Will Carver Checks Out
The outlaw buys it during a visit to the store.
Categories: History
By: Mark Boardman 11/01/2007
The idea of robbing the Sonora bank was bold—or stupid, depending on your point of view. Carver and the Kilpatricks were well known native sons of the Lone Star state. The lawmen also knew what they looked like, thanks to that Fort Worth picture. That didn’t stop the outlaws; they planned to hit the bank on April 3.
On the evening of April 2, the group left their camp outside Sonora to case the town and get some oats for the horses. George Kilpatrick was a relative novice to outlawry, and he’d never been to Sonora. Carver decided to give him the grand tour, while Ben and Kid Curry cooled their heels in another part of town.
The outlaws didn’t realize the danger that faced them. A few days earlier, the crew had stolen some cattle to make steaks. Town folks were on the lookout for the rustlers. To make matters worse, Kid Curry had murdered a neighbor of the Kilpatricks back in March, so the alarm was out on that case too.
What’s a citizen to think of some strangers, riding up and down the streets after dark, taking good looks at the bank? Not good. A few good citizens apprised Sheriff Lije Briant that two suspicious men had entered the Owens Bakery.
Having once been shot during a confrontation with bad guys, the sheriff took no chances. He rounded up several men and headed for the store.
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