Parachute Colorado
The RobberyOn June 7, 1904, an outlaw named Harvey Logan attempted one of the west's last train robberies near here. Also known as Kid Curry, Logan was a member of Butch Cassidy's notorious "Hole in the Wall" gang.
When the westbound Denver & Rio Grande train made its scheduled 1:15 a.m. stop in Parachute on that Tuesday morning, a man scrambled on board. He ordered the engineer at gun point to proceed to Streit Flats, roughly 3 miles west of here. There he was joined by two accomplices.
The three outlaws forced the Baggage Master to open the doors of the baggage car and blew open the safe with a charge of dynamite. They were expecting to find a shipment of gold. Historians never established that they actually did. In fact, it is believed by many that the gold had been sent through on a earlier train.
After blowing the safe, the outlaws headed directly for the Colorado River. They crossed the river and mounted horses which they had hidden on the south side. They headed for Battlement Mesa, stealing fresh mounts as they went.
In the meantime, lawmen from Grand Junction and Parachute, along with several local ranchers, formed a posse to pursue the outlaws. For the story of "The Getaway" and the confrontation between posse and outlaw, please see the historical marker on Battlement Mesa. Cross I-70 and the Colorado River, then follow signs to the Battlement Mesa Information Center.
The GetawayOn June 7, 1904, Kid Curry crossed Battlement Mesa near here after robbing a train west of Parachute. He was accompanied by two fellow members of Butch Cassidy's notorious "Hole in the Wall" gang.
In hot pursuit was a posse composed of lawmen from both Parachute and Grand Junction and several ranchers.
After crossing Battlement Mesa, the posse caught up with and exchanged fire with the robbers on Mamm Creek east of here. The outlaws escaped unharmed and rode on to Divide Creek where they stole horses and continued east.
Finally, on East Divide Creek, the posse again overtook the outlaws. Hidden behind rocks, the desperadoes warned the lawmen and ranchers to "go back or get hurt." Ignoring this warning, the posse went for their guns. In the ensuing battle, one of the robbers was heard to say that he had been hit and that he was going to finish the job. A single, final shot rang out, then all was quiet. Cautiously, the posse approached the rocks behind which the outlaws had been hiding. They found one man dead with wounds in his chest and head. The latter were plainly self-inflicted.
The other two outlaws whose horses were causalities of the battle, fled on foot into the cedar trees along East Divide Creek. They were never identified and they were never seen again.
The dead man, later positively identified by the Pinkerton Detective Agency as Harvey Logan, alias "Kid Curry", was taken to Glenwood Springs. There he was buried near the site of Doc Holliday's grave.
The money or gold — if any — that the robber obtained from their ill-fated crime has never been found or accounted for.
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