Legends of the Old West - OUTLAWS Ep. 6 | Black Jack Ketchum: “In Hell For Dinner”

Episode Date: February 22, 2023

Thomas “Black Jack” Ketchum and members of his gang rob trains in New Mexico until they become the most wanted men in the territory. Lawmen systematically dismantle the gang until only Ketchum remains. He attempts a train robbery alone and it proves to be the final act of his career. New Mexico wants to make an example out of Black Jack Ketchum, but it ends very, very badly. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Noiser+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Warning. This episode contains scenes and images of graphic violence that may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. On September 3rd, 1897, at about 10 o'clock at night, a southbound train slowed as it neared a station in the northeastern corner of New Mexico territory. Anticipating the stop, the express messenger opened his door and stuck his head out to look. As soon as he did, two masked men pointed their guns at his face and climbed into the car. Two more outlaws quickly joined them. One of the bandits ordered the messenger to open the safe. The messenger said there was nothing in it. The bandit shouted to open the safe or he'd shoot the messenger. The messenger opened the safe and proved he was

telling the truth. There was nothing in it. The robbers tore apart the car as they looked for another safe. They found it built into the floor. When the messenger protested that he couldn't open it, the bandits pistol-whipped him. The messenger explained that he didn't have the combination, and the robbers hit him in the stomach with the butt of a rifle. They continued to shout at the messenger to open the safe, and the messenger continued hit him in the stomach with the butt of a rifle. They continued to shout at the messenger to open the safe, and the messenger continued to say that he couldn't.

Finally, the messenger told the robbers they'd just have to kill him. He simply had no way of opening the safe. Now the robbers believed him. They would have to open it the hard way. They placed sticks of dynamite on top of the floor safe and covered them with kegs of iron bolts. They laid the other safe on top of the kegs of bolts to hold them in place. Then they grabbed other large objects in the car and propped them against the makeshift bomb. They lit the fuse and jumped out of the car with the messenger. The explosion was terrific. and jumped out of the car with the messenger. The explosion was terrific. The sides of the train car splintered. The doors blew off. The windows shattered. Demolished baggage flew everywhere. Luckily, no one was hurt. And luckily for the robbers, the bomb didn't destroy the floor

safe or the money inside. They got away with about $3,000, which would be about $100,000 today. The express messenger proved to be a good witness. He remembered several details about the gang of bandits. There were four of them in total. They had horses that were packed with supplies, which meant they expected to be on the run and they were prepared. And he gave descriptions of all four robbers. Apparently, they didn't try to hide their

appearances. The one who was the most noteworthy was a little over six feet tall, with dark hair, dark eyes, and a dark complexion. That kind of appearance could earn someone the nickname Blackjack. For a while in New Mexico, two outlaws used that nickname. But over the next four years, it would become increasingly clear that Thomas Blackjack Ketchum was responsible for the sensational robberies and murders that plagued the territory. From Black Barrel Media, this is Legends of the Old West. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer, and this season we're telling the stories of three outlaws, California bandit Joaquin Murrieta, Texas killer Jim Miller, and train robber Black Jack Ketchum.

This is Black Jack Ketchum, part two of two, in Hell for Dinner. Part 2 of 2, In Hell for Dinner. The New Mexico train robbery in September 1897 became known as the Twin Mountains Robbery. It happened near the village of Folsom, and it was a big deal because there hadn't been an important case of armed robbery in that part of New Mexico in 15 years. important case of armed robbery in that part of New Mexico in 15 years. Lawmen from all over New Mexico and parts of West Texas mobilized posses to track the robbers, but they didn't have a lot to go on. The four bandits didn't try to hide their faces, and the express messenger gave good descriptions, but the robbers all had scruffy beards. Scruffy cowboys with scruffy beards were everywhere, and if the outlaws decided to shave their beards and get haircuts,

they would be virtually unrecognizable from the messenger's descriptions. Still, a sheriff's posse found a trail near the scene of the holdup. The lawmen followed it westward into the mountains, but it was their bad luck that they got caught in the worst thunderstorm that the region had seen in months. The downpour washed away the trail, but the lawmen didn't give up. Fortunately, a rancher spotted the suspects, or at least he thought he did. He sent the posse down the trail after the people he'd seen,

and after a short chase, the posse arrested four men and a boy. The suspects had a carriage full of what seemed to be stolen property that had been taken from a train. The posse took the men and the boy to the town of Clayton and showed the property to the crew of the train. The crew confirmed that the property was not stolen, and the posse had unfortunately wasted valuable time tracking the wrong people. The lawmen felt worse when they found out later that they had actually been in the right area. The gang had camped at that very spot but had departed earlier that morning. A couple days later, Tom Ketchum, his older brother Sam Ketchum, Will Carver, and Dave Atkins made it to their hideout in Turkey Creek Canyon without incident.

They holed up and divided the $3,000 in stolen money. The outlaws were sorely disappointed. It was a lot of money for the time, but it was nothing when compared with the roughly $40,000 they had stolen during their first train robbery six months earlier. That one had been in southwest Texas. And while Texas didn't take kindly to train robbers, it was a whole different story in New Mexico. Eight years earlier, New Mexico territory made train robbery a capital crime. Train robbers in New Mexico could face the death penalty. If the men of the Ketchum gang were going to risk their lives every time they robbed a train, they damn sure wanted more than $3,000 for the haul. They rested and discussed their next move.

They were all Texans, but they thought it was still too hot to go back to Texas after their robbery in the spring of 1897. Will Carver suggested they head to southern Arizona, where few people would be looking for them. In mid-September, the four men began the long ride down to Cochise County. They arrived in early October and found work with cattle outfits. Observers noticed that they were quiet and professional, though they were in Cochise County for no more than a month before their vanity and carelessness overcame their professionalism. In early November, Dave Adkins went to a resort south of Bisbee.

He got roaring drunk and told everyone about his outlaw exploits and those of his partners, roaring drunk, and told everyone about his outlaw exploits and those of his partners, and their plans for future exploits that were sure to be amazing. Tom Ketchum was mad, but his ego soon got the better of him. During his own session of bragging, he took credit for a train robbery up in Grants, New Mexico. The heist was actually the work of the High Five gang. Until a few months earlier, the gang had been led by a pair of brothers, Will and Bob Christian. Will had been known as Black Jack Christian because of his dark features.

Tom Ketchum had similar features, and that was how he became known as Black Jack Ketchum. The two gangs operated in the same areas, so their actions were often confused with one another. But Will Christian had been killed several months earlier, so Tom Ketchum was the only Blackjack left in the region, though that didn't stop Will Christian's old gang from invoking his nickname. During the Grants robbery, one of the gang reportedly shouted back toward the train as the outlaws rode away. He yelled, Blackjack has come back to life. As a podcast network, our first priority has always been audio and the stories we're able to share with you. But we also sell merch, and organizing that was made both possible and easy with Shopify. Shopify is the global commerce platform

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Shopify.com. Slash. Realm. Because of Ketchum's and Atkins' loose lips, the gang decided it would be wise to cross the border into Mexico to stay away from unwanted attention. They were basically on the Mexican border anyway, so it didn't take much to just slip across. But they didn't stay long, and soon they returned to Cochise County. And yet again, at least one of them must have talked to the wrong person. Around December 1, 1897, U.S. Marshals in New Mexico and Arizona heard a rumor that said a train would be held up at Steens Pass within the next 10 days. Steens Pass was a gap in a small

mountain range, right on the border between Arizona and New Mexico, and in the late 1890s, there was a little mining town in the area. Shortly after 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 9th, Dave Atkins and a man known as Ed Cullen walked into the Steens Pass train depot to begin the first phase of the robbery. Next to the depot was a combination store and post office that was also the home of its husband and wife proprietors. Atkins and Cullen walked in without giving the couple a sign of trouble. They made small talk

with the husband and wife. The husband and wife enjoyed the company so much they served the men a home-cooked meal. When Atkins and Cullen finished their supper, they produced their revolvers and stole all the money in the post office, which amounted to a whopping $9. It was now about 8 p.m., and the robbers took the husband to the depot. The three men entered the office, where they found Sam Ketchum waiting for them. He had broken into the office while Atkins and Cullen were enjoying supper. They hunted for more money, but only found some loose change. enjoying supper. They hunted for more money, but only found some loose change. Outside, Tom Ketchum and Will Carver rode up and cut the telegraph wire. Then they rode about a mile and a half

farther west and built two bonfires that would come into play later. At the train depot, Adkins, Cullen, and Sam Ketchum saw the headlight of the westbound train. They ordered the husband to turn on the red light that would signal the train to stop. As soon as the train pulled into the station, Atkins, Cullen, and Sam Ketchum hurried on board and captured the engineer and the fireman. The outlaws ordered the crewman to drive the train out to the two bonfires and then stop again. to drive the train out to the two bonfires and then stop again. When the train approached the glow of the bonfires, the express messenger in his express car guessed that something funny was going on. He was sure of it when he heard several shots that were fired by the three outlaws on the train, followed by a response of shots from Tom and Carver. Luckily for the messenger, he wasn't alone. With him were two

Wells Fargo guards. The three men doused the lights in the express car, slid open the door of the car, and grabbed their guns. They stood ready for a standoff, and the outlaws weren't prepared for that kind of resistance. The outlaws tried to force the engineer to uncouple the express car, The outlaws tried to force the engineer to uncouple the express car, but one of the guards fired a shot. That started the gunfight, and the outlaws and the guards exchanged volleys as they fought for control of the express car. Outlaw Cullen moved into an exposed position to get a better shot at the train car, and it was a fatal mistake. One of the Wells Fargo guards shot him, and he collapsed to the ground. With one man down and out, and the outlaws still struggling to unhook the express car from the rest of the train, the plan was falling apart. But the Ketchum brothers and Will Carver continued

to try to salvage the effort. One of them, probably Sam Ketchum, tried to crawl under the express car to plant dynamite along the bottom to blow up the car. A guard fired a load of buckshot, and some of it peppered Sam Ketchum. As the battle continued, a bullet or buckshot grazed Sam's head, and a bullet hit Dave Atkins in the leg. At that point, the outlaws decided they were done. in the leg. At that point, the outlaws decided they were done. They hadn't planned on a sustained gunfight, and they hopped on their horses and rode away as fast as they could. The failed robbery was a breaking point for the relatively new Ketchum gang, but there were better days ahead for the outlaws. The whole botched affair had garnered them a measly $11. All four of them blamed each other. Dave Atkins had had enough of Tom's

increasingly erratic behavior and his quick temper, and he was the first one to leave the gang. Sam Ketchum was still in, but he set a deadline. He planned to leave after one more heist. in, but he set a deadline. He planned to leave after one more heist. With Atkins gone, the Ketchums needed a fourth partner. They found one in Ben Kilpatrick, a cowboy friend from Texas. After holing up in hideouts on both sides of the Mexican border, the newly formed Ketchum gang set their sights on Comstock Station. The small train stop was in southwest Texas, halfway between Langtree and Del Rio. On April 28, 1898, the four outlaws followed their Steens Pass blueprint. As the train was picking up speed out of Comstock, two of them entered the locomotive. They ordered the engineer to stop the train while the other two detached the passenger

coaches. This time, all four robbers wore black masks and dark clothing. Within 20 minutes, they'd drive the mail and express cars ahead to a place called Helmet. There, the express messenger tried to fire his Winchester but surrendered when the rifle jammed. The bandits emptied one of the two safes. Then, they built a dynamite bomb on top of the other. They lit the fuses, and the explosion sent the safe soaring through the roof and into the sky. The gang collected the money that hadn't been torched and rode away. The engineer managed to drag the badly damaged train into El Paso,

and a newspaper report claimed the gang had stolen at least $20,000. Two months later, on July 1, 1898, the gang staged a repeat performance near Stanton, a West Texas town halfway between Midland and Big Spring. Reports claimed the haul was between $10,000 and $50,000. But despite the back-to-back successes, the Ketchum gang continued to fracture. Tom's temper was the root cause. He was increasingly erratic and mean, even to his brother. Sam Ketchum had stayed for one more robbery than expected, but now he was done. He and Will Carver parted ways with Tom in the spring of 1899. That was the true end of the Blackjack Ketchum gang, and from there, the downfall happened fast.

Sam and Carver constructed their own gang with Elsy Lay and Red Weaver, a couple guys who would run with Butch and Sundance. While they planned their next robbery, Tom Ketchum traveled nearly 400 miles west to central Arizona. As night fell on Sunday, July 2nd, 1899, he entered a store at Camp Verde and shot the two proprietors. Authorities never discovered a good reason for the crime, which lent support to the idea that Black Jack Ketchum was becoming increasingly unhinged. He escaped central Arizona and fled back to New Mexico around the same time as his brother's gang struck a train at a familiar location. Sam Ketchum's gang robbed a train at Twin Mountains in the northeast corner of the territory, the same train at the same spot that

the original gang had robbed two years earlier. This time, the gang stole at least $30,000, but the robbers wouldn't be around long enough to spend it. On the evening of July 16th, a seven-man federal posse entered the gang's hideout at Turkey Creek Canyon. People in the region had alerted the posse to the comings and goings of four strangers who always seemed to need supplies but didn't live in any of the homes in the area. Once the lawmen knew the general location, the gang was easy to find. At dusk, the smoke from the gang's campfire was a beacon against the evening sky. The posse moved into place and prepared for the attack. The posse was a mix of county sheriffs, deputy U.S. marshals, and railroad detectives.

They staged their raid on the outlaw camp late in the day, as darkness started to envelop Turkey Creek Canyon. They caught the outlaws off guard and inflicted serious damage, but in the process, they also suffered pretty serious casualties in their own ranks. During the gun battle that erupted in the canyon, outlaws Sam Ketchum and Elsie Lay were badly wounded. Will Carver sustained minor injuries but dealt the deadly blows to the lawmen. Carver killed one of the county sheriffs and wounded a deputy marshal. The deputy's injury was especially bad. A bullet from Carver's rifle hit the man's skinning knife

and drove it deep into his thigh. The wound was brutal and ultimately killed the marshal. The deputy had used the blade to treat some cattle that were sickened by a disease called black leg. The dirty knife infected his bloodstream and the sickness killed him a few days later. infected his bloodstream and the sickness killed him a few days later. With one member of the posse dead and another badly wounded, the rest retreated out of the canyon. While the lawmen regrouped and waited until morning, the outlaws stole away in the night, but they couldn't go far. Sam Ketchum and LZ Lay were in dire straits. The gang decided to leave Sam behind. He was quickly captured and taken to doctors in Santa Fe, but gangrene had already set in. He died in agony on July 24, 1899, eight days after the gunfight.

LZ Lay's injuries were more severe, but he survived, only to be captured a month later. Will Carver escaped to continue his criminal career, and the fourth man who had participated in the second Twin Mountains robbery, Red Weaver, wasn't in the canyon. He must have separated from the group before the gunfight, which proved to be a smart move on his part.

Tom Ketchum didn't know about the robbery, or the shootout, or his brother's death, but he had returned to the area, possibly to reconcile with the members of his old gang. Exactly one month after his brother sealed his fate by leading the second Twin Mountains robbery, Tom Ketchum did the same, and in nearly the same place. On August 16th, 1899, three weeks after Sam Ketchum died, Tom Ketchum sneaked onto a train that had stopped in the small town of Folsom.

His plan was to use the same formula that had worked on previous robberies, but those raids were conducted by a gang of at least four men. Now he was alone, so how he intended to pull this off is anyone's guess. But Blackjack had heard that there were $5,000 on board, and he thought it was enough to buy passage to South America to start a new life. He stashed his horse, which carried his dynamite, two miles down the track. He stashed his horse, which carried his dynamite, two miles down the track.

Then he climbed onto the train and ambushed the engineer and the fireman. Next, he needed to disconnect the locomotive and the express car from the rest of the train and forced the engineer to drive up the track to the spot where he had parked his horse. But he couldn't guard the two crewmen and steal the money from the express car at the same time, so he had a problem. Actually, two problems. When Ketchum forced the engineer to stop the train, the man stopped on a curve in the tracks. The Colorado and Southern Railroad used a system that locked the connections between the cars whenever the train entered a curve. Ketchum screamed at the engineer and the fireman to do something to unlock the cars. The quick-thinking fireman sealed Ketchum's fate. The fireman

pretended to do something to unlock the cars, but in reality, he cut the air hose, which locked every car in place permanently. While Ketchum continued to shout at the two crewmen to fix the initial problem, without understanding that the firemen had just made it impossible, the conductor crept into the car and fired a shotgun at Ketchum. The blast hit Ketchum in the arm and damaged it badly. Ketchum fired a few wild shots, but then he jumped off the train and ran up the tracks to his horse. By the time he made it, he was losing so much blood and energy that he couldn't crawl into the saddle.

Black Jack Ketchum simply laid down near the tracks and waited for the law to catch him. As far as New Mexico lawmen were concerned, the capture of Thomas Black Jack Ketchum was probably the easiest they'd made in quite some time. A little over two weeks after Ketchum's failed robbery attempt and subsequent capture, his right arm was amputated near the elbow. The shotgun blast had basically shattered his forearm beyond repair. shattered his forearm beyond repair. A week later, in nearly record time, he was convicted of attempted train robbery and given the maximum penalty under New Mexico law. He was sentenced to be hanged by the neck until dead. He appealed his speedy conviction, and while his case worked its

way through the courts, the last of the original gang met its end. Will Carver, the Texan who had once been described as quiet and reserved, but who had also craved excitement and adventure, was shot and killed by a sheriff's posse on April 2, 1901, in the tiny town of Sonora, Texas. Twenty-four days later, Black Jack Ketchum's time ran out. 24 days later, Black Jack Ketchum's time ran out The New Mexico Supreme Court had rejected his appeal And his execution date had been postponed twice But by late April of 1901, it was finally time The hanging was a big attraction

People flooded into the town of Clayton, New Mexico to see the big event. Stores closed, but saloons stayed open and made lots of money. Local lawmen sold tickets to view the hanging, as well as little dolls of Tom Ketchum hanging from a stick. On Friday morning, April 26th, Ketchum was agitated as deputies led him from his cell to the scaffold. He denied being the notorious outlaw known as Black Jack and said a dozen men in Arizona could testify that he was not. But his protests fell on deaf ears, and he was about to make history. He would be the only person ever hanged in Union County, New Mexico.

And he was the only person in New Mexico who suffered capital punishment for the offense of felonious assault upon a railway train. Later, the law was found to be unconstitutional, but it was too late for Ketchum. And since the officials in Clayton had no experience with hangings, Ketchum's was about to end badly. had no experience with hangings, Ketchum's was about to end badly. He walked up the 13 steps to the platform, and a black hood was placed over his head. It was pinned to his shirt to hold it in place. The rope was placed around his neck, the trap was sprung, and the noose decapitated him. The rope was too thin and too long, and the officials forgot to remove a sandbag that they had used to test the gallows, and the extra weight helped rip his head clean off his body.

The only thing that kept his head from rolling away was the black hood that was pinned to his shirt, but even so, blood sprayed from his neck and hit the closest onlookers. Blood sprayed from his neck and hit the closest onlookers. A lone photographer was allowed to take pictures of the event, and his photos from before the hanging and the gory result are still out there to be found. It was a bad end to the bad life of Black Jack Ketchum. But depending on which newspaper account you want to believe, he went out with a memorable quote. His last words reportedly included this line,

Thomas Blackjack Ketchum was buried in the Clayton Cemetery in Clayton, New Mexico, and his grave is still there today. Next time on Legends of the Old West, we're going to continue a kind of trilogy within the podcast. You've heard the story of Wild Bill Hickok, and now we're going to tell the story of one of his fellow Scouts of the Plains, Texas Jack Omohundro. Texas Jack's story is next on Legends of the Old West. season to binge all at once with no commercials, and they also receive exclusive bonus episodes. Sign up now through the link in the show notes or on our website, blackbarrelmedia.com.

Memberships begin at just $5 per month. This series was researched and written by Julia Bricklin. Original music by Rob Valliere. I'm your host and producer, Chris Wimmer. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening. Check out our website, blackbarrelmedia.com, for more details, and join us on social media. We're at Old West Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and all our episodes are available on YouTube. Just search for Legends of the Old West podcast. Thanks for listening.