Public DomainHarry Alonzo Longabaugh, a.k.a. the Sundance Kid, in 1900.In the late 19th century, Butch Cassidys Wild Bunch terrorized the Old West, carrying out the longest string of bank and train robberies in American history. Aside from Cassidy himself, perhaps none of the outlaws was as infamous as the Sundance Kid.His real name was Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, and hed worked as a wrangler and ranch hand before turning to a life of crime. He earned his nickname after he was convicted of stealing a horse in Sundance, Wyoming, in 1887. It was the first and only time he was ever arrested.In 1901, with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency on their heels, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid fled to Argentina. They tried to start a profitable ranch there, but they soon resorted to their criminal ways.Its widely believed that the two outlaws were killed in a shootout with Bolivian authorities in 1908, but no physical evidence has ever officially linked the men to the scene. In fact, there are rumors that the Sundance Kid eventually returned to Utah, where he spent the rest of his life as a law-abiding citizen.This is the true story of the notorious Sundance Kid.How Harry Alonzo Longabaugh Became Known As The Sundance KidHarry Alonzo Longabaugh was born in Pennsylvania in 1867, but he traveled west at age 15 to help his cousin establish a homestead in Colorado. As a teen, Longabaugh worked as a wrangler, learning valuable lessons about horses, guns, and life on the frontier that would aid his later criminal career.Longabaugh seemingly had no intention of becoming one of historys most infamous outlaws. He tried to make an honest life for himself in his 20s, drifting from ranch to ranch across Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. But in late 1886, a hard winter struck the region, and Longabaugh was laid off. Crook County MuseumSundance, Wyoming, circa the late 19th century.The following year, he stole a gun, horse, and saddle from a cowboy near Sundance, Wyoming. Longabaugh was soon captured, and he spent the next 18 months in jail, where he earned the nickname Sundance Kid.After his release, the Sundance Kid once again found work as a ranch hand, but by then he learned that there was a more lucrative life out there even if it wasnt strictly legal. Butch Cassidy And The Wild BunchAt some point in the 1880s, the Sundance Kid met Butch Cassidy and joined his gang of outlaws.In addition to Cassidy and Sundance, the Wild Bunch mostly consisted of Elzy Lay, the Tall Texan Ben Kilpatrick, William News Carver, Deaf Charley Hanks, George Sutherland Flat-Nose Curry, and Harvey Logan, better known as Kid Curry.Public DomainFive members of Butch Cassidys Wild Bunch in 1900. Left to right: the Sundance Kid, News Carver, the Tall Texan, Kid Curry, and Butch Cassidy.Together, these bandits robbed countless banks and trains across South Dakota, New Mexico, Nevada, and Wyoming. When they werent carrying out heists, the Wild West outlaws hid at the remote Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming.The men became notorious in the press for their bold and successful hold-ups. The Sundance Kid gained a reputation as the best shot and fastest gunslinger of the group. But strangely enough, theres no evidence that he ever killed anyone during the Wild Bunchs reign.Still, the outlaws heists were so successful that the Union Pacific Railroad hired the Pinkerton National Detective Agency to track them down. With the authorities on their heels, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid decided to leave the country. They were joined by Etta Place, a rumored sex worker who had become Sundances lover.Public DomainA 1901 portrait of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh and Etta Place.The three of them fled to Argentina, where they purchased a 15,000-acre ranch and attempted to make a lawful living. But it wasnt long before they were back to their old ways.The Death Of The Sundance KidBy 1905, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were back at it. That year, two English-speaking robbers widely believed to be the former Wild Bunch members held up a bank in Ro Gallegos, Argentina. A few months later, the men struck another bank in the town of Villa Mercedes, making off with 12,000 pesos before fleeing across the Andes and into Chile.Etta Place soon grew tired of life as a fugitive, and the Sundance Kid took her back to the United States in 1906. While he was gone, Butch Cassidy found work in a Bolivian mine, and Sundance joined him when he returned. Public DomainAn 1894 mugshot of Butch Cassidy, taken at Wyoming Territorial Prison in Laramie.It seemed as if the men may have finally settled into an honest life, but yet again, it wouldnt last. In November 1908, two American bandits attacked a man carrying the payroll for another mine. They were tracked to a boarding house in San Vicente, Bolivia, and several soldiers and law enforcement officials soon surrounded the residence.A shootout ensued. As the story goes, after hours of fighting, a scream was heard from inside, followed by two shots. When the police entered the house, they found two men with multiple bullet wounds. Each of them had been shot in the head. They were thought to be Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.It seemed as if Cassidy had shot Sundance to put him out of his misery after he was lethally wounded and then turned the gun on himself. Bolivian authorities buried their bodies in a nearby cemetery, but at the time, there was no real way to officially identify them.Indeed, a rumor emerged that the Sundance Kid was still alive and well, living in Utah under the name William Henry Long. Long died in November 1936, and in 2008, his remains were exhumed and tested against known descendants of the Longabaugh family. There was no match.After the release of the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, a man came forward claiming to be the son of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh and Etta Place. His name was Bob Longabaugh, and he insisted that his father had actually died in 1957. I know this for a fact, Bob told The Montana Standard in 1971, because I was there. I was a pallbearer.20th Century FoxPaul Newman (left) and Robert Redford (right) in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.However, no evidence to support Bob Longabaughs assertions was ever uncovered.So, if the Sundance Kid didnt die in Utah, was he actually killed in Bolivia after all? Thats not clear, either. Scientists searched the cemetery in San Vicente in 1991 in an effort to locate the graves of the men who died during the 1908 shootout. However, they were unable to find any DNA that could be linked to the relatives of Cassidy and Sundance. As such, the true fate of the Sundance Kid remains a mystery to this day but his legacy as one of historys most notorious outlaws lives on.After reading about the true story of the Sundance Kid, look through these photos that reveal what life was like on the American frontier. Then, go inside the story Black Bart, the Wild Wests gentleman bandit.The post The True Story Of The Sundance Kid, The Fastest Gunslinger In Butch Cassidys Wild Bunch appeared first on All That's Interesting.