First Hand (?) Accounts of the Robbery

Excerpts from Telluride: Tale of Two Early Pioneers – L.G. Denison and L.A. York on the Telluride Robbery

L. G. Denison's Account

L.G. Denison

Being there when the bank was robbed, my store being just a few doors east, I saw the whole thing. The editor has asked me to write about It. The Cosmopolitan Magazine is carrying one of the bandit's, Matt Warner story. I will defer that until my next article, for two reasons— I want to give the history of the first bank and others; and secondly, in Warner's first article in the Cosmopolitan, I could add several things that he overlooked, skipping around, evading officers, and I want to read his second article.

…

At the time of the robbery, C. L. Hyde was Assistant Cashier, and there was a little over $40,000 stolen.

Charles Painter was Vide-President and Acting Cashier but was out at the time of the robbery.

Later L.L. Nunn established the First National Bank.  Mr. L.A. York, in his “Telluride of the Eighties” has told you of the bank robbery of the San Miguel Valley Bank, the story of which by one of the bandits is now running in the Cosmopolitan Magazine.  He mentioned that as they were leaving town, they met a cowboy whom they knew and who knew them.  I was standing in front of my door only a few doors east of the bank about 9 a.m., the bandits rode up in front of the bank.  One sat on his horse and held the other horses.  I didn’t realize what was happening.  Two of the bandits entered the bank and shortly came out hurriedly.  Mounting their horses, and starting west on Main Street, firing their revolvers and creating all the noise they could to attract attention.

They had a mule tied up at the foot of Lawson hill.  On this they put the heavy silver, cut the rope loose from the tree and departed, mule following.

The cowboy they met out at the Wichmann brewery was Harry B. Adsit. He recognized them and came to town.  The sheriff, J.A. Beatie was organizing a posse to apprehend the robbers.  The sheriff was quite old and. And probably couldn’t ride over twenty miles in an entire day, but Adsit was a good rider as ever flopped a leg over a horse, riding his swift and favorite horse "Pedro," took out in the lead. Adsit was as good an all-around sport as I ever knew, this was pie for him – just a little exciting incident to add to his many others.

Adsit was twice elected as the County Clerk in San Juan county, in Silverton but at the time of the robbery was in the cattle business at Lone Cone, Dry Creek Basin, Paradox Valley.  Harry was in the lead.  Red Vandelier a close second. Flying swiftly over the rough hilly trail as fast as an automobile could make it today. He came a little too close for comfort to the bandits and somewhere between here and Rico Tom McCarty, one of the robbers got behind a huge rock, waited for Adsit, stepped out and held him up, took his pearl-handled revolver, and admonished him not to get to close again.

He took him at his word. Now, contrary to the Cosmopolitan article, they did have a change of horses between Rico and Dolores. They changed horses and drone the first relay horses with them except a big fine brown horse of Tom McCarty’s.  He was too near all in to go farther. Sheriff Beattie got this horse and rode him here years afterwards.

The young man in charge of the bank was a Theological student studying for the ministry. They asked him to describe the robbery. He said: 'really, I can describe their guns better.”

 

Assessment

Considered an early Telluride pioneer, Lorn G. Dennison was born in Illinois in 1856 and migrated first to Cheyenne, WY.  In about 1881 he opened one of the first grocery stores in Telluride, CO.

This account was recorded by Mr. Denison on December 3, 1937, just short of fifty years after the robbery.  He eludes to reading Matt Warner’s accounts of the robbery.  That is a shame because it tends to fill in inaccurate details after such a long time.

Take note that Mr. Denison’s store was located on the south side of Main Street (Columbia) on the west side of town.  The Bank of San Miguel was further east on the north side of the street.  This fact contradicts Mr. Dennison’s assertion “I was standing in front of my door only a few doors east of the bank about 9 a.m.”  Although he could have seen the bank assuming the streets were clear, it stood nearly a block away.  I have marked the location of the bank.

Mr. Dennison owned a grocery store in Telluride through the turn of the 20^th century. He died in 1941 and is buried in the Telluride Lone Tree Cemetary

L.A. York's Account

L.A. York

The Journal was located in the second story of a building next door to the San Miguel Valley Bank, of which W.E. Wheeler was thr affable cashier.  This bank was held up and robbed of some $24,000 that summer by three bandits.The hold-up was stages at 10 o’clock in the morning. Two of men entered the bank and got the money, while the third sat on his horse, in front of the entrance and held the mounts of the others. When they left the bank, they cautioned Mr. Wheeler and his assistants to give no alarm for at least ten minutes.  Mounting their horses they rode pell mell down the street, out past the court house towards San Miguel, discharging their revolvers as they left town.  Sheriff Emery was in his office, heard the shots, and rushed out to see “what was doing.”   He decided it was a bunch of drunken cowboys, and mentally resolved to bring them back to make an example of them, to show that promiscuous shooting would not be tolerated in peace-loving Telluride. He crossed the street to McFarland’s livery stable and ordered his horse saddled, but by the time this was accomplished, the alarm of the holdup was made. A posse was immediately formed, the chase begun.  The bandits had fresh horses staked along the route of their flight, and after several days of hard riding the posse returned empty-handed.  MY information is that the robbers were eventually apprehended and convicted.

 

Assessment

Mr. L.A. York moved to Telluride in April 1883 to work for the newspaper Telluride Journal.  He remained in Telluride working for the journal until the summer, of 1889.  His recollections were published 50 years later along with Dennisons.

Mr. Dennison names York as a witness.  But research shows that Mr. York had moved from Telluride several months before the robbery.

That being said, Mr. York's accounts are fifty years old and contain too many factual errors.  I discount his recollections.