The following is another newspaper account of the San Miguel Valley Bank on June 24, 1889.
I
thought I would throw this news account into the mix. This article alters several of the details
presented by previous witnesses. I am
aware of several writers that have run with the details presented.
The Rocky Mountain News (Daily), Volume 31, June 27, 1889
THE TELLURIDE ROBBERY.
How the Robbery Was Committed by the Cowboys.
Special to The News.
Ouray, Colo., June 26.—The robbery of the San Miguel Valley bank of
Telluride on Monday by four daring cowboys of the Stockton outfit on the Mancos
is one of the boldest affairs of the kind ever known in southern Colorado. The robbers
recured about $20,000. The San Miguel Valley bank, of which
Judge William Story of Ouray is president and Charles Painter of Telluride is
cashier, is one of the oldest and soundest financial institutions in the San
Juan. The men who committed the robbery are supposed to belong to the Stockton
ranch on the Mancos river in Dolores county and are members of a gang that has
always been considered tough. They came to Telluride two or three days prior to
the robbery, put their horses in Searle’s stable and proceeded to take in the
town, drinking and spending money freely. In this way they secured the
information they desired and acted accordingly. The bank employs one clerk as
assistant to the cashier. During the morning the robber; took their horses from
the stable, paid their bill and then visited two or three saloons, watching the bank in
the meantime. Soon Cashier Painter
stepped out to do some collecting and the four rode over to the bank, and
leaving their horses in charge of one of the number, two remained on the
sidewalk and the fourth entered the bank and presented a check to the clerk.
CAUGHT BY THE NECK.
As the latter was bending over the desk examining the check this party
grabbed him around the neck, pulling his face down on the desk, at the same time
admonishing the surprised official to keep quiet on pain of instant death. He then
called to his partners on the sidewalk, saying, “Come on, boys, it’s all
right.” The boys came in and cleaned up all available cash amounting to $20,750,
while their comrade held the trembling clerk over the desk by the neck. When
their work was complete the clerk was released and fell in a leap on the floor.
Surveying the quaking mass of humanity the robber said he had a notion to shoot
him anyway for being such a coward, and then joining his comrades they mounted
their horses and rode leisurely away. When they had ridden a couple of blocks
they spurred their hones into a gallop, gave a yell, discharged their revolvers
and dashed away. It was fifteen minutes after this demonstration, of which
little notice was taken, that Mr. Painter, on returning to his bank, found
his clerk Shee too agitated to give a correct account of the affair.
“IT’S ALL GONE.”
His greeting to the cashier was,
“It’s all gone, all gone,” and such proved to be the case. As soon as possible
a posse was organized and is now in hot pursuit. They were seen at Trout lake
yesterday and news of their capture or a desperate fight with the sheriff’s men
is expected. They are evidently headed for the wild country in the Blue mountains
of Southeastern Utah. The Stockton gang has been in many border troubles, and have
on numerous occasions painted various San Juan towns red. One of their number
was lynched in Silverton a few years: since, and another was killed by the sheriff
of La Plata county while fleeing from justice. Judge Story, president of the bank, was
in Montrose en route to Salt Lake when he received news of the robbery. Some
confederate of the robbers cut the telegraph wire between Telluride and Dallas,
hence communication with that place has been difficult.
Commentary
This article is filled with inaccurate sensationalism at the expense
of bank employee Charles Hyde. Mr. Hyde
was reported to be the only employee in the bank at the time of the robbery and
was unarmed. I am sure Mr. Hyde, or “Shee”,
did not relate these self-deprecating details to anyone. They were certainly not presented in his recollections
of the robbery,
Only an unarmed fool would challenge armed robbers. In only a
matter of three years after this robbery will a bank cashier in Delta Colorado
will be killed for not fully cooperating with robbers. If there is any
criticism to partake in, it would be on Charles Painter. What responsible party would leave an open
vault unguarded with as much as $100,000 within reach (taken and untaken)? That is equivalent to more than $3.2 million
in today’s currency.
In all other accounts, the alarm of the robbery was immediate yet against
all other accounts, this reporter states it took fifteen minutes for the alarm
to sound.
This article is an example of yellow journalism.
A few side notes. Charles Hyde was a
ministry student and would later lead a congregation in Longmont, CO for
several years. In 1898, Rev Hyde (“Shee”)
volunteered for the Colorado
Militia as a private in light of the pending Spanish-American War but was
soon named Colorado’s Chaplain. This is
not the actions of a coward.
I was suspicious of the possibility that a telephone might exist
in the bank in 1889. But in fact, the first
telephone line from Ouray to Telluride was first laid in 1882.
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