A Failed Attempt - CAB Cattle

On the Road…..note to readers…..I drove to the Buford Ranch near Welch, Okla., for a CAB event recently. On the way down, I make a stop at a local historical site (I’m an Old West history buff; sorry, can’t help myself!).

October 5, 1892, Coffeyville, Kan.

The infamous Dalton Gang tried to do something that had never been done before: robbing two banks at the same time. It met with disastrous results; not only for them, but also for three brave citizens who tried to stop them. It was a bloody day, but the gang’s violent ways came to a screeching halt with four of them dead and the fifth scoundrel wounded and captured. The local citizenry prevailed. (By they way, Emmett Dalton, the lone survivor, was later pardoned and released from prison.)

: The Condon Bank as it appeared in the 1890s. It was one of the two banks that the Dalton Gang tried to rob simultaneously.

So, why were they unsuccessful in their attempted dastardly deed(s)? Several critical mistakes were made, among those were:

1. Coffeyville was their hometown. They tried to sneak into town by wearing false beards and wigs. Didn’t fool the hometown folk, who knew who they were and what they were probably up to when they walked into the Condon Bank and the First National Bank with guns. Kind of a no-brainer, don’t you think?

2. They tied their horses in the alley instead of on the street. The streets were being worked on and the hitching rails on the street in front of the bank had been removed for the repairs. Thus, they were in a position to be trapped by armed citizens.

3. The Isham Hardware store was just across the street, where the owner of that establishment kindly lent out arms and ammunition to the local gentry to blast the outlaws into perdition. They didn’t count on that one! Maybe a little out of their control, but my guess was they didn’t count on the residents and businessmen to arm themselves and stop their offense.

4. They got too big for their britches. They assumed that they would be able to walk into town and just rob the banks and get away. They underestimated what they were up against. They perhaps got a little “sloppy”.

Condon Bank Coffeyville KS — The Condon Bank as it appears today. The Chamber of Commerce is housed in this building today. The front of the bank building has been left as it was back in the "old days" and it can be visited during business hours.

Lessons learned from this:

1. Crime doesn’t pay! OK, OK, this one you already knew!

2. Don’t try to slip something by the people you know best; or who know you the best. Trends come and go; stick with what works best in your area. here’s always a chance to try new avenues, but leaving what has been proven best can end with disastrous consequences.

3. When faced with a challenge, you need to carefully weigh your options. Consider all the angles. If the hitching rail is gone, or if somebody moved your cheese, you need to figure out your next best route.

4. Prepare for the unexpected. You don’t know, of course, what that will be. But if you don’t respond appropriately, you could get shot to doll rags!