The Cochise, Arizona Train Robbery
By James Harvey McClintock in 1913
The annals of the American West are rife with tales of daring outlaws, audacious heists, and the relentless pursuit of justice. Among these captivating narratives, the Cochise, Arizona Train Robbery stands out as a particularly bold and intriguing episode, a testament to the lawlessness that occasionally gripped the Arizona Territory in the late 19th century.
During a period when train robberies were becoming increasingly common in Arizona, despite a never-enforced statute that made it a capital crime, one particular incident etched itself into the region’s folklore: the Cochise, Arizona Train Robbery. This audacious act, occurring under the cloak of midnight on September 9, 1899, targeted a westbound Southern Pacific Express train as it approached the small station of Cochise.
The scene unfolded with dramatic precision. Express Messenger Charles Adair, a man already familiar with the dangers of his profession, having previously dispatched a would-be robber on the same route, found himself staring down the barrel of a revolver as he opened the train car door. In an instant, Adair and the entire train crew were forced into submission, lined up on the platform with their hands raised in surrender.
The robbers, displaying a calculated efficiency, detached the express car from the rest of the train and shunted it a couple of miles westward, away from the station and any potential witnesses. Their primary objective was the safe within the express car, rumored to contain a significant amount of valuables. Knowing that Messenger Adair was not privy to the safe’s combination, the bandits resorted to a more forceful method: dynamite. The ensuing explosion ripped through the car, granting them access to the coveted contents. The loot proved to be substantial, consisting of a bag overflowing with gold and currency, estimated to be worth at least $10,000 – a considerable sum in those days.
With their prize in hand, the four perpetrators of the Cochise, Arizona Train Robbery vanished into the rugged terrain of the Chiricahua Mountains. Law enforcement, led by Sheriff Scott White and the renowned tracker George Scarborough, launched an immediate pursuit, but the bandits, familiar with the intricate network of canyons and trails, managed to evade capture. The initial investigation into the Cochise, Arizona Train Robbery proved fruitless, leaving the authorities with little more than a crime scene and a growing sense of frustration.
The truth behind the Cochise, Arizona Train Robbery remained shrouded in mystery for several months, until a subsequent train robbery provided the crucial break in the case. On February 21, 1900, another express car was targeted, this time on a Benson-Nogales train held up near Fairbank. This second robbery, however, would not go as smoothly for the bandits.
Express Messenger Jeff D. Milton emerged as the hero of the Fairbank incident. A seasoned lawman with a reputation for courage and determination, Milton put up a fierce resistance against the five robbers. Despite being severely wounded by a bullet that shattered his arm, he continued to fight valiantly, defending his trust and protecting the valuable cargo he was responsible for. Milton’s bravery earned him widespread praise and solidified his status as a legend in the annals of the Old West.
The aftermath of the Fairbank robbery proved to be a turning point in the investigation of the Cochise, Arizona Train Robbery. One of the bandits, Jack Dunlap, also known as Three-Fingered Jack, was captured the following morning six miles from Tombstone. Dunlap, a notorious cowboy and horse thief, had been abandoned by his companions after falling from his horse. Severely wounded by buckshot from Milton’s shotgun, he succumbed to his injuries a few days later in the Tombstone hospital.
Before his death, Dunlap, facing his own mortality, provided the authorities with crucial information about the Cochise, Arizona Train Robbery. He implicated Burt Alvord, the Constable of Wilcox, and William Downing, a wealthy cattleman, as being involved in the planning and execution of the earlier heist. The revelation that Alvord, a law enforcement officer, was involved in the robbery added a layer of irony and intrigue to the case, as he had been among the most vocal and active pursuers of the train robbers.
Sheriff Scott White, hot on the trail of the Fairbank robbers, managed to capture three of them in a pass of the Dragoon Mountains. These individuals were identified as Bob Burns, the leader of the gang, and John and Lewis Owens. The captured bandits possessed only 17 Mexican pesos, revealing their disappointment at not finding the Fort Huachuca payroll they had expected to be in the express car safe. Tom Yoes, also known as "Bravo John," was later apprehended in Cananea, Mexico, suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg.
Further corroboration of the details of the Cochise, Arizona Train Robbery came from William L. Stiles, the Deputy Constable of Pearce. Stiles confessed that he and another cowboy, Matt Burts, had carried out the actual robbery, but that Alvord and Downing had masterminded the plan and provided them with the necessary supplies, including the dynamite.
Stiles revealed that Alvord had obtained the dynamite by breaking into a powder house in Wilcox. After the robbery, the loot was taken to Alvord and Downing in Wilcox for division. Stiles, however, claimed that he received only $480 for his share, and his dissatisfaction with this amount was said to be the reason for his confession. However, there was a remorse for his crimes.
Despite being considered a witness for the government, Stiles was granted a degree of liberty. He repaid this trust in April 1900 by storming the Tombstone jail, shooting the jailer in the leg, and freeing Alvord and "Bravo John." Downing refused to escape, and Burts, who had been arrested in Wyoming, was outside with a deputy sheriff at the time. The trio seized all the weapons they could find in the sheriff’s office and fled into the hills on stolen horses.
The escaped outlaws were next reported at Alvord’s ranch near Wilcox, where they announced their intention to rob more Southern Pacific trains. When the Tombstone Prospector newspaper criticized the sheriff’s office for the escape, the sheriff’s brother retaliated by assaulting Editor Hattich with a revolver. In addition to the rewards offered by the sheriff and territorial authorities, W.C. Greene offered $10,000 for the capture of the two outlaws, who were known to have a strong dislike for him.
In 1902, Alvord, tired of the life of a fugitive, surrendered to his old friend, Sheriff Del Lewis, near Naco. He had spent the previous three years in Sonora, Mexico, where Captain Burton Mossman of the Arizona Rangers had tracked him down. Alvord’s surrender was facilitated by his assistance in the capture of Chacon, a notorious Mexican murderer. Upon his return to Tombstone, he was initially discharged due to the territorial statute that mandated death as the only penalty for train robbery. However, he was subsequently rearrested and taken to Tucson on charges of interfering with the United States mail.
Alvord and Billy Stiles once again made headlines in December 1903 when they escaped from the Tombstone jail for the second time. Alvord had recently been convicted of robbing the mail and was being held in Tombstone as a witness in the case against Stiles.
Alvord was later apprehended in Naco but received only a two-year prison sentence. He managed to evade arrest on other charges upon his release from Yuma. It is believed that he traveled to Panama, where he worked as a foreman for Spanish-speaking laborers, before eventually settling in Argentina.
William Downing was tried for train robbery but was acquitted due to the mandatory death penalty upon conviction. However, he was convicted on another charge and served a seven-year prison term. Downing met his end after defying Territorial Ranger Spee, following months of terrorizing Wilcox. It was later revealed that he had been a member of the notorious Sam Bass Gang in Texas and had been driven out of that state by the Texas Rangers. In Arizona, he had served two penitentiary sentences, one for train robbery and one for shooting Robert Warren. Burts was sentenced to a term in Yuma, followed by Stiles, who surrendered in the summer of 1900. Stiles was reportedly killed in December 1908 while working in Nevada, where he was known as Larkin. His death was believed to be an assassination, as he was shot in the back while leading a horse.
Written by James Harvey McClintock in 1913, compiled and edited by Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated April 2024.
Notes and Author: James Harvey McClintock was born in Sacramento in 1864 and moved to Arizona at the age of 15, working for his brother at the Salt River Herald (later known as the Arizona Republic). When McClintock was 22, he attended the Territorial Normal School in Tempe, earning a teaching certificate. Later, he served as Theodore Roosevelt’s right-hand man in the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War and became an Arizona State Representative. Between the years 1913 and 1916, McClintock published a three-volume history of Arizona called Arizona: The Youngest State (now in the public domain), in which this article appeared. McClintock continued to live in Arizona until his poor health forced him to return to California, where he died on May 10, 1934, at the age of 70.
Note: The article is not verbatim, as spelling errors and minor grammatical changes have been made.
More Articles by James Harvey McClintock:
- Peace Officers of Arizona
- Train Robbers of Arizona
- The Valenzuela Gang
- Vigilantes and Bad Men of Arizona