ARIZONA'S MOST FAMOUS OUTLAW CURLY BILL BROCIUS

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the legendary law and orders stories of the
wild wild West. Remember, going back to our theme of Tombstone, today,
we're gonna be talking about Curly Bill Brocius. Bro Cius,

(00:30):
I remember him. He was a big character in the
movie Tombstone. William Brochius was born eighteen forty five and
passed away in eighteen eighty two. Let's look a look
a little bit of his life in Arizona. Actually, before
we get to that, let's find out a little bit
more about him. He was a gunman, rustler, and a
outlaw cowboy in the Coaches County of Arizona during the

(00:51):
eighteen seventies and early eighteen eighties. His name is likely
an alias. Some evidence links him to another outlaw named
William Curly Bill Bresd, who was convicted of an eighteen
seventy eight attempted robbery and murder in Olpasso. Brochious had
a number of conflicts with the lawmen of the Irp family.
Who will look at that in a little while, and

(01:12):
he was named as one of the individuals who participated
and Morgan Irp's assassination. Brochius arrived in Arizona around eighteen
seventy eight, went briefly to the San Carlos Reservation with
a herd of cattle before arriving in the Arizona Territory.
Brochius was an outlaw cowboy and a wrestler. What's the wrestler? Well,

(01:33):
they go around stealing cattle? And was it also for
a time tax collector for co Cheese County sheriff. Get
this Johnny B. Hann making other wrestlers pay taxes on
their stolen cattle. The money went into the sheriff's coffers
and added to his salary. Brochius was known for a
mean sense of humor. When he was drunk, he was
reported to have perpetrated such practical jokes as using gunfire

(01:55):
to make a preacher dance during a sermon, making Mexicans
at a community danced, take off their clothes and dance naked.
Both incidences were reported by Wills Fargar agent Fred Dodge.
An unanthitdicated. An unauthenticated photo of Brocius is displayed in
the Bird Cage Theatre Museum in Tombstone. Two unauthenticated photos

(02:18):
of Broches have been provided by descendants. Several writers who
knew Broches reported that He was well built with curly
black hair and freckled complexion. In eighteen eighty at ruck
and a drunken revelry, some of Curly Bill's friends were
firing pistols into the air. In October twenty eighth, eighteen eighty,
remember this scene from the movie. He was in a dark,

(02:39):
vacant lot between tough Nut and Allen Street, near where
the Bird Cage theater now stands. Tombstones Town Marshall Fred White,
remember him, attempted to disarm Curly Bill and grabbed his
weapon by the barrel. The gun discharged, striking White in
the growing widerup had borrowed Fred's dodge pistol and pistol
whip Brochies at the preliminary hearing for Broche afterward, why

(03:01):
it testify that he heard White say, I am an officer,
give me your pistol. When he got close. He saw
Brocius remove his pistol from his holster, and White grabbed
it by the barrel. He said he put his arms
around Broches from behind to see if he had any
other weapons, and White gave a quick jerk and the
pistol went off. White fell to the ground wounded. When
the pistol discharged. Why had buffaloed Brocious and arrested him?

(03:24):
Buffalo is the act of using a handgun as a
blunt weapon and hitting somebody over the head. Brochio's complained,
what have I done? I have not done anything to
be arrested for brocious? Now, according to the movies, he
was high on opium. Whether that's true or not, stories
don't say. Why was carried to a doctor. They initially
thought he would recover, and the next day he gave

(03:46):
a statement that exonerated curve the curly bill of murder,
but that night White's condition worsened. Brochius later claimed that
his gun discharged accidentally and reportedly immediately regretted shooting White,
which we kind of see from the movie. There was
some kind of remember he was really sad, No, fred No,
don't die. He testified at his trial that he did
not consider himself to have committed a crime. Brochius waged

(04:07):
his right to a preliminary hearing, apparently because he feared
a lynching. As White was very popular as town marshall,
Brochus was anxious to be moved out of town. P
M County Deputy Sheriff Earl I. Mean and George Collins
took Brochus to Tucson for trial. White died two days
after curly Bill shot him. Before dying, White testified he
thought the pistol had accidentally discharged, and he did not

(04:30):
believe curly Bill shot him on purpose. Wyatto supported his testimony,
ironically given his last his later vendetta against Brochus and
the rest of the Cowboy Gang, as did a demonstration
that a brocious pistol could be fired from half cock,
and the fact that it had been found to contain
six rounds with only one of them fired. After spending
most of November, December and jail awaiting trial, Broches was

(04:53):
acquitted with a verdict of accidental death. Wyatt told his
biographer John Flood many years later that he thought that
Brocius was still armed at the time and did not
notice that Brochu's pistol lay on the ground in the
dark until Broches was already down. Despite being responsible for
the deaths of several other men during his life, Brocius
had apparently personally liked Fred Wyatt and maintained that his

(05:14):
death had been an accident. Bochius has been described by
contemporary authors and as a most deadly pistol shot of
the cowboys. That ruthless gang able to hit running jack
rabbits and shoot out candle flames without breaking the candles
or Latin horn lantern holders when drunk. Brochius was also

(05:34):
known for a mean sense of humor and for such
practical jokes. As we mentioned earlier. On eighteen eighty one,
Brochius and his friend Johnny Ringo, who we did another
podcast you can catch that one of the previous ones
we've done, rode to Maxay near Camp Thomas, Arizona. Cowboy
Dick Lloyd got drunk while playing poker in a saloon.
After shooting and wounding one man, Lloyd rode his horse

(05:57):
into the saloma. Brocius was drinkings and several other men
resented the interruption at about a dozen of them, including
Curly Bill, shot and killed Lloyd. Owner of the saloon,
O'Neil took the blame and was acquitted on May twenty fifth.
This is about two months later. Eighteen eighty one, Broches
was drinking heavily in Gailyville with his friend of several months,

(06:19):
Jim Wallace, and eight oh of the nine other cowboys.
Wallace insulted Brochi's friend and ally Tombstone Deputy Billy Breckinridge.
Breckinridge ignored him, but Broches took offense and insisted the
Wallace accompany him to apologize. Broches threatened to kill him.
Wallace complied, but Brochus afterwards heaped abuse on Wallace, announcing
you Dan Lincoln County, son of a you know what,

(06:42):
I'll kill you anyhow, Wallace left a saloon and Curly
Bill followed him. Feeling threatened, Wallace shot Curly Bill, wounding
him in the cheek and neck. Marshall Breckinridge arrested Wallace,
but the court ruled he acted in self defense. Curly
Bill may have first met Pony Deal around this time,
as well. Deal was implicated several cowboy criminal activities later on.

(07:05):
Charles Ray was his real name. Pony Deal was the nickname,
possibly Dal like deea l. It was an Old West
outlaw in the New Mexico Territory. He was accused by
Wired having taken part in attempt to kill his brother
Virgil Erp in July eighteen eighty one. You can see
a lot of activity here in these few months, Bill
Leonard and Harry Head attempted to rob William and Isaac

(07:28):
Haslit's general store in New Mexico. The Hazlet brothers killed
Leonard and Head during the hold up. It's Bill and Harry.
Some modern researchers state that Brocious and friend Johnny Ringo
rode to New Mexico to avenge their friend's death and
killed both Hazled brothers. Remember so Bill and Harry trying
to rob William and Isaac Haslt's general store. The brothers

(07:49):
ended up killing those two looks like Brochius, and Ringo
went to avenge them. However, no witnesses of this crime
were found, nor to Curly Bill's involvement in the Hazlet's deaths.
Four months after Brochus was shot, in October sixth George
Parsons rode through the mclowry Ranch, Brothers Ranch and Sulfur
Springs is part of an Indian scouting party and noted
that Brocius had not yet fully recovered from his wound,

(08:11):
but was well enough to ride. For this reason, many
historians doubt that Brochus actually ever took place took part
in killing William and Isaac Haslett. In July, reports say
that Brocious ambush the Mexican trail heard what became known
as the Skeleton Canyon Massacre six, but Carol's cowboys were
killed and the remainder captured, then possibly tortured and murdered.

(08:37):
The Skeleton Canyon massacres reforded two separate attacks on Mexican
citizens in eighteen seventy nine and eighteen eighty one. Skeleton
Canyon is located in the Pellonchilo Mountain, Hidalgo County now,
which straddles the modern Arizona and New Mexico state line border.
This canyon connects the Animous Valley of New Mexico with

(08:57):
the San Simon Valley of Arizona. Now. The one they
were talking about was the eighteen eighty one massacre. Curly
Bill supposed he learned that several Mexican smugglers carrying silver
were heading to Arizona through Skeleton Canyon. Curly Bill around
and around other twenty men, including Johnny Ringo, ambush the smugglers,
killing four and stealing four billion, four hundred four thousand

(09:21):
in bullion in lights. Commander and Narry again sent a
detachment of about of rural as led by Captain Correo
across the border. This time the rural has successfully ambushed
the cowboys, killing five, including old Man Clainton and Jim Crane,
what became known as a Watt of Loupe Canyon massacre.

(09:42):
Curly Bill reportedly sold to stolen Mexican beef to newman
Haines Clainton. The next month, when old Man Clainton was
hurting the beef on the trail to Tombso and he
and four others were ambush and the Wallalupe Canyons we
just mentioned. No reports were verified though curly Bill's involvement
in any of these episodes. Brochius was still recovering from
being shot in the face by Wall It's just six

(10:03):
weeks earlier. Some on researchers doubt again that he was
involved in any of this. Maybe just more legendary story
is to beef up his credibility or his stature. Following
the gunfight at the Ok Corral in October eighth. October
twenty sixth, eighteen eighty one, Brochius robbed the Tombstone Bisbee

(10:24):
stage coach and then the next day of the Tombstone
Benson stage Deputy us Marshall Wider gathered at Posse and
wrote after the men, but it was unable to find
him in the Churokawa Mountains. Brochus returned to Tombstone on
March seventeenth. He was named by Pete Spencer's wife as
a participant in the assassination of Morgan R. Justice of

(10:44):
the Peace Well Spicer. This allowed her testimony because it
was hearsay, and because she cannot testify against her husband
lacking evidence, the prosecution dropped all charges against the cowboys.
Deputy Us Marshall Wider killed outlaw of Frank Stillwell in
Tucson on March twenty one while guarding his brother Virgil
en route to California. On March twenty four to eighteen

(11:06):
eighty two, the air party was expecting to meet Charlie
Smith and Iron Spring. Smith was bringing cash and tombstone
about twenty miles as they surmounted to the edge of
whatever wash near the spring, as they stumbled upon brocious
pony deal Johnny Barnes, Bill Hicks, ed Lyle and the
rest cooking a meal alongside. According to Wyatt Irb, he
was in the lead of the posse when they suddenly

(11:28):
came upon the cowboys camp. The cowboys began firing just
as Earth dismounted and thought for a moment they had
shot him, but had his saddle horn hit his saddle
horn instead. Texas Jack, whose horse was killed, remained cool
on the fire and stuck close to Wyatt during the fight.
Doc Johnson, Doc Holliday, I'm sorry. Johnson and McMasters fired
their weapons and saw cover Wyatt. IRP was away on

(11:52):
an air and at the time, I'm not White. I
I'm sorry. Warren her was away at the air on
an air at the time. Months prior, wired Up had
protected Broches against the mob raid to Lynch and for
killing town Marshall Fred White, and then provided testimony that
helped him spare him from a commurder conviction. Now he
had Curly Bill Broches firing at her the irony of
it all with his shotgun from about fifty feet, but missed.

(12:17):
IRB returned fire over his horse using a twenty two
inch ten gage shotgun, and he killed Broches with a
load of buckshot to the stomach, nearly cutting him in half.
The story goes Broches fell into the water at the
edge of the spring. The cowboys fired a number of
shots at the Earth party, but the lawman's fire was
so intense those cowboys who could left. IRB's long coat
was punctured by bullets on both sides. Another bullet struck

(12:39):
his boot heel, and his saddle horn was hit as well,
burning the saddle high and narrowly missing Wyatt. Firing his pistol,
Irb shot Johnny Barnes in the chest and melt Hooks
in the arm. Vermilion cactus Jack tried to retrieve his
rifle ridged in a scabbard under his swallen horse, exposing
himself to the cowboys gunfire, but Doc Holliday came in
to help him provide a cover. Iarb had trouble remounting

(13:01):
his horse due to a cartridge belt that slipped down
his legs. He was finally able to get on his
horse and retreat. McMasters was grazed by a bullet that
cut through the straps of his field glasses. This is
intense earth biographer wrote that the cowboys buried Broches's body
on the nearby ranch of Frank Patterson's near the bible
Comawery River. This is close to the original mclariy ranch.

(13:26):
Fred Dodge, an undercover operator for Wells Fargo asked Curly
Bill's associates about his death. He wrote that he talked
to jb Ayers, a saloon and a saloon keeper of
Charleston or the Outlaws and Rustler's headquartered, and they told
him that the men who were in the fight told
him that Wyater killed curly Bill. They took a body
with the body away that night and they buried him
on the Patterson's ranch. The Tombstone nugget first put up

(13:48):
a thousand dollar reward for proof of curly Bill if
he was alive, and the Tombstone epitaph encountered with the
counter with a two thousand dollars reward. Neither was ever collected.
Broches was not wanted by the law Arizona, and if
he was not dead, he had no reason to disappear.
He was also unlikely to return to Texas, where, according
to Wier's care recollection, he was probably still wanted for murder.

(14:11):
So we can see a crazy story about Brocious Bill before. Actually,
we don't have much on Curly Bill's upbringing. We don't
know if by his parents or anything of that nature.
Gets difficult when you go so far back. But what
we do know again is that why white erb killed
Curly Bill just like in the movie. During the shootout,

(14:32):
and his journal written in eighteen eighty one, Joe George
Parsons referred to Brocious as Arizona's most famous outlaw