More Skeleton Canyon info

[carajou]

Ben Traywick is the local historian for Tombstone, Arizona, so I would think he can be relied upon when information is needed for southeast Arizona and the times of the Old West.? The link below is to an essay he wrote concerning William "Curly Bill" Brocius:

http://www.westernoutlaw.com/stories/files/Showdown.pdf

On page 4 of Traywick's writeup, he tells briefly of the Skeleton Canyon incident.? The outlaws, Clantons, McLaureys, Curly Bill, etc, ambushed a Mexican smuggler pack train and netted themselves a tidy sum, which they divided $4,000 amongst themselves, where they spent on drinking, gambling, and women.

In Wyatt Earp's testimony before a grand jury hearing on 17 November 1881 (concerning OK Corral), he also mentions having heard about Skeleton Canyon "two to three months back", making the incident as early as August, 1881.? He also mentions a dollar amount taken, about $75,000.

I have said previously that Monterrey, Mexico, was never robbed of anything involving treasure according to the stories.? But Mexican smugglers WERE robbed and murdered in Skeleton Canyon, and it would seem that one of these incidents netted the outlaws some treasure, which quite possibly was either 1) an expanding of the story by turning $4,000 into $75,000 into $4,000,000, etc, with each telling of the tale, or 2) that a sizable amount of something from somewhere was being transported by these smugglers, and the outlaws got very lucky.

This little tale is still open.? ?

[Springfield]

Why would Mexicans be smuggling money into the USA?

[cedarratt]

To buy guns for their compadres back in Mexico.

[carajou]

According to what I read, the smugglers would smuggle anything that could be bartered, traded, or bought...and they smuggled it because they didn't want the attention of the law.

They also, along the same routes in southeast Arizona, legally transported cattle and other livestock for sale to the various towns and government agencies, and they did get money from these sales. It should also be noted that the Clantons and their allies were never known for their piety; they routinely rustled cattle, horses, and mules from anyone if the situation offered it. These people boasted about it to the point of enjoyment, and that fact is well documented from the newspapers and court records of the time.

Even Wyatt Earp's horse was stolen. When it was found a few months later, Billy Clanton was riding it.