BUCKEY O'NEILL

Buckey O'Neill A POSSE CAPTURES THE CANYON DIABLO TRAIN ROBBERS

History, romantic folklore and bizarre coincidences mix together to make this tale. Years after a train robbery, legendary Sheriff Buckey O'Neill and one of the bandits he caught died on the same battlefield, fighting for the same cause. Buckey O'Neill was one of the most remarkable characters to ride in the cavalcade of Arizona history. He earned his nickname from his inclination to "buck the tiger" or bet against the house in faro. A dashing figure, he stood about 6 feet tall and had dark brown hair and a stylish mustache. Women loved his handsome looks, infectious smile and The masked bandits led the two trainmen to the express car and threatened to blow it up with dynamite if the messenger inside refused to open the door.

Arizona history. He earned his nickname from his inclination to "buck the tiger" or bet against the house in faro. A dashing figure, he stood about 6 feet tall and had dark brown hair and a stylish mustache. Women loved his handsome looks, infectious smile and Wit. He had a vibrant, magnetic personality that inspired loyalty and devotion from men and women alike. He also had a strong sense of justice and would fight readily for a just cause. And, as the four who pulled the 1889 train robbery would learn, he had the tenacity of a bulldog. O'Neill was only 19 when he rode into Phoenix on a burro in 1879. He was a printer or typesetter. Six years later in Prescott, he started a small livestock newspaper, the Hoof and Horn. He cut a colorful swath along "Whiskey Row," made friends easily and liked politics. In 1886, he was elected probate judge. Two years later, he was elected sheriff of Yavapai County. O'Neill had been in office just three months when the sensational train robbery at Canyon Diablo occurred. It seemed that for casehardened Hashknife cowpunchers Dan Harvick, Jack J. Smith, Bill Sterin and John Halford the northern Arizona winter of 1888-89 would never end. Day after day, they gazed across that windswept plateau, impatiently waiting for spring roundup. Like it did to most cowhands, the winter hibernation and riding the grub line made them surly. They all were broke and reduced to playing cards with dried-up beans for stakes. With life so tedious, Harvick began to think of easier, more exciting ways to make money. He came up with a plan to rob a train. He shared his plan with the other three, then quietly drew his pay and rode out. He camped that night in Box Canyon with the wind howling and blowing freezing sleet. Next morning, huddled over a small fire, he watched a lone rider approach. He nodded stiffly as J.J. Smith came riding in. In a couple of days, as expected, Sterin and Halford also appeared. The four desperados spent the next few hours huddled around a blazing fire, their backsides to the bitter cold while they made plans to rob the eastbound Santa Fe at Canyon Diablo two days hence. Then they set out. To cover their trail, they rode south towards the Mogollon Rim, turned west, and then circled around to the north. Along the way, they made a costly mistake by burglarizing Will Barnes' ranch at the mouth of Box Canyon, where the Chevelon River forks with the Little Colorado River. Barnes and his friend, Bill Broadbent, picked up the thieves' trail and followed the tracks toward Winslow. Just outside of town, the tracks veered west toward Sunset Pass. The two cowpunchers knew they couldn't follow the trail in the dark, so they rode into Winslow for the night. Meanwhile, the outlaws picked their way through the rocks and brush until they reached the steel rails of the Santa Fe's main line. The four men followed the tracks until they caught the orange glow of a lamp in the window of the tiny train station. They reined in their horses, dismounted, built a small fire and waited for the train. That night, March 20, 1889, engineer Charles Wood eased the Santa Fe Eastbound No. 2 across the spindly trestle over Canyon Diablo. The train was but a short distance from the station at Canyon Diablo where the crew would take on water and fill up the wood box before going on to Winslow, 25 miles away. Wood stared at the face of his pocket watch. It was a few minutes before 11 P.M. At 11 o'clock sharp, Wood throttled down the locomotive at the Canyon Diablo station. The fireman, lantern in hand, climbed down the ladder. A

light snow was falling, turning the ground white. From the darkness, a voice ordered him to lift his arms. The fireman looked up to see two men, their faces masked with neckerchiefs, pointing pistols at his chest. A moment later, he saw three men walking toward him. The one in the middle was engineer Wood. Two grizzled, hard-looking men carrying six-guns walked on either side of him.

The masked bandits led the two trainmen to the express car and threatened to blow it up with dynamite if the messenger inside refused to open the door. The fireman pounded on the door and identified himself. They heard the bolt slide back. The door opened, and messenger E.G. Knickerbocker stuck his head out. A step away from him was a Wells Fargo sawed-off shotgun, but the messenger wisely surrendered.

The outlaws fired several warning shots to keep the curious passengers from leaving their cars. And, just for devilment, one bandit fired a shot into the wall of the station house, sending the agent scurrying for cover.

J.J. Smith and Dan Harvick climbed into the car and ordered the messenger to open the safe. Knickerbocker claimed it was on a time lock set by Santa Fe officials and he couldn't open it. Smith then motioned with his pistol toward the Wells Fargo box and told Knickerbocker to empty its contents.

The two outlaws stuffed their pockets with valuables and rejoined Sterin and Halford, who still were holding their guns on the fireman and engineer. The bandits forced the two trainmen to walk with them to where their horses were picketed. After the four bandits were mounted, they let the trainmen go. A few minutes later, the locomotive was racing toward Winslow with its whistle blowing.

Snow continued to fall as the four train robbers rode south a few miles, then halted to build a fire and divvy up the spoils. The loot came to about $7,000 in cash along with some jewelry. Any jewelry that might be recognized was buried to be retrieved later. (The jewelry was never recovered and likely remains where it was cached.) Smith's share of the loot included a pair of diamond earrings. He took the diamonds out of their settings and put them in his pocket. Later, he reached in for some tobacco dregs to fill his pipe and accidentally dropped in the diamonds, too. Later, he knocked the ashes out of the pipe bowl on his boot heel and the diamonds were lost.

In Winslow, Will Barnes had gone to the railroad station and telegraphed authorities in Holbrook about the burglary at his ranch. Then he and Broadbent headed for a local hotel to get some sleep before resuming the chase. About midnight, they were awakened by the dispatcher, who told them about the train robbery.

Barnes and Broadbent loaded their horses on a stock car and headed for Canyon Diablo. On arriving, they found horse tracks that matched the ones at the ranch. One of the horses had been shod with the toe out of line. Another had three nails on the inside of the shoe instead of the usual four. Still another had been shod with a secondhand shoe, causing the nail heads to protrude.

From the descriptions and prints, Barnes was pretty sure he knew the identities of two of the train robbers.

He and Broadbent found the spot where the outlaws had stopped to divide the loot. Barnes found some torn Wells Fargo envelopes, a five-dollar gold piece, and silver coins that the robbers had evidently lost in their haste.

The bandits tried to cover their tracks with a variety of means. They tied bits of saddle blankets to their horses' hooves. They fell in with a herd of wild range mares and drove them for a distance. And they rode through dry, rocky washes. But the two stubborn trackers kept cutting trail until they picked up the shod tracks again.

Barnes and Broadbent followed the outlaws' trail south for several miles before it bent around to the north and crossed the railroad tracks about 15 miles west of Winslow. By this time, their horses were about played out. Barnes suspected the train robbers were headed for Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River.

The two trackers rode on to Lee's Ferry, where they were disappointed to be told the outlaws had not crossed the river at that point. But the fugitives had crossed without the ferryboat operator seeing them. They had bribed a man to cross on the ferry and camp for the night. Then, when the ferryman went to sleep, the man stole the boat and brought the desperados and their horses across under cover of darkness.

At Lee's Ferry, Barnes and Broadbent were met by Sheriff O'Neill and a posse from Prescott. The two weary cowmen then rode back to Holbrook.

O'Neill and Deputy Jim Black had been in Flagstaff when word came of the train robbery. They were joined by special Deputy Ed St. Clair of Flagstaff and Carl Holton, a detective for the Santa Fe. The posse left for Canyon Diablo on the morning of March 22, 1889. By then-two days after the robbery-a $4,000 reward had been posted.

They picked up the outlaws' trail and followed it north to Lee's Ferry. During the chase, the posse dispatched a Navajo courier to alert communities in Utah to be on the lookout for the fugitives. (By the late 1880s, sheriffs were appointed U.S. deputy marshals, allowing them to cross county, state or territorial lines in pursuit of outlaws.) Word of the four fugitives had reached residents of the little Mormon community of Cannonville, Utah, located in the valley just east of Bryce Canyon. Not long after, the four men rode into town. The Mormons treated them with reserved kindness, fed them and offered them a place to sleep. The four hard-looking strangers cautiously accepted the hospitality and settled in for the night. While the trailweary train robbers were sleeping, the local constable, along with a posse of farmers, got the drop on them-briefly. Somehow, J.J. Smith was able to turn the tables. He nabbed the constable, who then told his band to throw down their guns. The outlaws then took supplies, fired a few indignant shots in the air, andchanging directions to confuse the posse-turned back toward Wahweap Canyon and Lee's Ferry.

Sheriff O'Neill and his posse rode into Cannonville a shorttime after the outlaws had fled. Finding them gone, the posse put spurs to their horses and rode hard into the night. At Wahweap Canyon, the posse found fresh tracks and warm campfire ashes. Nearby was a steer carcass. They followed the charged toward the lawmen. O'Neill jacked the lever on his Winchester and brought down Smith's horse. With that, bullets began buzzing around like hornets. One shot hit O'Neill's horse between the eyes. The animal went down,

Fearing the death penalty, three of the outlaws pleaded guilty in exchange for prison sentences. On June 5, 1889, each of the three marauders was sentenced to 25 years at the Yuma Territorial Prison.

tracks up the canyon and spotted Smith, acting as lookout.

Unwittingly, the outlaws had boxed themselves in. Surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, they spurred their mounts and pinning the sheriff to the ground for a few nervous moments. The furious gunfire frightened the outlaws' horses, causing them to stampede into the brush. Now the gang was afoot.

Halford and Sterin were captured, but Smith and Harvick made a run for it. They leaped over a bluff and bounced down to the canyon floor. The two were able to dodge the lawmen the rest of that day and through the night, crawling through brush and over rocky crevasses. Finally, they arrived at a small watering hole, footsore, thirsty and tired. They bathed their swollen feet in the cool water and were about to leave when a shot crashed into a rock, peppering them with pieces of granite. Weary and dispirited, the two outlaws surrendered. By this time, the lawmen had been in the saddle for three weeks and 600 miles.

Fearing the death penalty, three of the outlaws pleaded guilty in exchange for prison sentences. On June 5, 1889, each of the three marauders was sentenced to 25 years at the Yuma Territorial Prison. But they got out after just a few years behind bars. Dan Harvick was released on Christmas Day, 1896. John Halford and Bill Sterin were freed nearly a year later, on November 1, 1897.

J.J. Smith, who had escaped while being returned to Arizona, was brought to trial in November 1889. He pleaded guilty and received a 30-year sentence-the extra five years were added for his escape. Nonetheless, Smith was freed before the others. He was pardoned and released from prison on August 13, 1893, on condition that he leave Arizona and not come back.

As for Bill Sterin, he enlisted in the First United States Volunteer Cavalry-the Rough Riders-when war broke out with Spain in 1898. So did Buckey O'Neill. Both bandit and sheriff were killed in the Battle of San Juan Hill.