The Blast at Stein's Pass
Black Jack Ketchum’s Gang vs. Three Express Guards.
Categories: Classic Gunfights , Photo Gallery
By: Bob Boze Bell 03/01/2008
Some time before 8 p.m., the outlaws take their prisoners to the railroad and express office where they are joined by Sam Ketchum, and in a few minutes, Tom Ketchum and Will Carver, who have just finished cutting the telegraph wire.
Tom and Will round up all the horses and ride two miles west of the station where they build a bonfire on either side of the tracks, right below Steins Mountain.
As westbound train number 20 chugs up the grade from Lordsburg, one of the robbers sends St. John out to turn on the red light, signaling the train to stop.
When the train halts and the conductor and brakeman run into the agent’s office for their orders, they are met by drawn six-shooters and a command: “Get your hands up and keep quiet.”
Three shots are fired, perhaps for effect, as the robbers run out and mount the engine and make their demands on engineer Tom North.
As the train pulls out of the station, leaving behind the conductor and brakemen, the passengers and the express car guards assume the shooting was a prank and relax. Several minutes later, though, the train approaches the bonfires and stops. Finally, it sinks in that the train is in the hands of robbers. The express agents douse the lights, arm themselves and throw open the doors. Luckily, they have the help of two extra shotgun-wielding guards, C.H. Jennings and Eugene Thacker, who were hired because of rumors of a possible robbery.
Engineer North is brought out of the locomotive and ordered to uncouple the express car so the robbers can take it up the tracks and blow the safe. While the engineer works on the coupling, one of the express guards yells out, “No parleying will be allowed,” and fires a shotgun blast for emphasis. The outlaws fire back and North, caught in the crossfire, accidentally sets the air brakes, immobilizing the train.
The outlaws call for the messenger’s appearance but the demand is met by another shotgun blast from the express car.
The bonfires have unintentionally made perfect targets out of the bandits, so four of them scramble up on the engine to get out of the line of fire. Ed creeps forward under the tender and peers around the corner at the express car opening, watching his fellow outlaw (believed to be either Will Carver or Sam Ketchum) try to crawl under the express car with dynamite. The dynamite never ignites because expressman Jennings sprays buckshot at the outlaw, hitting him in the lower body.
The fight blazes for a half hour with the firepower of the expressmen’s shotguns besting the five outlaws. Sam Ketchum catches two buckshot in his scalp.
Dave Atkins yells, “Sam, I’m shot.” Sam inquires, “Where?”
“In the leg,” Atkins responds.
A disgusted Sam Ketchum spits, “Well, you white-livered-dude, go on shooting. I’m shot twice in the head.” *
All five of the outlaws receive lead from the agents’ shotgun fuselage.
By 9:15, the expressmen load their shotguns with the last of the ammunition (said to be “blue whistlers”) and no doubt are fretting their options. Peering out into the bonfire-lit night, Jennings spots Ed Cullen reaching into his cartridge belt. Jennings pulls the trigger on his last load, hitting Cullen in the head.
“Boys, I’m dead,” moans Cullen, as he crumples to the tracks.
The dramatic and gory shooting takes the heart out of the robbers, and they hobble to their hobbled horses and disappear into the night.
* Attributed to 1901 newspaper reports of Tom Ketchum’s statements before his hanging.
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT