www.DistinctlyMontana.com
47
Someone fitting Curry's description was shot
during a skirmish with the posse. The bullet tore
through the man's bicep, entered his chest cavi-
ty, exited out the other side, and tore through
his other bicep as well. The man knew the
score. He struggled to raise his shattered
arm, pressed the pistol to his temple, and
fired.
Still, there are those who held that, who-
ever that ill-fated man was, he wasn't Curry.
Curry, those folks argue, joined Butch and
Sundance in Bolivia. Much like rumors of
Sundance's longevity, such stories seemed to
cast a nostalgic shadow over the waning West,
telling the listener not to worry, that it was still
a world of cowboys and outlaws after all.
But there may have been a more practical rea-
son to entertain the possibility that Curry was still
alive. For the Pinkertons, who commanded prince-
ly sums to protect the train companies from would-
be robbers, the news that one of the nation's most
feared train robbers was definitely very dead
might have tamped down on their business.
With the dream, or rather the nightmare, of
men like Kid Curry still alive, the Pinkertons
would buy a few more years of job security.
Which ending do you like better? The
one where Curry died an inveterate crimi-
nal whose final murder was his own rather
than let some greenhorn posse member
have the satisfaction? Or the one where
Curry lived another twenty or thirty years,
becoming old, feeling the strength of his
limbs ebb away until he ceased to be a leg-
end and became like you and me: just another
cowpoke?
Which would you rather have: the truth or the
legend?
Find us and learn more at
MontanaWhiskeyCo.com
Enjoy Responsibly.
Our founder's great grandfather celebrates
his Montana fall harvest, circa 1944.
Fine spirits for the
great outdoors.
