St. Louis Police Nab Wild Bunch Members
On Tuesday, November 5, 1901, St. Louis Police captured Ben Kilpatrick and Laura Bullion for their part in the Great Northern train robbery in Montana on July 2, 1901. Before the case was settled, Kilpatrick would serve 10 years and Laura Bullion would serve three and a half years in the Missouri Penitentiary but it would take several weeks for the police to discover who they actually captured.
Article about Kilpatrick’s and Bullion’s capture in November 1901 from the November 7, 1901 edition of the St. Louis Republic
In the first week of November, a St. Louis jeweler was approached by a well-built man who was interested in buying a watch. The jeweler sold him the watch for $85, which he paid for with new $20 bills drawn on the Bank of Montana. The man left with the watch and the jeweler went to deposit the large sum at the bank.
The jeweler, Max Barnett of the Globe Loan Company at 109 N. Sixth Street, was refused deposit of the funds because they matched the description of the bills stolen in the Great Northern Train Robbery. The jeweler notified Chief of Police Kiely.
Laura Bullion from a Pinkerton Mug Shot in the Public Domain
Kiely had a secret weapon at his disposal,”The Sherlock Holmes of St. Louis”, Chief of Detectives William Desmond. The 44-year-old Desmond put four of his best men on the case. While a couple of them were making inquiries, they observed a man matching the description of the shopper walking Downtown. At 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, the stranger was easy to spot.
The detectives watched him enter 2005 Chestnut Street before they called for assistance. Once the reinforcements arrived, Detectives John McGrath, Al Guilon, John Shevlin, George Williams, James Burke and Will Brady made the arrest. Detective Guilon set up the arrest by acting like a drunken man who was looking for his room.
Guilon stumbled into the man’s room. Guilon asked why the stranger was in “his room”. When “John Arnold” as he identified himself, stood up to protest and escort Guilon out of the room, the other detectives poured in. Guilon quickly took the powerful stranger down and secured his right arm, which was reaching for a revolver. Detective McGrath quickly grabbed his left arm and removed a second revolver “Arnold” was reaching for.
Detectives found $483 on “Arnold” and a gold watch which had been purchased from the Globe Loan Company. Most of the money was fresh $20 bills drawn from the Bank of Montana. Arnold’s companion “Lillie Rose” was captured as she returned to the room. $7,000 of the stolen money was recovered in her suitcase.
“Lillie Rose” quickly admitted her real name was Laura Bullion. Bullion was a known associate of the Wild Bunch. The detectives believed their man was Harvey Logan also known as Kid Curry. They were not correct in their initial identification.
The case also shows law enforcement did not have a complete handle on the identities of the Wild Bunch. The police thought Harvey Logan and Harry Longbaugh were the same person. Longbaugh was actually the famous “Sundance Kid”. The St. Louis Police also thought Butch Cassidy had been in St. Louis with “Arnold”. Butch Cassidy and “The Sundance Kid” moved operations to South America in February 1901. The other accomplice in St. Louis was most likely Harvey Logan.
Ben Kilpatrick from the Public Domain
While Chief Kiely interviewed Bullion, Detective Chief Desmond interviewed “John Arnold” who turned out to be Ben Kilpatrick, a Texas cowboy who took part in Wild Bunch robberies under the leadership of Butch Cassidy and later Harvey Logan.
Chief Desmond always said that Kilpatrick was one of the toughest interviewees that he ever had. It took weeks of “sweating” Kilpatrick before he gave Desmond the most basic information. Kilpatrick eventually admitted his part in the robbery but would not implicate anyone else. He served 10 years of a 15 year sentence in the Missouri Penitentiary.
Kilpatrick was shot during a robbery in Memphis, Tennessee on March 12, 1912, nine months after being released from the Missouri Penitentiary. Kilpatrick was dead at 38 years of age.
Laura Bullion served three and half years of a five year sentence. She was released in 1905. She continued moving around the country until she settled in Memphis in 1918. She spent her later life as a seamstress and housekeeper. She died in Memphis on December 2, 1961 at the age of 85.
William Desmond would solve many other crimes while serving as Chief of Detectives. He seldom found a criminal as tough to crack as Ben Kilpatrick.
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