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The Sundance KidThe Tall TexanButch CassidyNews CarverKid CurryClick for larger image
The Sundance Kid is seated first on the left (the "Fort Worth five" photo) Click a person for more information. Click elsewhere on the image for a larger image.

Key Information

Harry Alonzo Longabaugh (May 24, 1867 – November 7, 1908), better known as the Sundance Kid, was an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch in the American Old West. He likely met Butch Cassidy (real name Robert LeRoy Parker) during a hunting trip in 1883 or earlier.[citation needed] The gang performed the longest string of successful train and bank robberies in American history.[citation needed]

Longabaugh fled the United States along with his consort Etta Place and Butch Cassidy to escape the dogged pursuit of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The trio fled first to Argentina and then to Bolivia, where most historians believe Parker (Cassidy) and Longabaugh were killed in a shootout in November 1908.

Early life

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Longabaugh was born in Mont Clare, Pennsylvania, in 1867 to Pennsylvania natives Josiah and Annie G. (née Place) Longabaugh, the youngest of five children.[1] At age 15, he traveled west in a covered wagon with his cousin George to help settle George's homestead near Cortez, Colorado. While there, he found work as a wrangler at a neighboring ranch, and he learned to buy and breed horses.[2] He left Cortez in 1886 and struck out on his own, drifting north and working on ranches.[3] He found work on the N Bar N Ranch in Montana Territory, but the hard winter of 1886–1887 forced the ranch to lay off wranglers, including Longabaugh.[4] Longabaugh drifted to the Black Hills before turning back to try to find work again at the N Bar N.[5]

Career

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In 1887, while traveling across the Three V Ranch near Sundance, Wyoming, he stole a gun, horse, and saddle from a cowboy. He was captured by authorities in Miles City, Montana, and sentenced to 18 months in jail by Judge William L. Maginnis. He adopted the nickname "Sundance Kid" during this time in jail, having derived it from the Wyoming town of the same name and the fact that he left home at the age of 15.[6] After his release, he went back to working as a ranch hand, and he worked at the Bar U Ranch in Alberta, Canada in 1891, which was one of the largest commercial ranches of the time.[7] He became joint owner of a saloon in the Grand Central Hotel in Calgary, but after quarreling with his partner, which almost resulted in a gunfight,[8] he headed south to Montana again. There, he took another job with the N Bar N and began rustling cattle and horses in Montana and Canada.[4]

Longabaugh was suspected of taking part in a train robbery in 1892 and a bank robbery in 1897 with five other men. He became associated with a group known as the Wild Bunch, which included Robert Leroy Parker, better known as Butch Cassidy.[9] Longabaugh was reportedly fast with a gun and was often referred to as a gunfighter. He became better known than Kid Curry, a member of his gang whose real name was Harvey Logan; Curry killed numerous men while with the gang. Longabaugh did participate in a shootout with lawmen who trailed a gang led by George Curry to the Hole-in-the-Wall hideout in Wyoming, and he was thought to have wounded two men in that shootout. Several people were killed by members of the gang, including five law enforcement officers killed by Logan. "Wanted dead or alive" posters were posted throughout the country, with rewards of as much as $30,000 for information leading to their capture or deaths.[10]

Longabaugh and Logan used a log cabin at Old Trail Town in Cody, Wyoming, as a hide-out, as they planned to rob a bank in Red Lodge, Montana.[11] They then began hiding out at Hole-in-the-Wall, located near Kaycee, Wyoming. From there, they could strike and retreat with little fear of capture, since it was situated on high ground with a view of the surrounding territory in all directions. Pinkerton detectives led by Charlie Siringo, however, hounded the gang for a few years.[10]

Escape to South America

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Cassidy and Longabaugh fled to New York City, feeling continuous pressure from the numerous law enforcement agencies pursuing them and seeing their gang falling apart. They departed from there to Buenos Aires, Argentina, aboard the British steamer Herminius on February 20, 1901,[12][13][14][15] along with Longabaugh's companion Etta Place. Cassidy posed as James Ryan, Place's fictitious brother. They settled in a four-room log cabin on a 15,000-acre (61 km2) ranch that they purchased on the east bank of the Rio Blanco near Cholila, just east of the Andes in Chubut.

Bruce Chatwin's In Patagonia references a letter Butch wrote from Cholila to Elzy Lay's mother-in-law in Utah, dated August 10, 1902. The letter cites "our little family of 3" living in a 4-room house with 300 cattle, 1500 sheep, and 28 horses. Chatwin states the letter resides with the Utah State Historical Society.[16]

1905

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Two English-speaking bandits held up the Banco de Tarapacá y Argentino in Río Gallegos on February 14, 1905, 700 miles (1,100 km) south of Cholila near the Strait of Magellan, and the pair vanished north across the Patagonian grasslands. The pair might have been Cassidy and Longabaugh.

Fearing that law enforcement had located them, Cassidy and Longabaugh sold the Cholila ranch on May 1, 1905. The Pinkerton Agency had known their location for some time, but the snow and the hard winter of Patagonia had prevented their agent Frank Dimaio from making an arrest. Governor Julio Lezana issued an arrest warrant, but Sheriff Edward Humphreys, a Welsh-Argentine who was friendly with Cassidy and enamored of Place, tipped them off. The trio then fled north to San Carlos de Bariloche, where they embarked on the steamer Condor across Nahuel Huapí Lake and into Chile; they returned to Argentina by the end of the year.

A man going under the name Frank Boyd, who was in reality Sundance/Longabaugh, killed a police officer on August 21, 1905, in a shootout at the port town of Antofagasta, Chile. He was released on a bond (equivalent to US$50,000 in 2022) and then, assisted by the US vice-consul in Antofagasta, fled to Argentina and finally Bolivia. This was not known until 2022, when the old Antofagasta El Industrial newspaper[17] was digitized.[18] Cassidy, Longabaugh, Place, and an unknown male associate robbed the Banco de la Nación Argentina branch in Villa Mercedes, San Luis Province on December 19, 1905, which is 450 miles (720 km) west of Buenos Aires, taking 12,000 pesos. They fled across the Andes to reach the safety of Chile.

On June 30, 1906, Place decided that she had enough of life on the run, so Longabaugh took her back to San Francisco. Cassidy obtained honest work under the alias James "Santiago" Maxwell at the Concordia Tin Mine in the Santa Vera Cruz range of the central Bolivian Andes, where Longabaugh joined him upon his return. Their main duties included guarding the company payroll. The two traveled to Santa Cruz in late 1907, a frontier town in Bolivia's eastern savannah, still wanting to settle down as respectable ranchers.

Death

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A courier was carrying the payroll for the Aramayo Franke and Cia Silver Mine on November 3, 1908, near the small mining town of San Vicente in southern Bolivia, when he was attacked by two masked American bandits believed to be Cassidy and Longabaugh. Witnesses saw them three days later in San Vicente, where they lodged in a small boarding house owned by miner Bonifacio Casasola. Casasola became suspicious of them because they had a mule from the Aramayo Mine, identifiable from the company's brand. He notified a nearby telegraph officer, who notified the Abaroa cavalry regiment stationed nearby. The unit dispatched three soldiers under the command of Captain Justo Concha, and they notified the local authorities.

The soldiers, the police chief, the local mayor, and some of his officials all surrounded the lodging house on the evening of November 6, intending to arrest the Aramayo robbers. As they approached the house, the bandits opened fire, killing one of the soldiers and wounding another and starting a gunfight which lasted for several hours into the evening and the night. At around 2:00 am, during a lull in the fighting, the mayor heard a man scream three times inside the house, then two successive shots were fired from inside the house.

The authorities entered the house the next morning, where they found two bodies with numerous bullet wounds to the arms and legs. The man assumed to be Longabaugh had a bullet wound in the forehead, and the man thought to be Cassidy had a bullet hole in the temple. The local police report speculated that judging from the positions of the bodies, Cassidy had probably shot the fatally wounded Longabaugh to put him out of his misery, then killed himself with his final bullet. The Tupiza police identified the bandits as the men who robbed the Aramayo payroll transport, but the Bolivian authorities did not know their real names, nor could they positively identify them.

The two bodies were buried at the small San Vicente cemetery, near the grave of a German miner named Gustav Zimmer. American forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow and his researchers attempted to find the graves in 1991, but they did not find any remains with DNA matching the living relatives of Cassidy and Longabaugh. Snow's search formed the basis of the British documentary Wanted - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Channel 4, April 22, 1993; later screened on Nova, October 12, 1993).

In 2017, a new search was launched for Cassidy's grave, which zeroed in on a mine outside Goodsprings, Nevada. The dig found human remains, but they did not match the DNA provided.

Rumors of survival

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Some have claimed that one or both men survived and returned to the United States. One of these claims was that Longabaugh lived under the name of William Henry Long in the small town of Duchesne, Utah. Long died in 1936, and his remains were exhumed in December 2008 and subjected to DNA testing.[19][20][21] Anthropologist John McCullough stated Long's remains did not match the DNA which they had obtained "from a distant relative of the Sundance Kid."[22]

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See also

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References

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Bibliography

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Sundance Kid

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Harry Alonzo Longabaugh (c. 1867–1908), better known as the Sundance Kid, was an American outlaw and member of , active in the closing years of the Wild West era. Born in Mont Clare, , he moved west as a teenager and turned to , earning his nickname from an 1887 arrest in . In the mid-1890s, Longabaugh joined , a gang of train and bank robbers led by Robert LeRoy Parker (), operating in the Rocky Mountain region. Renowned for his marksmanship, he participated in several high-profile robberies while evading lawmen and the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Pursued by authorities, Longabaugh, Cassidy, and his companion fled to in 1901, purchasing a near Cholila . They later resumed criminal activities, including robberies in and , before reportedly dying in a 1908 shootout with Bolivian forces in San Vicente. The identities of the deceased remain unconfirmed, fueling persistent rumors of survival and return to the .

Early Life

Birth and Family Background

Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, later known as the Sundance Kid, was born on May 24, 1867, in the small industrial village of Mont Clare, Pennsylvania, to Josiah Longabaugh and Annie G. Place Longabaugh. He was the youngest of five children in the family, which traced its roots to German immigrants who had settled in the region generations earlier. The Longabaughs came from a working-class background amid the economic challenges of post-Civil War Pennsylvania. Josiah, born in 1822, worked primarily as a laborer in local mills and factories near Phoenixville, supporting the family through manual toil in an era of industrial growth but limited opportunities for advancement. Annie, born in 1825, managed the household, though the family endured hardships, including financial strain that contributed to a reportedly dysfunctional dynamic marked by strict discipline and emotional distance. These conditions shaped a childhood of modest means, with the family residing in simple homes along Jacobs Street in Mont Clare. Longabaugh's siblings included Elwood Place Longabaugh (born June 21, 1858, died 1930, unmarried), Samanna L. Longabaugh Hallman (1860–1920), Emma T. Longabough (1862–1933), and Harvey S. Longabaugh (1864–1937). His early was typical for rural Pennsylvania children of the time, consisting of basic schooling in a local one-room schoolhouse, focusing on . After leaving school around age 12 or 13, Longabaugh engaged in non-criminal farm work and odd jobs on nearby properties, helping supplement the family income through seasonal labor in the area's agricultural fields and contributing to his practical, self-reliant upbringing. This period of rural toil and family stability in provided the foundational experiences that preceded Longabaugh's eventual relocation westward in his mid-teens.

Relocation West and Initial Criminal Activities

At the age of 15, in 1882, Harry Alonzo Longabaugh left his family home in Mont Clare, , and headed west to join his older cousin George Longabaugh and his family near . There, he took up work as a ranch hand and wrangler, assisting in raising and breeding horses on his cousin's property before the family relocated about 48 miles southwest to Cortez by 1884. In Cortez, Longabaugh found employment as a horseman at the LC , where he honed his skills with fine horses and breeding stock, immersing himself in the ranching life of the region. By the mid-1880s, Longabaugh had begun drifting through , seeking work in ranching communities across , , and into . In early 1887, while traveling on foot from the toward in search of , he encountered hard times and resorted to , taking a , , and from an employee of the Three V Ranch (also known as VVV Ranch) near . Arrested shortly thereafter on June 19, 1887, in , he was extradited to and charged with grand . On August 5, 1887, Longabaugh pleaded guilty in Crook County court and was sentenced to 18 months of hard labor in the Crook County Jail in Sundance. He served his time without major incident, earning a full from Thomas Moonlight on , 1889—one day before his scheduled release—due to his (under 21), good behavior, and endorsements from local citizens, the sheriff, and court officials attesting to his potential for reform. It was during this period of incarceration in Sundance that Longabaugh acquired his enduring moniker, the "Sundance Kid," derived from the name of the town and his relative at the time. Following his release, Longabaugh continued associating with ranching outfits and minor figures in the outlaw fringes of and , including interactions within local horse-trading circles that occasionally skirted the law. These early connections in the rugged communities of the northern plains laid the groundwork for his transition into more serious criminal pursuits, though he initially stuck to ranch work and small-scale activities.

Outlaw Career

Joining the Wild Bunch

The exact circumstances of Harry Longabaugh's meeting with Robert LeRoy Parker, known as , remain uncertain, but historical accounts place it around 1896 or 1897 in either or , possibly through an introduction by fellow outlaw [Harvey Logan](/page/Harvey Logan). Longabaugh, having served an 18-month sentence for in , drifted into more organized criminal circles, linking up with members of Cassidy's emerging network shortly after Cassidy's own release from in 1896. This encounter marked Longabaugh's transition from solitary thefts to affiliation with a larger , drawn by Cassidy's reputation as a charismatic leader who emphasized non-violent planning and community support among rustlers and ranchers. Within the Wild Bunch, Longabaugh, adopting the alias Sundance Kid, quickly established himself as a skilled horseman and an emerging gunslinger, valued for his and reliability in high-stakes situations. His background in ranching across the West honed his equestrian abilities, making him adept at handling livestock and navigating rugged terrain, traits essential for the gang's mobile operations. The group operated as a loose under Cassidy's leadership, with a core of trusted associates including Elzy Lay, , and , relying on Cassidy's strategic oversight to coordinate activities while avoiding unnecessary confrontations with . The Wild Bunch utilized remote hideouts such as the Hole-in-the-Wall in Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains and Brown's Park in northeastern , which provided natural defenses and sympathetic local support from ranchers who shared anti-corporate sentiments. In these early phases of his involvement, Longabaugh took on minor roles, including scouting potential targets and assisting with cattle rustling, building trust within the gang before advancing to more prominent duties.

Key Robberies and Reputation as a Gunslinger

One of Sundance Kid's early involvements with came in June 1897, when he and five accomplices robbed the in , netting approximately $97 despite a chaotic escape that left two robbers captured. This heist marked his integration into the gang's operations, though it yielded little compared to later exploits. Later that year, in September 1897, Sundance participated in a foiled attempt to rob the Carbon County Bank in , alongside Kid Curry and others, escaping after locals raised an alarm before any money could be taken. Sundance's role expanded in major train robberies, showcasing the 's tactical precision. On June 2, 1899, he joined Butch Cassidy's crew in dynamiting the Union Pacific Overland Flyer near Wilcox, , securing around $30,000 in non-negotiable notes and currency from the express car. The following year, in August 1900, the gang, including Sundance, struck another Union Pacific train at , , hauling away approximately $55,000 in similar fashion. These successes solidified the group's notoriety, but a September 1900 robbery in , by members prompted Sundance and accomplices to pose for a group photograph in , that November—an ill-advised vanity shot featuring five outlaws that later aided identification. Within the Wild Bunch, Sundance earned a reputation as an exceptional and one of the fastest draws in the West, often serving as the group's primary enforcer due to his sharpshooting skills honed from years of ranching and prior rustling. His unwavering loyalty to further elevated his status, positioning him as a trusted who handled security during heists and escapes. This prowess extended to his quick thinking under fire, contributing to the gang's evasion of posses in several close calls. The escalating pressure from the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which issued detailed wanted circulars on Sundance and starting in the late 1890s, intensified after the Fort Worth photograph circulated widely. By the July 1901 train robbery near Wagner, Montana—where Sundance helped net about $60,000—the relentless pursuits, combined with arrests and deaths of key members like Kid Curry, fragmented the gang, forcing core survivors including Sundance to disperse and flee the .

Exile in South America

Arrival in Argentina with Butch Cassidy and Etta Place

In early 1901, Harry Longabaugh, known as the Sundance Kid, along with Robert LeRoy Parker () and Longabaugh's companion , fled the to escape intensifying pursuit by law enforcement and the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. The trio departed on February 20, 1901, aboard the steamship Herminius, arriving in , , by late February or early March of that year. They traveled under assumed identities, with Parker using the name James Ryan and Longabaugh and Place posing as Mr. and Mrs. Harry Place, to begin a new life away from their outlaw past. Upon arrival, the group initially stayed in Buenos Aires, where they opened a bank account with approximately $12,000 in gold notes, likely derived from prior criminal activities. By mid-1901, they journeyed by train and horseback into the remote Patagonia region, settling in the Cholila Valley of Chubut Territory. In 1902, they purchased a 12,000-acre ranch at the foot of the Andes, which they stocked with around 300 head of cattle, 1,500 sheep, and 28 horses, attempting to establish a legitimate ranching operation under pseudonyms such as James Black for Parker and Harry Place for Longabaugh. The outlaws constructed a four-room log cabin on the property, which served as their home during this period of relative stability. Local records and Pinkerton Agency files confirm their land acquisition and livestock holdings, noting their efforts to blend into the frontier community. Etta Place, whose real identity remains uncertain—possibly Ethel Curry, a woman from with a background in or —accompanied Longabaugh as his romantic partner, though details of their relationship are shrouded in ambiguity. Rumors persisted of a between Place and Longabaugh, with some accounts suggesting a in 1900 prior to their departure or possibly in 1903 while in , but these claims lack definitive confirmation from contemporary documents. Pinkerton reports from the era describe Place as refined and well-educated, often photographing her alongside the men, including a notable 1903 of the trio enjoying on their Cholila , which was later sent to associates . During their early years in Cholila (1901–1904), the group enjoyed a brief era of peace, integrating with local ranchers through social interactions and mutual aid. They maintained cordial relations with neighbors such as John Commodore Perry and Jarred Jones, participating in community events; for instance, in early 1904, territorial governor Julio Lezana visited their ranch, where Place danced with him while Longabaugh provided guitar accompaniment. This period allowed them to evade Pinkerton surveillance, as the agency's agents struggled to track them in the isolated Patagonian wilderness, with no major incidents reported until later years. Letters from Parker to family members, intercepted by Pinkertons, described the idyllic landscape and their hopes for a reformed life, underscoring the ranch's role as a temporary haven.

Settlement, Robberies, and Escalating Conflicts

Following their initial settlement in , and the returned to criminal activities in early 1905, beginning with the robbery of the Bank of London and Tarapaca in Río Gallegos, , on February 14. The pair, accompanied by who waited with fresh horses at a relay point, made off with approximately $20,000 in cash without firing shots at the bank, though they later killed pursuing horses to aid their escape during a rainstorm. No official charges were filed against them in for the heist, but the crime heightened scrutiny from local authorities. Later that year, tensions escalated during a trip to Chile, where on August 21, 1905, Sundance—using the alias Frank Boyd—fatally shot Chilean policeman Arturo González, aged 24, during a drunken dispute outside the Universo restaurant in Antofagasta. Sundance claimed the shooting was accidental, occurring at close range with a Smith & Wesson revolver as he drew his weapon in self-defense amid the brawl. Arrested the same day at the Gran Hotel Colón with a carbine, ammunition, and substantial cash holdings of around 430 pounds sterling (equivalent to nearly $70,000 today), he was held for over a month before release on September 30 on a 5,000-peso bail guaranteed by U.S. Vice Consul Frank D. Aller, who placed him under house arrest. Butch Cassidy, under the alias Thomas Fisher, provided testimony supporting Sundance's account, and Sundance offered compensation to González's widow, initially $16,000 (in today's dollars), which was partially accepted. These details emerged in 2022 through digitized records from the Chilean national archives, including judicial reports and articles from the Antofagasta newspaper El Industrial, uncovered by historians Anne Meadows and Daniel Buck. Sundance fled Chile shortly after his release, evading further punishment. Amid these events, departed around late 1905, likely returning to the due to health concerns such as or the mounting risks from pursuits. A letter from Sundance dated June 28, 1905, from , , indicated plans for him and Place to sail to soon after, aligning with her exit from the region. The intensified investigations by Argentine and Chilean authorities, fueled by the Río Gallegos robbery and the killing, prompted the pair to abandon their Cholila ranch in April 1905, selling it off by May 1 to evade capture. By 1907, Cassidy and Sundance had relocated to , where they sought legitimate employment at the Concordia Tin Mine in the Santa Vera Cruz range of the central , at an elevation of about 16,000 feet. Using aliases, Cassidy worked as James "Santiago" Maxwell, taking on roles including foreman, while Sundance operated as H.A. Brown, handling duties as a muleteer and guard. This period marked a temporary shift toward honest labor amid ongoing evasion of international lawmen.

Death and Legacy

The 1908 San Vicente Shootout

On November 3, 1908, two American bandits robbed a 15,000-peso payroll shipment from Aramayo mining company courier Carlos Peró near the village of Salo in southern Bolivia, prompting a pursuit by local authorities. The robbers, later identified through descriptions as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, fled northward and arrived in the remote mining hamlet of San Vicente on the evening of November 6, seeking shelter at the home of local resident Bonifacio Casasola. A posse from Uyuni, led by Captain Justo P. Concha of the Abaroa Regiment and Inspector Timoteo Rios, tracked them there after receiving reports from villagers, including corregidor Cleto Bellot, who noted the strangers' suspicious behavior and American accents. As soldiers surrounded the house, one approached the door and was fatally shot by one of the Americans, igniting a brief but intense shootout that lasted into the early hours of November 7. Contemporary reports from the scene describe both men sustaining multiple wounds during the exchange of fire, including arm injuries for the Sundance Kid and shots to the arm and temple for . Bellot and Casasola, positioned nearby, heard anguished screams followed by two final gunshots from inside the dwelling before all firing ceased, suggesting the outlaws turned weapons on themselves to avoid capture. Both were found dead from fatal gunshot wounds to the head. No Bolivian forces entered the house during the confrontation, and the bodies were not immediately inspected due to the remote location and haste of the authorities. The following morning, November 7, the remains were hastily buried in an in the San Vicente cemetery, recorded simply as "desconocidos" (unknown foreigners) in local ledgers, with no performed. Approximately two weeks later, Carlos Peró was brought to the site, where he disinterred and examined the bodies, positively identifying them as the masked robbers based on their builds, clothing remnants, and features—one man around 41 years old with light-colored hair consistent with Harry Longabaugh's description. Officials noted the absence of identifying documents or weapons on the corpses, attributing this to the outlaws' practice of discarding such items after crimes. A subsequent judicial inquest in Tupiza, conducted by Bolivian authorities, gathered testimonies from Peró, Bellot, Casasola, and other locals, confirming the sequence of events but highlighting uncertainties in the identification due to the rapid burial and lack of photographs or fingerprints. In early 1909, American mining engineer Frank D. Aller, aware of rumors linking the dead men to wanted U.S. outlaws, petitioned the U.S. legation in for death certificates under possible aliases like "Frank Boyd" and "H.A. Brown," further documenting the official suspicions. Peró's detailed letter to Aramayo executives and the inquest transcripts provided the primary contemporary records, emphasizing the bandits' fair complexions and English-speaking habits as key identifiers.

Survival Rumors and Modern Verifications

Following the reported shootout in , persistent rumors circulated in the early suggesting that Harry Longabaugh, known as the Sundance Kid, had survived and returned to the or remained under an alias. These accounts included unverified sightings in , where locals claimed to have encountered a man resembling Longabaugh living quietly as a rancher, and reports of his reappearance in remote Patagonian regions after fleeing Bolivian authorities. One prominent rumor centered on , where a man named William Henry Long, who died in 1936, was alleged to be Longabaugh in hiding; proponents cited physical similarities and local anecdotes from the onward to support the claim. This theory gained traction through family testimonies and photographic comparisons but was thoroughly investigated in 2009 when Long's remains were exhumed from Duchesne City Cemetery for DNA analysis. The testing, conducted by biological anthropologist John McCullough and compared against samples from Longabaugh's distant relatives, yielded no genetic match, effectively disproving the identification despite initial hopes for contamination-related retesting. Efforts to verify the Bolivian remains presumed to be Longabaugh's have similarly faced challenges. In 1991, forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow exhumed a grave in San Vicente based on local accounts of a 1908 burial, identifying bullet wounds and skeletal features consistent with Longabaugh's reported height of 5 feet 11 inches, but emphasized that conclusive identification required DNA testing against descendants. Subsequent DNA extractions from the degraded, mummified remains proved inconclusive due to environmental degradation and insufficient viable genetic material, leaving the official death narrative unconfirmed by modern forensics. Further attempts in 2017 to reanalyze the Bolivian remains using advanced DNA techniques, including comparisons to Longabaugh relatives, again resulted in inconclusive outcomes owing to the samples' poor condition from over a century of exposure. These forensic limitations have sustained debates over Longabaugh's identity, with some speculating that , his companion who vanished around 1907, may have inadvertently fueled rumors through her own enigmatic post-exile movements and associations. Recent historical research has bolstered the South American timeline, countering U.S.-based survival tales. In , documents uncovered in Chile's detailed Longabaugh's 1905 involvement in a shootout where he fatally wounded police officer Arturo González in , leading to his flight northward with ; U.S. Vice Consul Frank Aller even posted for him under an alias before the pair absconded, incurring financial loss for Aller. This archival evidence confirms their continuous activities across , , and from 1901 to 1908, undermining claims of an early return to the and reinforcing the likelihood of their demise in San Vicente.

Cultural Depictions

Film and Literature Representations

The portrayal of the Sundance Kid in film and literature often draws from his historical partnership with , emphasizing their exploits as outlaws. The most influential depiction appears in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, directed by , where plays the Sundance Kid as a stoic, quick-draw gunslinger who flees to with Cassidy () and (), culminating in a romanticized shootout that freezes on their defiant freeze-frame as they charge into battle. This presents the duo as charismatic anti-heroes evading a relentless posse, blending humor, banter, and adventure to humanize their criminal lives rather than condemning them. Earlier literary representations include Charles Kelly's 1938 book The Outlaw Trail: A History of and His , a seminal work that chronicles the Sundance Kid (Harry Longabaugh) as a key member of the , highlighting his role in and robberies while grounding the in historical accounts gathered from interviews and records. More recent biographies, such as Bill Betenson's 2012 Butch Cassidy, My Uncle: A , depict the Sundance Kid through family anecdotes as Cassidy's steadfast companion during their South American exile, portraying him as a skilled but enigmatic figure whose extended beyond to personal bonds. Across these works, the Sundance Kid is consistently characterized as a charming rogue with exceptional marksmanship, often shown as laconic and yet fiercely protective of his partner, contrasting Cassidy's more outgoing . In the 1969 film, Redford's portrayal amplifies this as a dry-witted who demonstrates prowess in a saloon and chases, embodying quiet competence amid chaos. Portrayals vary between heroic anti-heroes and more hardened criminals; the film romanticizes Sundance as a reluctant seeking escape, while Kelly's historical account leans toward a pragmatic gunslinger involved in violent heists without overt moral redemption. In television adaptations like the 1970s series , inspired by the duo, Sundance-like characters appear as reformed s on parole, shifting toward sympathetic rogues, whereas some novels emphasize ruthless efficiency in robberies.

Influence on Modern Media and Events

The Sundance Kid's legacy has profoundly influenced contemporary cultural institutions, most notably through the naming of the . Founded in 1978 by actor , who portrayed the Kid in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the festival draws its name from Redford's expansive property, which he christened Sundance in homage to the character's origins as Harry Longabaugh, the Sundance Kid. This connection has elevated the outlaw's persona as a symbol of independent spirit, with the festival serving as a premier platform for emerging filmmakers since its inception. Recent media productions continue to explore the myths surrounding the Sundance Kid, blending historical analysis with popular storytelling. The 2025 Biography channel documentary The Real Story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid delves into their exploits and the enduring legends of survival, utilizing archival footage and expert interviews to separate fact from fiction. The Sundance Kid appears in various modern entertainment formats, reinforcing his archetype in Western-themed narratives. In video games, he serves as an antagonist in Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (2013), where players encounter his exploits in a stylized retelling of Wild Bunch lore, and inspires plot elements in Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), which echoes the duo's outlaw camaraderie and South American flight. Comics feature him as a supporting character in the ongoing manga series Drifters (2009–present), integrating his historical persona into supernatural Western adventures. In music, references persist in lyrics like Arctic Monkeys' 2011 track "Black Treacle," which invokes the Sundance Kid to evoke isolation and rebellion in a contemporary rock context. Modern scholarly works and tourism further sustain interest in the Sundance Kid's life. Tom Clavin's 2024 book Bandit Heaven: The Hole-in-the-Wall Gangs and the Final Chapter of the Wild West provides a detailed examination of his partnership with , drawing on primary sources to contextualize their final years . In , the Cholila ranch—once home to Cassidy, the Kid, and from 1901 to 1905—now attracts tourists via guided tours that highlight the site's role in their attempted ranching life before renewed robberies. These visits, often part of broader itineraries, underscore the global allure of their story.

References

  1. https://www.biography.com/crime/sundance-kid
  2. https://hsmcpa.org/the-sundance-kid/
  3. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Sundance_Kid.html?id=P7GWT6xXFDYC
  4. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5053926/josiah-longabough
  5. https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-sundance-kid-the-life-of-harry-alonzo-longabaugh/
  6. https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~andreasfamily/genealogy/sundance.html
  7. https://www.pottsmerc.com/2004/06/29/monument-gives-new-life-to-kid/
  8. https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/09/15/the-american-west-how-the-sundance-kid-became-a-notorious-outlaw/
  9. https://www.whiteranchpark.com/blog/26-sundance-history
  10. https://www.truewestmagazine.com/article/following-butch-and-sundance/
  11. https://wyostatearchives.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/how-the-sundance-kid-got-his-name/
  12. https://www.crookcountymuseum.org/blog/the-sundance-kids-legacy-in-crook-county
  13. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/sundance-kid/
  14. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/butch-cassidy-and-sundance-kid-timeline/
  15. https://www.history.com/articles/famous-wild-west-outlaws-billy-the-kid-jesse-james-butch-cassidy
  16. https://historytogo.utah.gov/butch-cassidy/
  17. https://www.biography.com/crime/a66128333/butch-cassidy-sundance-kid-true-story
  18. https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/outlaw-and-his-lawyer-butch-cassidy-and-douglas-preston
  19. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/wild-bunch/
  20. https://www.bellefourchebeacon.com/2024/06/25/looking-back-in-belle-4/
  21. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=80188
  22. https://www.history.com/articles/butch-cassidy-sundance-kid-robberies-death
  23. https://pinkerton.com/our-insights/blog/the-fort-worth-five-the-iconic-photo-that-ended-the-wild-wests-most-notorious-gang
  24. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sundance-Kid
  25. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/butch/
  26. https://wildwesthistory.org/2022/10/04/wild-bunch-circulars-issued-by-the-pinkertons-national-detective-agency-1900b1907/
  27. https://www.truewestmagazine.com/article/ethel-etta-place/
  28. https://www.historynet.com/the-last-days-of-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid/
  29. https://www.csmonitor.com/1998/0127/012798.intl.intl.2.html
  30. https://www.thelongridersguild.com/stories/callahan-cassidy.htm
  31. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/16/butch-cassidy-sundance-kid-argentina-chile-bolivia
  32. https://wildwesthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Buck-The-Sundance-Kid-for-WWHA-website.pdf
  33. https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/sundance-kid-killed-a-chilean-policeman-in-1905-but-escaped-punishment/article_14d54d2c-98ec-11ed-9862-7fb858f80aa6.html
  34. https://wildwesthistory.org/2022/09/12/tracking-etta-place-and-ann-bassetta-timeline/
  35. https://diggingupbutchandsundance.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/mythicalbcsk.pdf
  36. https://truewestmagazine.com/article/high-doom-in-the-andes/
  37. https://www.history.com/articles/the-mysterious-deaths-of-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid
  38. https://www.thevintagenews.com/2022/12/08/butch-cassidy-sundance-kid-deaths/
  39. https://www.deseret.com/2009/2/17/20302713/was-duchesne-farmer-the-sundance-kid/
  40. https://www.ksl.com/article/7932906/dna-evidence-shoots-holes-in-sundance-kid-theory
  41. https://www.deseret.com/1992/1/16/18962543/has-scientist-found-remains-of-butch-cassidy-and-sundance-kid/
  42. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna44146181
  43. https://www.8newsnow.com/news/i-team-final-chapter-could-be-rewritten-for-famous-western-outlaws/
  44. https://www.insidehook.com/culture/historians-details-butch-cassidy-sundance-kid-chile
  45. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064115/
  46. https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/features/robert-redford-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid-true-story-b2827486.html
  47. https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bison-books/9780803277786/the-outlaw-trail/
  48. https://www.historynet.com/book-review-butch-cassidy-my-uncle-by-bill-betenson/
  49. https://www.charactour.com/hub/characters/view/The-Sundance-Kid.Butch-Cassidy-and-the-Sundance-Kid
  50. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid-1969
  51. https://sites.temple.edu/americanicons/2016/02/18/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid-from-traditional-western-values-to-peace-and-love-by-keira-c-wingert/
  52. https://www.sundance.org/timeline/
  53. https://www.history.com/articles/robert-redford-sundance
  54. https://screenrant.com/red-dead-redemption-2-western-movie-references-rdr2/
  55. https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/arctic-monkeys-references-4727
  56. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/30/books/review/bandit-heaven-tom-clavin.html
  57. https://cheargentinatravel.com/butch-cassidy-ranch-cholila-patagonia/
  58. https://solsalute.com/blog/butch-cassidy-argentina/
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