Outlaw Tales of Utah: True Stories of the Beehive State's Most Infamous Crooks, Culprits, and Cutthroats

by Michael Rutter

Massacres, mayhem, and mischief fill the pages of Outlaw Tales of Utah, 2nd Edition. Ride with horse thieves and cattle rustlers, stagecoach, and train robbers. Duck the bullets of murderers, plot strategies with con artists, hiss at lawmen turned outlaws. A refreshing new perspective on some of the most infamous reprobates of the Midwest.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Westerns, Historical, True Crime

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Michael Rutter has authored or co-authored nearly 40 books and 600 articles for magazines and newspapers. He was awarded the Ben Franklin Award for Outdoor Writing and the Rocky Mountain Book Publishers Association Award. Michael teaches advanced writing at Brigham Young University. He is also a Christa McAuliffe Fellow.

Reviews

[Macayla Fryc · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had really wanted to love this recounting of outlawish escapades, but what promised to be “True stories of the beehive states most infamous crooks, culprits, and cutthroats,” was beleaguered and somewhat scattered. More like a collection of essays, in which material is repeated, and inevitably out of chronological order. However, the narrative jumped so rapidly between subjects, with nothing more than a paragraph break, and was entirely absent of transition sentences, that maybe it couldn’t be essays, as those would at least have a format.

Examples of writing:
#1
“Ann never lost her feistiness. In the late 1930s, a circus bear apparently turned mean and escaped into the mountains after a train derailment. At age sixty, Ann claims to… have loaded up her Winchester and trailed the animal for several days into the hills. She shot the animal and got her reward. In the 1950s, Ann and Frank were in Utah Prospecting for uranium.
Maud Davis was Elza Lay’s first wife.”

3 Topics, 2 paragraphs, 1 headache, 0 transition.

#2
“Joe appreciated good stock and decided what was [the Whitmore’s] would become his. On one occasion, he took three very valuable horses and used them to pay his debt, unbeknownst to one of the Whitmore’s friends. This didn’t set well.” End paragraph.

It appeared to be foreshadowing something, but the friend was never mentioned again. Frequent instances like these made it seem like the author took notes from Wikipedia and then summarized everything (including the highly irrelevant) into tightly minced words. In this case, it probably went from a Wikipedia story of how the friend tried to exact his revenge in the streets at high noon, but then was consolidated to, "This didn't set well with one of the friends."

My one primary disappointment was the lack of in-depth stories there were (even if mostly myth). I believe any reader would appreciate that more than “Then they held up a train in Montana and got away with approximately $10,000. Next year...” C’mon man, where are the gunfights? The stick ‘em ups? The shoot ‘em downs?

I do give the author credit for some great word play. “He visited a Chicago sporting establishment that employed a flock of ‘soiled doves.’” That’s pretty funny.

Unfortunately quippy phrases don’t make for good writing, and on a whole host of instances, I found myself asking, “Wait, what?”

Alas, it's finished now, and I'm still on the hunt for a quality outlaw book to satiate my curious appetite.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A curious, fast paced compilation of stories featuring larger-than-life outlaws. I enjoyed it

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I travel I like to try and look for "local" books - the kind that you find at the local historical sites and such. I found this one in St. George, Utah. I never really expect them to blow my mind, I just look for fun topics and outlaws are always fun.

The writing is a bit scattered and I had a hard time keeping characters straight but it was still fun. I learned a lot of interesting facts. I didn't realize how deep Utah was in the outlaw lore.

One of the most interesting things I learned was that a lot of the local people loved the outlaws. The outlaws spent money, they'd often help the citizens, and they usually didn't cause problems for the local folk -just the big corporations that nobody liked anyway.

Butch Cassidy was a special favorite. He was known to be nonviolent and was proud to say "I haven't killed anyone." He also instructed his gang to never shoot anyone unless it was desperate circumstances. If they were being chased they were supposed to shoot at the horse, not the rider. Kid Curry was a bit different. He was known to be blood thirsty and he enjoyed killing.

Many of the outlaws would hang out between jobs at Brown's Hole. It was a good spot to hide and rest. It's in eastern Utah near the borders of Colorado and Wyoming.

The book was split up into chapters about individual outlaws. Here's a couple of interesting facts I learned.

Isom Dart
Isom Dart was sometimes known as Black Isom, due to his African-American heritage. He was an excellent cattle rustler and an artist at disguising brands. At one point he was caught by Deputy Joe. on the way back, there was a wagon accident and Isom stayed to help Joe survive. Joe testified at Dart's trial in his favor and Dart was found not guilty.

The Sundance Kid
The Sundance Kid called Utah home. He liked the land and the people and committed very few crimes within Utah's borders. He was a smart kid who wanted adventures. Like Butch Cassidy, there is no record of him ever killing anyone even though he was known as a slick gunfighter. Nobody knows how he died.

Elza Lay
William Ellsworth was a smart guy and known for always carrying a book in his saddle bag. Like a lot of outlaws he started as a cowboy working for the ranches, but cowboys didn't make enough money to live "the good life" which is what most of them wanted. He started thieving one day and never looked back. He was thought to be the "brains" behind some of Butch Cassidy's raids. He eventually went straight and lived a legal life.

Kid Curry
He was more infamous and more feared than Butch and Sundance. He was good with cattle and loyal to his friends but drinking made him dangerous. Butch often kept Curry from pulling the trigger on unsuspecting victims. He was the most wanted man in Utah. In 1904 Curry and his gang hit a train, they got into a gun fight with a posse. Curry took a shot to the lung but kept fighting long enough for the rest to escape. He'd knew he'd die anyway and his last shot was on himself.

These are just a few of the outlaws mentioned. I really did enjoy learning a bit more about them and I wouldn't mind reading this book again. While the chapter-per-person made it a little confusing chronologically it helped the book move along. Each chapter was it's own mini story. Good purchase for me. :)

[Zack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Going into it, I knew this wasn’t going to be great. Picked it up for just general knowledge to start building from there and it was still rough. I don’t want to dog it too much, but after this, I feel like I could get published. Could have used another pass or two from an editor. Much of the information was lost in poor organization. Timelines and transitions were all over the place. Was reminded about all the times teachers wrote on my essays to elaborate more; some facts were made with no support or elaboration and we were left wondering and wanting more.

Some chapters were better written than others with the Isom Dart chapter being the best written. Sometimes it felt like this was a collection of essays and sometimes they felt like they were supposed to be read in order. He lifted whole statements and repeated them later in the book.

The inclusion of John D Lee and Porter Rockwell seemed odd. According to the book, I’m not sure if Porter broke any laws, so wouldn’t be an outlaw. Lee is either the mastermind of a mass murder or the scapegoat for the true leader, not the romantic cowboy turned Robin Hood desperado.

AND! This is the second edition?! Someone went through and made improvements from an already published work and that new and improved edition was this?!

And the ending is terrible. No conclusion at all, just pops in a “Further Reading” section that should be a works cited, but nothing was cited.

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not realized before reading this book how far outlaws traveled from their home stomping grounds to pull their heists. It was interesting to see how locals interacted and supported the outlaws, plus the process of how one becomes a society outcast. I learned about some new to me gunfighters like Orin Porter Rockwell, Isom Dart, Kid Curry and Elza Lay. It was good to see the focus also put on the Wild Bunch women. I noticed when it came to Butch Cassidy that this author favored a commonly accepted angle and not some other theories. The DNA test about the supposed remains in South America for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (if the right remains were tested) is a very big indicator for the not dying in South America theory. Enjoyable read and i commend it to others.

[Elisabeth Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being from Utah, it was fun to hear more of the stories surrounding the characters and locations I’ve heard all my life. It sparked my interest and I want to read more about the outlaws in the future!
Unfortunately I don’t necessarily recommend this book or author for two main reasons:
1. It was sometimes difficult to tell where fact stopped and rumor started. This very well may just be the way of it, considering the subject. The author did note where there were conflicting stories and opinion and seemed to call out what was NOT backed up fact, leading me to assume that everything without those types of notes is fact, but without any evidence. I would have liked to hear at least mention of how the facts were known. (For example, “As written in a letter from Butch to _____, …). But, to be fair, this felt more like a YA non-fiction book and adding that level of detail would have made it a more dense read, so I consider this point to be more of my opinion and preference.
2. The organization and flow of the book, chapters, and even paragraphs was rough. Macayla’s review of the book describes this very well so I won’t say much more here. Go check out her review. ;)

[Brittany Hanson]

We started reading this on our Southwest trip – taking turns reading sections while we drove. Steven finished it by reading it to me over the phone, (we had to read part of the Matt Warner section more than once because I was falling asleep!)

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting and entertaining read! I do enjoy westerns and learning info on some of the real people from back in the wild west gives a different perspective of what an outlaw and a lawman may have "really" been like.

[Fred Donaldson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Compilation of famous Utah outlaws. Descriptive but not very exciting or satisfying.

[Marci · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the book could have used a better editor, it is an entertaining collection of essays about the well known and lesser known outlaws of the Old West who either came from or moved through Utah.

[Laurie Moreland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative. Sometimes repetitive and a little disjointed in the narrative.

[Kain · Rating 2 out of 5]

The lack of a cohesive ending feels confusing but the swirl of stories are interesting. The writing isn't particularly good but I don't regret reading this.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read. Could definitely use better organization, but still enjoyable.

[Jeremiah Cunningham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Massacres, mayhem, and mischief fill the pages of Outlaw Tales of Utah, 2nd Edition . Ride with horse thieves and cattle rustlers, stagecoach, and train robbers. Duck the bullets of murderers, plot strategies with con artists, hiss at lawmen turned outlaws. A refreshing new perspective on some of the most infamous reprobates of the Midwest.

This book provides a brief history of the some of the most famous villans of the Old West. The book includes histories for Butch Cassidy, The Sundance Kid, and Will Case. A large focus of the book is Butch Cassidy's gang known as the Wild Bunch or the Hole-in-the-Wall gang. The book also details a few of the favorite hideouts for the Outlaws including Brown's Hole and Rober's Roost. One chapter is dedicated to the women that involved themselves with the outlaws including Etta Place (Common Law wife of The Sundance Kid), Laura Bullion (the lady of the Tall Texan), and Annie Rogers (the lady of Kid Curry). The book also includes information about lawmen, cowboys, and the Morman Massacre.

While there were many things in the book that I found interesting as a history buff, one of my favorite things was the author's focus on the relationship between the outlaws and the locals throughout Utah, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. The outlaws were often considered common people with an understanding of the needs of the small time rancher or farmer. The locals often provided the outlaws with fresh horses, food, and even jobs when things were calm. These outlaws, despite being the center of modern legend, were not viewed as super villans but rather good men trying to find their way through the world.

The only downside to the book was a bit of repetition. The repetition was intentional though as the author tried to create a complete portrait of each individual outlaw. Other than that the book was well written and provided information that I either did not know or had forgotten about these historic characters and events. I was given this book as a gift when my wife returned home from a trip, but I would advise any history buff to not wait to get the book as a gift as it is well worth the read.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Original BookTube review HERE

This is a great compilation of all the cowboy bad boys of Utah, and it’s a very interesting read. Rutter presents the facts, as well as many theories surrounding some of the still unknown endings, like the fate of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Filled with black and white photos of the culprits and newspaper clippings of their wanted posters, this is a sensational glimpse into the past. Some of these names were familiar to me, like Butch and Sundance, but others were new: Isom Dart, Tom Horn, Elizabeth Basset and Matt Warner, the bandit who became judge. The pages are full of colorful characters, and what makes the accounts so gripping is the realization that these larger-than-life people really existed. With every account, I could see the threads of a sensational movie spreading out before me. It even provides a map of Utah with all the popular hideouts, which is great, because now I want to go exploring.

Rutter switches sometimes between telling events as a story, and presenting them as fact. I wish he would have chosen just one method, because he switches often randomly between the two and it felt a little inconsistent.

In addition to some great stories, Rutter also provides a list for further reading, including several autobiographies of some of these rich personalities. He cautions that they had a tendency to exaggerate details, but isn’t that half the fun?

‘Outlaw Tales of Utah’ gets three and a half stars. This book is great for history buffs or anyone who likes a good western. Many accounts play out like a film. I would definitely recommend it anyone with a passing interest in the Old West. Michael Rutter has fueled both my love of a good story, and my thirst for some interesting history.

[John Collings · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are is a lot of interesting information in this book about the most famous group of crooks from the beehive state, the Wild Bunch. I've always wanted to learn more about these people after visiting Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah where they did most of their rustling, but I hadn't found a good book to tell me about them. My only reference was the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but I always wondered about the authenticity of that piece. This book was a great companion piece to that story. It told about the known facts and the elaborated stories and let the reader decide which was the truth. The stories were a lot of fun and Michael Rutter did an amazing job of doing his research on this subject. Each chapter was its own little article which made it a little difficult to read because he went over material in one article that he went over in an earlier one. The repetitiveness of this was a little distracting, but was easy to overcome due to the natural flow of the prose and the stories that he told. The only real complaint I had with the book was the last two chapters about Orin Porter Rockwell and John D. Lee. Even though the stories were interesting, they didn't fit in with the rest of the narrative of the book. They seemed to be placed in the book to make it long enough for sale and also to touch upon Michael Rutter's true passion, the outlaws of the Mormon church in the state of Utah. I think that the book would have been better if he had kept his focus on the Wild Bunch and then wrote another book that covered the rise of the Mormon church and the troubles they had in order to get established in the United States of America. Even with this small distraction, the book was very entertaining and worth the read.

[Landon]

How would somebody feel if they where an outlaw good,bad? Outlaw Tales of Utah by Mechael Rutter is a good book if you want to hear outlaws stories and tales. Here are some literary elements of the book. He rites very descriptively. "In many ways Butch Cassidy was larger than life" (). People like this book because it is in first person point of view. "Throughout is carrier he became a serious gunfighter". Another reason this book is so popular is that is has lots of famous outlaws in it like Elza Lay and Butch Casedy. People who would like this book are people who like thrilling stories about people who are chased by the law!

[Alene · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun quick read, a little juvenile, but I appreciated the overview. I wish I had read it before the more in-depth biography I read of Sundance Kid a few years back, this helped me connect all of the other people and places though the more detailed biography was more enjoyable.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it and enjoyed the stories. it was just too jumpy...as in back and forth between characters. Probably hard to get a flow where the gangs changed members all the time but I wanted the stories to flow a little better.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and informative.

[Gabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting information, good for fans of both history and heist stories. Seems to be aimed at slightly younger readers, though.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always had a thing for Butch and Sundance, so it was fun to read about their lives in Utah, also about some other Bandits not so famous but just as interesting.

[Alan Fricker · Rating 2 out of 5]

not a good book. repetitious and poorly organised. some great stories but ..

[Milo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting stories told in what must have felt good to the author as he tried to emulate the jargon used by the outlaws he writes about.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book I picked up in Canyonlands last summer while traveling throughout the Southwest. It's a fun, quick, simple read focused mainly on the Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance Kid. There are plenty of colorful anecdotes and a few tall tales. I particularly liked the fact that the author included a chapter on the wild women of Utah's historic past.