieves frequently rode across the border into Mexico and stole cattle from Mexican ranches, which they drove back across the border and sold in the United States. Some modern writers consider them to be one of the first and earliest forms of organized crime syndicates in American history.

Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California, with central offices throughout the United States. It is the world's fourth-largest bank by market capitalization and the third largest bank in the US by total assets. Wells Fargo is ranked #26 on the 2018 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest US corporations by total revenue. In July 2015, Wells Fargo became the world's largest bank by market capitalization, edging past ICBC, before slipping behind JPMorgan Chase in September 2016, in the wake of a scandal involving the creation of over 2 million fake bank accounts by Wells Fargo employees. Wells Fargo fell behind Bank of America to third by bank deposits in 2017 and behind Citigroup to fourth by total assets in 2018.

A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses.

The coach was carrying 26,000 dollars and eight passengers. Twelve miles from the stagecoach's final destination, Paul changed seats with the driver of the stagecoach, which temporarily brought the stagecoach to a halt. Shortly after the change of seats the stagecoach came to a part of the road that had a very steep grade. This was where Head and the others laid in ambush. In order to conceal their identities, the stagecoach robbers wore wigs and false beards.^[2] Crane fired at the guard’s seat, which was where Paul should have been sitting, but the driver, Budd Philpot, was killed instead. Philpot fell forward into the horses pulling the stagecoach, causing them to charge forward. By this time Paul had drawn his weapon and had started to return fire, and he wounded Leonard. During the gunfight, a passenger named Pete Roerig was killed.^{[ citation needed ]} Paul gained control of the stagecoach and brought the rest of the passengers to safety.^[3]

Possible Doc Holliday involvement

There was talk that Doc Holliday was involved in the stagecoach robbery. He was at the time living in the nearby city of Tombstone and was known to visit the local hacienda were the suspects reportedly had camped a week before the attack.^[4] Holliday claimed that he had a sufficient alibi and that he was in no way involved in the robbery. But in July a warrant was sworn out for his arrest. Holliday was taken into custody and questioned but was later released on bond. Four days later his case was dismissed for insufficient evidence.^[4]^[2]

John Henry "Doc" Holliday was an American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist, and a good friend of Wyatt Earp. He is best known for his role in the events leading up to and following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. He developed a reputation as having killed more than a dozen men in various altercations, but modern researchers have concluded that, contrary to popular myth-making, Holliday killed only one or two men. Holliday's colorful life and character have been depicted in many books and portrayed by well-known actors in numerous movies and television series.

Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew significantly into the mid-1880s as the local mines produced $40 to $85 million in silver bullion, the largest productive silver district in Arizona. Its population grew from 100 to around 14,000 in less than seven years. It is best known as the site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and presently draws most of its revenue from tourism.

Aftermath

After the ambush on the Wells Fargo stagecoach, Paul and Wyatt Earp, started an investigation. They put a price on the heads of those that were involved in the ambush and set it at 2,000 dollars dead or alive. Paul should have notified the local sheriff immediately after the incident occurred, however; the sheriff at the time, Johnny Behan, was known to be a "...friend of the [Cowboy] element."^[2] As the manhunt for the perpetrators of the Drew Station Stagecoach robbery continued, it was soon discovered that Head and several of his companions had managed to flee across the Mexican border.^[2]

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American Old West lawman and gambler in Cochise County, Arizona Territory, and a deputy marshal in Tombstone. He worked in a wide variety of trades throughout his life and took part in the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which lawmen killed three outlaw Cochise County Cowboys. He is often erroneously regarded as the central figure in the shootout, although his brother Virgil was Tombstone city marshal and deputy U.S. marshal that day and had far more experience as a sheriff, constable, marshal, and soldier in combat.

John Harris Behan was Sheriff of Cochise County in the Arizona Territory, during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and was known for his opposition to the Earps. Behan was sheriff of Yavapai County from 1871 to 1873. He was married and had two children, but his wife divorced him, accusing him of consorting with prostitutes. He was elected to the Seventh Arizona Legislative Assembly, representing Yavapai County. In 1881, Wyatt Earp served for about five months as undersheriff of the eastern half of Pima County. When Wyatt resigned, Behan was appointed to fill his place, which included the mining boomtown Tombstone. When Cochise County was formed in February 1881, Behan was appointed as its first sheriff. Tombstone became the new county seat and Behan's headquarters. Sadie Marcus was his mistress, possibly as early as 1875 in Tip Top, Arizona, and certainly from 1880 until she found him in bed with another woman and kicked him out in mid-1881.

The investigation initially resulted in the arrest of Luther King, who was held under suspicion of being one of the robbers. King went peaceably even though he had "...a Winchester, two six-shooters, and twenty boxes of cartridges..." with him.^[2] He did, however, quickly escape from jail. Before escaping, King stated he had only been there to hold the horses, but had also revealed that his accomplices were Harry "the Kid" Head, Billy Leonard, and Jim Crane.^[5]

Death

Head and Leonard were able to elude capture for several months. After three months, however, they attempted a robbery at a store in Eureka, New Mexico. The owners of the store, Bill and Ike Haslett, fought back and killed the two outlaws. Afterward, Crane, along with Curly Bill Brocius, Frank Stilwell, Pony Diehl, Pete Spence, and at least five other men, hunted down the Haslett brothers.^[1]^[5]

Related Research Articles

Riding shotgun was used to describe the guard who rode alongside a stagecoach driver, ready to use his shotgun to ward off bandits or hostile Native Americans. In modern use, it refers to the practice of sitting alongside the driver in a moving vehicle. The phrase has been used to mean giving actual or figurative support or aid to someone in a situation. The earliest coining of this phrase dates to at most 1905.

The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a 30-second shootout between lawmen and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. It is generally regarded as the most famous shootout in the history of the American Wild West. The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud, with Cowboys Billy Claiborne, Ike and Billy Clanton, and Tom and Frank McLaury on one side and town Marshal Virgil Earp, Special Policeman Morgan Earp, Special Policeman Wyatt Earp, and temporary policeman Doc Holliday on the other side. Billy Clanton and both McLaury brothers were killed. Ike Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and Wes Fuller ran from the fight. Virgil, Morgan, and Doc Holliday were wounded, but Wyatt Earp was unharmed. Wyatt is often erroneously regarded as the central figure in the shootout, although his brother Virgil was Tombstone city marshal and deputy U.S. marshal that day and had far more experience as a sheriff, constable, marshal, and soldier in combat.

John Peters Ringo —known as Johnny Ringo—was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, United States. He took part in the Mason County War during which he committed his first murder. He was arrested and charged with murder, but escaped from jail. He was affiliated with Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan, Ike Clanton, and Frank Stilwell during 1881–1882. He got into a confrontation in Tombstone with Doc Holliday and was suspected by Wyatt Earp of having taken part in the attempted murder of Virgil Earp and the ambush and death of Morgan Earp. Ringo was found dead with a bullet wound to his temple. Modern writers have advanced various theories attributing his death to Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Frank Leslie, and Michael O'Rourke.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is a 1957 American western film starring Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp and Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday, loosely based on the actual event which took place on October 26, 1881. The picture was directed by John Sturges from a screenplay written by novelist Leon Uris.

William Brocius, better known as Curly Bill Brocius, was a gunman, rustler and an outlaw Cowboy in the Cochise County area of the Arizona Territory during the early 1880s. His name is likely an alias or nickname, and some evidence links him to another outlaw named William "Curly Bill" Bresnaham, who was convicted of an 1878 attempted robbery and murder in El Paso, Texas.

Ike Clanton rancher and member of the Cochise County Cowboys in Arizona Territory, US

Joseph Isaac Clanton was a member of a loose association of outlaws known as The Cowboys who clashed with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp as well as Doc Holliday. On October 26, 1881, Clanton was present at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory but was unarmed and ran from the gunfight, in which his 19-year-old brother, Billy, was killed.

David Rudabaugh, was a cowboy, outlaw, and gunfighter in the American Old West. Modern writers often refer to him as "Dirty Dave" because of his alleged aversion to water, though no evidence has emerged to show that he was ever referred to as such in his own lifetime.

Mary Katherine Horony-Cummings, also known as Big Nose Kate, was a Hungarian-born prostitute and longtime companion and common-law wife of Old West gunfighter Doc Holliday.

Pete Spence, was a small-time criminal known for his association with outlaw Cowboys Frank and Tom McLaury, and Ike and Billy Clanton, of Tombstone, Arizona Territory. Spence was also a suspect in the assassination of Morgan Earp. His wife Marietta Duarte testified that Spence and several friends had talked about killing Morgan, but the judge ruled her testimony inadmissible. Spence was first suspected of robbery in 1878 in Goliad County, Texas. He was suspected of stealing mules and later a suspect in a stagecoach robbery outside Bisbee, Arizona. While a deputy sheriff, he pistol-whipped and killed a man for which he served 18 months of a five year term before the governor pardoned him.

Newman Haynes Clanton, also known as "Old Man" Clanton, was a cattle rancher and father of four sons, one of whom was killed during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Two of his sons were involved in multiple conflicts in Cochise County, Arizona Territory including stagecoach robbery and cattle rustling. His son Ike Clanton was identified by one witness as a participant in the murder of Morgan Earp. Billy Clanton and Ike were both present at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in which Billy was killed. "Old Man" Clanton was reportedly involved with stealing cattle from Mexican ranchers and re-selling them in the United States. Records indicate he participated in the Skeleton Canyon Massacre of Mexican smugglers. In retaliation, Mexican Rurales are reported to have ambushed and killed him and a crew of Cowboys in the Guadalupe Canyon Massacre.

Sherman McMaster was an outlaw turned lawman, who was one of the six men involved in the Earp vendetta ride.

Frank C. Stilwell was an outlaw Cowboy who killed at least two men in Cochise County during 1877–82. Both killings were considered to have been self-defense. For four months he was a deputy sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona Territory for Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan. Stilwell owned interests in several mines and various businesses, including a saloon, a wholesale liquor business, a stage line, and at his death livery stables in Charleston and Bisbee. He was also a partner in a Bisbee-area saloon with ex-Texas Ranger Pete Spence.

The Guadalupe Canyon Massacre was an incident that occurred on August 13, 1881 in the Guadalupe Canyon area of the southern Peloncillo Mountains – Guadalupe Mountains. Five American men were killed in an ambush, including "Old Man" Clanton, the alleged leader. They were believed to belong to the Cowboys, an outlaw group based in Pima and Cochise counties in Arizona. Two men survived the attack. The canyon straddles the modern Arizona and New Mexico state line and connects the Animas Valley of New Mexico with the San Bernardino Valley of Arizona. During the American Old West, the canyon was a key route for smugglers into and out of Mexico.

Tom McLaury and his brother Frank owned a ranch outside Tombstone, Arizona, Arizona Territory during the 1880s. He was a member of group of outlaw Cowboys and cattle rustlers that had ongoing conflicts with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp. The McLaury brothers repeatedly threatened the Earps because they interfered with the Cowboys' illegal activities. On October 26, 1881, Tom and Frank were both killed in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. The Tombstone shootout was his only gunfight.

Charles "Pony Diehl" Ray was an Old West outlaw in the New Mexico Territory and Arizona Territory. He was accused by Wyatt Earp of having taken part in an attempt to kill his brother, Virgil Earp. Diehl was not tried due to a lack of evidence.

Cochise County in southeastern Arizona was the scene of a number of violent conflicts in the 19th-century American Old West, including between white settlers and Apache Indians, between opposing political and economic factions, and between outlaw gangs and local law enforcement. Cochise County was carved off in 1881 from the easternmost portion of Pima County during a formative period in the American Southwest. The era was characterized by rapidly growing boomtowns, the emergence of large-scale farming and ranching interests, lucrative mining operations, and the development of new technologies in railroading and telecommunications. Complicating the situation was staunch resistance to white settlement from local Native American groups, most notably during the Apache Wars, as well as Cochise County's location on the border with Mexico, which not only threatened international conflict but also presented opportunities for criminal smugglers and cattle rustlers.

Robert "Bob" H. Paul was a law enforcement officer in the American Southwest for more than 30 years. He was sheriff of Pima County, Arizona Territory from April 1881 to 1886 and a friend of Deputy U.S. Marshall Virgil Earp and his brother Wyatt Earp. At 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) and 240 pounds (110 kg), he was described as "larger than life". Others described him as "powerful, fearless and very lucky".

References

1 2 The Complete List of Old West Outlaws; (n.d.); retrieved February 20, 2015; Legends of America website
1 2 3 4 5 The Western Online; (n.d.); retrieved March 17, 2015
↑ Neal, B.; (1979); Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters; Norman: University of Oklahoma Press; Pp. not given
1 2 Patterson, R.; (1985); Historical Atlas of the Outlaw West; Boulder: Johnson Books; Pp. not given
1 2 Hume, J., & Thacker, J.; (2010); Wells, Fargo & Co. Stagecoach and Train Robberies, 1870-1884; Text: the corporate report of 1885 with additional facts about the crimes and their perpetrators; (Rev. ed.); Jefferson, N.C.; McFarland; no pages given

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[Legends-1] 1 2 The Complete List of Old West Outlaws; (n.d.); retrieved February 20, 2015; Legends of America website

[online-2] 1 2 3 4 5 The Western Online; (n.d.); retrieved March 17, 2015

[Neal-3] Neal, B.; (1979); Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters; Norman: University of Oklahoma Press; Pp. not given

[Patterson-4] 1 2 Patterson, R.; (1985); Historical Atlas of the Outlaw West; Boulder: Johnson Books; Pp. not given

[HT-5] 1 2 Hume, J., & Thacker, J.; (2010); Wells, Fargo & Co. Stagecoach and Train Robberies, 1870-1884; Text: the corporate report of 1885 with additional facts about the crimes and their perpetrators; (Rev. ed.); Jefferson, N.C.; McFarland; no pages given