New book claims 10 new photos of mythical Utah outlaw
A longtime Utah history buff and expert on Butch Cassidy has a new book for sale he says contains 10 new photos of the famous outlaw.
Dr. Steve Lacy says his “Last of the Bandit Riders…Revisited Again” is the culmination of 61 years of research that started as a history project when he was in the fourth grade.
Lacy sat down with the Chronicle Progress to discuss his book—it’s an updated version of his 2000 book of the same name—and the findings he says totally obliterates the legend that Cassidy, real name Robert LeRoy Parker, died in South America with cohort the Sundance Kid, real name Harry Longabaugh, in November 1908.
Lacy says he has been able to trace the life of one Frank Ervin, a Fresno, Calif., man who died in 1956, and is convinced he is the real Butch Cassidy. He hopes some of the information he’s uncovered will interest producers of a future History Channel series.
Butch Cassidy is seen here in a famous photo taken in Fort Worth in 1900 that historians generally agree depict the “Hole in the Wall Gang.”
Give us a little about your background and when you first got interested in Butch Cassidy.
I taught school for 21 years. I started teaching high school when I was 21 years old. When I first started teaching school, I taught special ed at Emery County High School. But I had a degree in drama and psychology. I taught at Emery County High School for five years. And then went back to Blanding, where I graduated from San Juan High School. I taught two years at San Juan High School, drama and art.
I also taught radio and TV broadcasting. It’s where I did Butch Cassidy radio dramas with my students and where I first met Lula Parker Betenson (Cassidy’s younger sister and author of the 1975 book “Butch Cassidy, My Brother”), who later I found out was my cousin.
We did radio dramas that were heard in five states. We interviewed Butch Cassidy’s sister twice. The first time in June 1975 and then in November 1977.
An author who spent 61 years researching the legend of Butch Cassidy claims this photo depicts the Utah outlaw in 1942 in Goldfield, Nev.
There’s some personal history here, too, right? A secret hideout you think was used by the wild Bunch?
In 1954, my father was out staking uranium claims and building roads…he was grading roads with a grader…and that’s when he found that secret hideout (in Southeastern Utah). There was a magazine under one of the rocks. Somebody wrote on there ‘Wonder who will find this,’ and they signed their name. This was in 1954. He brought that home. We were living in Wellington at the time…that magazine was from the 1890s. My dad couldn’t remember the name, who signed it. I was too little to remember.
Finally in 1984, I talked my dad into going out there. We found it just before sunset. (Lacy believes Butch Cassidy and Elzy Lay spent the winter of 1896 and 1897 at the hideout.)
At what point did the Cassidy story become more than just a curiosity for you?
I met Pearl Baker in 1973. She wrote ‘The Wild Bunch at Robbers Roost.’ She was a fascinating lady. Her family lived at Robbers Roost…Spending time with her gave me an opportunity to know a lot of the people through her. My students interviewed her on the radio. I also got the chance to meet Joyce Warner, Matt Warner’s daughter. We became very, very close friends. She met Butch on Nov. 21, 1939.
That’s what really brought me to light, finally trying to figure out what happened to Butch.
How many books have you written?
Ten total books, only two on Butch Cassidy.
Why does this story still resonate with people after all these years?
I think the (1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”) movie generated most of it.
Describe the most compelling pieces of evidence you’ve encountered in your research.
The most compelling thing is that there’s 10 new pictures of Butch after South America that match up. You look and you can tell it is Butch. And there’s too many coincidences to prove that Frank Ervin was Butch.
You also claim you know who the Sundance Kid really was after 1908.
I know that Hiram BeBee was the Sundance Kid. Everybody says that Hiram BeBee was too short…Well, if you compare Hiram BeBee and Sundance’s father’s pictures when he was in prison, they match up. They almost look like identical twins.
What separates this version of your book with the one you wrote in 2000?
Where he (Cassidy) ended up…Before he went to South America, he was working for the railroad, waiting to get amnesty from Utah Gov. Heber M. Wells (the state’s first governor). He didn’t do a bunch of the robberies that people think he did. He was blamed for the Wilcox Train robbery. He was blamed for the Tipton (Wyoming) train robbery. He was blamed for the Castle Gate mine payroll robbery. He was blamed for the Winnemucca, Nevada bank robbery, which he didn’t do.
Why do you think Frank Ervin took his secret to the grave?
His last years he spent down in Leeds, Utah…Frank Ervin’s birth date is Aug. 13, 1874. Butch was born April 13, 1866. When you take an alias, and I’ve spent a lot of time looking at outlaws’ aliases and stuff, Butch decided to keep the ‘A’ for April and used August. He kept the 13th because that was actually his birth date. To help him remember what year, he picked his favorite brother, which was William. William was born in 1874.
How much credit do you give Matt Warner and Joyce Warner for your work?
The original book was Matt Warner’s history. Matt and Joyce did that. I give Joyce credit because Joyce met Butch and provided me with direction on finding Frank (Ervin).
You have so much stuff in this book, I imagine it will be attractive to those interested in western lore in general.
The thing I wanted is it’s like opening an old trunk. You see newspaper clippings, you see telegrams, you see letters. So that you can read and look at the material. There are too many authors who have sources in the back (of their books) and you have to hunt down those sources to find out if it’s true. My book shows you the material. You don’t have to search for it. You’ve got it in front of you.
Any connections to Millard County that might surprise local readers?
Butch Cassidy and Matt Warner both went to Millard County and robbed a stage coach when they went over to Frisco (a now-abandoned mining town in Beaver County). They went over there a number of times. What’s next for this story? Will the mystery ever be solved? I think there are home movies. The great-granddaughter didn’t want to be involved, I don’t know why…That would be awesome to have film of Butch Cassidy. We might add a chapter if we do the DNA. We don’t have to dig up Butch. We have grandkids.
How can people get the book?
They can call me directly at 801-739-3089. Or they can go to ebornbooks.com and order a copy.
Last of the Bandit Riders… Revisited Again by Dr. Steve Lacy, Matt Warner and Joyce Warner, 378 pages, Eborn Books, retails for $29.99.
