Soapweed
Well-known member
In the early days, our ranch was known as the Bar T. Here is a bit of history that took place on the ranch, from a booklet, "The Bar T and Beyond," by Elmer Bachelor.
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In 1924, Elmer was at the Bar T Ranch. The telephone rang one day; it proved to be from a man who was in Eli, Nebraska, who wanted to work. Elmer went and got him with a team and buckboard. Elmer's father, Bill Bachelor, hired the man to help on the haying crew. This man was a very likeable sort. He would chop wood for the kitchen stove, help carry water, and whatever else was needed for the ladies on wash day. He would ride in the buggy with Elmer's father as they drove about overseeing the ranch operations, opening gates. Elmer slept in the same bunkhouse with him, and as they both liked to wrestle and rough house, they had many rough and tumble matches. They were pretty evenly matched. One time, Elmer got a scissor hold on him and hurt him some. The fellow got up a little mad, and said he could tell him stories that would make his blood run cold. As the true identity and true story of this hard-working good-natured Bar T hired hand finally was exposed, it was a great surprise to all. Instead of being Jack Dawson, he was actually Ray DeAutremont who, with his twin brother, Roy, and younger brother, Hugh, had committed the last great train robbery in the west.
In the early afternoon of October 11, 1923, they stopped a Southern Pacific "Gold Express" train in a tunnel south of Ashland, in southwestern Oregon. They were intent on robbing the train of a $40,000 gold shipment, rumored to be on the train. They stopped the train in a tunnel, then blasted the mail car with dynamite, killing the mail clerk. They also shot and killed the engineer, fireman, and brakeman before their getaway with no riches to show for their killings. This hideous crime triggered a manhunt that spread to five continents and cost an estimated half-million dollars.
When Ray was at the Bar T, it had been just about a year or so after the robbery. He worked on the ranch about a year. There was a $15,900 reward in gold for him. Elmer told another hired man that he should have kept hold of Ray and collected the big reward. Later on, he found out that this second hired man had a $200 reward out for his capture.
After leaving the Bar T ranch, Ray DeAutremont went to work in the hotel in Cody, Nebraska, run by Elmer's aunt. He met the trains with a bus, and brought trade in for the diner and hotel. The town marshall at Cody, George Rose, received a call from Hot Springs, South Dakota to arrest and hold DeAutremont, which he did, not knowing that he was a murderer. Elmer's brother had earlier sold DeAutremont a leather jacket and pistol. The town marshall locked him up, and put the pistol in his desk drawer, and went to supper. After supper, the prisoner was gone. He had somehow escaped, and as a large posse could not locate him, he must have left town on a freight train.
Ray's brother Hugh was captured in the Phillipine Islands on February 11, 1927, while serving in the U.S. Army under an assumed name. Ray and Roy were both captured four months later in Steubenville, Ohio, where they were working. The brothers were all convicted of murder and given life terms in prison.
Hugh died of cancer in San Francisco, shortly after being paroled in 1959. Roy died in 1983 in a Salem, Oregon nursing home. In prison, Ray made the most of it, learning several foreign languages, plus becoming an accomplished artist. After his parole in 1961, he worked several years as a janitor at the University of Oregon. He passed away at age 84 in a Eugene, Oregon nursing home.
http://www.angelfire.com/wa/andyhiggins/Greattrainrobbery.html
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In 1924, Elmer was at the Bar T Ranch. The telephone rang one day; it proved to be from a man who was in Eli, Nebraska, who wanted to work. Elmer went and got him with a team and buckboard. Elmer's father, Bill Bachelor, hired the man to help on the haying crew. This man was a very likeable sort. He would chop wood for the kitchen stove, help carry water, and whatever else was needed for the ladies on wash day. He would ride in the buggy with Elmer's father as they drove about overseeing the ranch operations, opening gates. Elmer slept in the same bunkhouse with him, and as they both liked to wrestle and rough house, they had many rough and tumble matches. They were pretty evenly matched. One time, Elmer got a scissor hold on him and hurt him some. The fellow got up a little mad, and said he could tell him stories that would make his blood run cold. As the true identity and true story of this hard-working good-natured Bar T hired hand finally was exposed, it was a great surprise to all. Instead of being Jack Dawson, he was actually Ray DeAutremont who, with his twin brother, Roy, and younger brother, Hugh, had committed the last great train robbery in the west.
In the early afternoon of October 11, 1923, they stopped a Southern Pacific "Gold Express" train in a tunnel south of Ashland, in southwestern Oregon. They were intent on robbing the train of a $40,000 gold shipment, rumored to be on the train. They stopped the train in a tunnel, then blasted the mail car with dynamite, killing the mail clerk. They also shot and killed the engineer, fireman, and brakeman before their getaway with no riches to show for their killings. This hideous crime triggered a manhunt that spread to five continents and cost an estimated half-million dollars.
When Ray was at the Bar T, it had been just about a year or so after the robbery. He worked on the ranch about a year. There was a $15,900 reward in gold for him. Elmer told another hired man that he should have kept hold of Ray and collected the big reward. Later on, he found out that this second hired man had a $200 reward out for his capture.
After leaving the Bar T ranch, Ray DeAutremont went to work in the hotel in Cody, Nebraska, run by Elmer's aunt. He met the trains with a bus, and brought trade in for the diner and hotel. The town marshall at Cody, George Rose, received a call from Hot Springs, South Dakota to arrest and hold DeAutremont, which he did, not knowing that he was a murderer. Elmer's brother had earlier sold DeAutremont a leather jacket and pistol. The town marshall locked him up, and put the pistol in his desk drawer, and went to supper. After supper, the prisoner was gone. He had somehow escaped, and as a large posse could not locate him, he must have left town on a freight train.
Ray's brother Hugh was captured in the Phillipine Islands on February 11, 1927, while serving in the U.S. Army under an assumed name. Ray and Roy were both captured four months later in Steubenville, Ohio, where they were working. The brothers were all convicted of murder and given life terms in prison.
Hugh died of cancer in San Francisco, shortly after being paroled in 1959. Roy died in 1983 in a Salem, Oregon nursing home. In prison, Ray made the most of it, learning several foreign languages, plus becoming an accomplished artist. After his parole in 1961, he worked several years as a janitor at the University of Oregon. He passed away at age 84 in a Eugene, Oregon nursing home.
http://www.angelfire.com/wa/andyhiggins/Greattrainrobbery.html
Isn't history an amazing thing if we take the time to rediscover it! We love learning about our family history and have always felt we can learn a lot about life by veiwing it through the eyes of those who have long passed on. After all, if we don't learn about and remember our ancestors, who will? :???: Now i guess the question is, are ya sure they didnt get any loot? :shock: Or is it buried somewhere in the sandhills on the spearhead? :shock: :wink: