Public DomainFive members of the wild bunch in Fort Worth, Texas in 1900. Left to right: the Sundance Kid, News Carver, the Tall Texan, Kid Curry, and Butch Cassidy.In the 1890s, a vicious group of outlaws robbed trains, held up banks, and engaged in deadly shootouts with lawmen across the American West. They were known as the Wild Bunch, and they were led by none other than Butch Cassidy.Its unclear exactly how many heists the Wild Bunch carried out, but they were so notorious that they were blamed for nearly every major crime that took place on the frontier until the early years of the 20th century. Members like the Sundance Kid, Elzy Lay, and Kid Curry made names for themselves as some of the most fearsome figures of the era.But as the years went on, the groups crimes caught up with them. One by one, members were killed or captured by posses hired to hunt them down. By 1901, Cassidy had fled to South America, and the gang fell apart.But their legacy endures to this day. The 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid introduced the infamous gang to a new generation, and today, the Wild Bunch is remembered as the epitome of the Old West.Butch Cassidys Notorious Group Of OutlawsButch Cassidy, whose real name was Robert LeRoy Parker, began his life of crime in the 1880s, when he was just a teenager. He started out with minor offenses, like swiping clothing from stores and delivering stolen goods. But in June 1889, he robbed his first bank and he was seemingly hooked.Public DomainButch Cassidy in an 1894 mugshot from Wyoming Territorial Prison in Laramie.According to TIME, legend claims that Cassidy called together 200 outlaws in 1896 and proposed the formation of a Train Robbers Syndicate. The veracity of this tale is up for debate, but the criminals who became known as the Wild Bunch did begin carrying out their daring heists shortly thereafter.Cassidys group seemingly took its name from the Doolin-Dalton Gang, the Wild Bunch that terrorized the Indian Territory of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas in the early 1890s. But Butch Cassidys Wild Bunch grew to be even more infamous.The Audacious Heists Of The Wild Bunch GangOne of the Wild Bunchs earliest crimes was the robbery of the Pleasant Valley Coal Companys payroll in April 1897. They made off with $7,000 and they only grew bolder from there.Two years later, in June 1899, they stopped a Union Pacific train near Wilcox, Wyoming. With white napkins over their faces, they held the crew at gunpoint and forced them to separate the locomotive from the freight cars. The men then blew up the bridge between the locomotive and the rest of the train and helped themselves to a safe that was onboard.[T]he express and baggage cars were then looted, the Sacramento Daily Union reported at the time, the cars being damaged by the charges of dynamite used for opening the safe.American Heritage Center, University of WyomingThe Wild Bunch used dynamite to break into a safe on a train near Wilcox, Wyoming.This time, the Wild Bunch got away with between $30,000 and $60,000. Still, it wasnt enough. The following year, they held up the First National Bank of Winnemucca, Nevada, escaping with more than $30,000 in just five minutes.Similar crimes took place across the American frontier throughout the 1890s and early 1900s, but its unclear how many of them were perpetrated by the Wild Bunch. Some historians estimate that the outlaws robbed just four trains and four banks during their reign, but they became so notorious that locals attributed nearly every heist that made the news to the group.This only contributed to the publicity of the Wild Bunch gang but that wasnt necessarily a bad thing.The Robin Hoods Of The Wild WestAccording to the Utah State Historical Society, one Wild Bunch member once wrote, Like lots of cowboy outlaws in them days Butch and me liked to give lots of money to the poor, the needy, and the deserving. In this way we made sort of Robin Hoods of ourselves in our own eyes, gained a lot of popularity and protection from the public, and squared ourselves in our own estimation.In exchange for sharing the profits of their heists, the Wild Bunch received food and fresh horses from residents of the frontier as they fled from lawmen, like the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. These allies included Ann Bassett and her sister, Josie, who were both romantically involved with members of the Wild Bunch.Caveman1949/Wikimedia CommonsThe path to Hole-in-the-Wall Pass, a favorite hideout of the Wild Bunch.Bassett once wrote a letter to her friends about a Thanksgiving feast that Butch Cassidys gang held for the people of Browns Hole, a valley where the Wild Bunch sometimes hid out. She recalled how Cassidys men treated them to delicacies like roast turkey, Roquefort cheese, pumpkin pie, and cocktails. The group also had friends near Wyomings Hole-in-the-Wall Pass, another one of their hideouts. Here, they teamed up with a series of other outlaws to defend the area from lawmen. Collectively, they were known as the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang.But like all good things, the reign of the Wild Bunch eventually came to an end. Of course, they didnt go down easily.The Fate Of The Wild Bunch GangWhile Cassidy was the head of the Wild Bunch, his fellow outlaws were almost equally as renowned. William Ellsworth Elzy Lay was his second-in-command and helped him mastermind the groups heists. After leading a successful train robbery in New Mexico in July 1899, Lay was involved in a shootout that left two lawmen dead. He was captured, convicted of murder, and sentenced to life in prison.Public DomainThe Wild Bunch had a wide variety of members and associates over the years. Pictured here (clockwise from top left) are 19th-century outlaws Kid Curry, Bill McCarty, Bill Carver, Ben Kilpatrick, and Tom ODay.However, after seven years behind bars, he got a chance at redemption. Inmates at a nearby prison had taken a wardens wife and daughter hostage, and Lay convinced them to release the women. He received a pardon in return, and he retired from his life of crime, living quietly in California until his death in 1934.Harvey Logan, better known as Kid Curry, wasnt so lucky. While the Wild Bunch reportedly claimed that they tried not to kill anyone during their heists and, indeed, theres no historical evidence that Butch Cassidy ever committed murder Kid Currys actions brought this assertion into question.He was purportedly responsible for the deaths of at least nine lawmen and two civilians during his time with the gang. He was ultimately imprisoned in 1902, but he escaped the following year and fled to Colorado. When the authorities tracked him down, he seemingly died by suicide, as hed insisted that no lawman would ever take him alive.Ben Kilpatrick, the Tall Texan, suffered a similar fate. Around 1901, he headed east with Laura Bullion the only female member of the Wild Bunch and was arrested in St. Louis. He spent 10 years in prison and then returned to his life of crime. Kilpatrick was killed with an ice mallet during an attempted robbery in 1912.Public DomainLaura Bullion, the only known female member of the Wild Bunch.Other famous members of the Wild Bunch included William News Carver, who was fatally shot by a sheriff in 1901, and Sam Ketchum, who was wounded during the New Mexico train robbery and died in custody. Then, there was the Sundance Kid. In 1901, he fled to South America with Butch Cassidy and Etta Place, his lover. Seven years later, he and Cassidy were seemingly killed in a shootout with Bolivian authorities, but there are rumors that the Sundance Kid actually returned to the U.S. and lived peacefully until the 1930s.Like the fate of the Sundance Kid, much about the Wild Bunch remains a mystery. Perhaps thats why these Old West outlaws have captured the imaginations of generations of Americans.After learning about the Wild Bunch gang, go inside the life of Jesse James, another infamous Old West outlaw. Then, look through 45 colorized Wild West photos that bring the American frontier to life.The post The Notorious Crimes Of The Wild Bunch, The Old West Outlaw Gang Led By Butch Cassidy appeared first on All That's Interesting.