The End of Butch Cassidy (Death and Controversy)
The truth about Butch Cassidy end has never been fully settled. There is much debate. Some historical evidence and testimony from Cassidy's youngest sister and friends suggests that Cassidy returned to the United States from South America with a new name: William T. Phillips. Back in his home country, Cassidy may have lived another three decades, making a living as a machinist before passing away from cancer in Spokane, Washington, in 1937. The man known as Phillips helped fuel speculation with a book he wrote in the 1920s called The Invincible Bandit: The Story of Butch Cassidy, which included details perhaps only Cassidy might have known. The conventional account says Cassidy and the Sundance Kid lost their lives in a shootout with soldiers in southern Bolivia on November 6, 1908. While Cassidy did live in South America with Sundance, using assumed names, they had purchased land in Argentina’s Cholila, where they ran a ranching operation. By the end of 1904, concerned that the Pinkerton's had discovered their location, the American outlaws sold their livestock and left the property, later finding work at the Concordia Tin Mines in Bolivia. Throughout their time abroad, Cassidy and Sundance may have continued to carry out heists. Although South America was home to other U.S. outlaws who were committing holdups during this period, and its likely that some of these crimes may have been falsely attributed to the more famous Butch and Sundance. On November 4, 1908, near the town of Tupiza in southern Bolivia, two men thought to be Cassidy and the Sundance Kid robbed a payroll as it was being transported to the Aramayo mine. Three days later the supposed bandits arrived in San Vicente, Bolivia, but after villagers became suspicious that the strangers were connected to the robbery, Bolivian soldiers were called in and a shootout ensued. During the shootout, the Bolivians reportedly gunned down the suspects, or one of the outlaws killed his partner then turned the gun on himself. Afterward, the bodies were buried in unmarked graves in a San Vicente cemetery. In fact, there is no conclusive evidence linking Cassidy and Sundance to the robbery and shootout. Fashionable during this time period was to photograph dead outlaws to prove and advertise there deaths. This was not done in this case. In the late 20th century, researchers exhumed remains thought to be those of the payroll bandits from the San Vicente cemetery and determined they weren’t from the two American outlaws. Several other reports claim that Cassidy survived and escaped, returning to his birthplace of Circleville, Utah, living under an alias and dying in 1929. Another report insists that he moved to Johnnie, Nevada, and lived there until 1937. Still, another tale claims that he survived until 1943 or 1944, dying in California. The true fate of Butch remains a confusing mystery. All of these claims, mythical or real, would have made Butch Cassidy happy. He once was heard saying to Sundance: "If you want to escape, you must confuse everybody!" Seems he did just that!