Did Butch Cassidy Survive The Bolivan Shootout?

This morning, I was stuck in traffic on 395 as police rounded up horses that had gotten loose. Upon arriving at the work, I found this story which is irresistible as part of the spontaneous cowboy theme this morning. The discovery of a book manuscript has led some to suggest that Butch Cassidy did not die with Robert Redford in Bolivia (Ok, with The Sundance Kid). To the contrary, it is claimed, Butch Cassidy died in 1937 as William T. Phillips, a machinist who in Spokane. Somehow dying in your bed after a second career as a machinist does not work quite as well as the shootout with Bolivian cavalry in 1908. I believe Cassidy is shown here sitting with the mustache and bowler on the far right next to the flowers.

Many historians insist that Phillips was an imposter but his book “Bandit Invincible: The Story of Butch Cassidy,” contains many details that Utah book collector Brent Ashworth and Montana author Larry Pointer insist are proof of authenticity.

Cassidy’s real name was Robert LeRoy Parker and was born a Mormon in 1866 in Beaver, Utah — the oldest of 13 children. He served time in Wyoming Territorial Prison in Laramie for possessing three stolen horses and eventually hooked up with the Sundance Kid or Harry Longabaugh. You can read the column below and judge for yourself. However, when the grave in San Vincente, Bolivia was dug up, the two bodies reportedly were not DNA matches to the outlaws. However, historians insist that the evidence is quite strong that they died in the shootout. You can be your own judge.

As someone addicted to Westerns, my only concern is having to do a remake of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, with the former finishing the movie exploring the exciting potential of modern machinery in mass production.

Source: Fox.com

18 thoughts on “Did Butch Cassidy Survive The Bolivan Shootout?”

  1. i don’t know, billy the grumpy old bastard just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

  2. Of course, there are still people who believe that Billy the Kid died of old age.

  3. What amazes me is how passionate some people can get about such an inconsequential thing. Who really cares it they got it in Boliva or moved to Tanzania and crocheted tea cozies for the export market? Yes it would be interesting to know but it is not something to get your blood pressure up over, believe it or don’t.

  4. I’ll bet the Governor of Washington didn’t outlaw the bargaining rights of the Machinists Local in Spokane.

  5. Unfortunately, as an American Indian, I grew to hate westerns because the American Indian is always the bad guy. I also despise the professional Washington, DC football team mascot and its denigration of American Indians. Although, I do confess to being in love with Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

  6. Wyatt Earp wound up as a used car salesman and movie western technical adviser in L.A.. Most of his legend was his version of his life as he embellished it, Ned Buntline’s breathless dime novels and then further embellished by the movies. Although I too love westerns they really represented a fantasy view of the fantasy of “The Frontier.” However, that was a damn good final scene.

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