This gang should not be confused with the gang of Soapy Smith

Soapy Smith

Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II was an American con artist and gangster who had a major hand in the organized criminal operations of Denver, Colorado; Creede, Colorado; and Skagway, Alaska, from 1879 to 1898. He was killed in the famed Shootout on Juneau Wharf...

.

The Smith Gang was a band of American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 cattle rustlers who operated in the Southwest during the late 1890s to 1901. The gang was founded by Bill Smith and included six others, mainly Bill's family members. After an encounter with the law in Arizona Territory

Arizona Territory

The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....

, known as the Battleground Gunfight

Battleground Gunfight

The Battleground Gunfight was a shootout in 1901 between a posse of American lawmen and the Smith Gang. It occurred on the Fort Apache Reservation in Arizona at a clearing in the forest known today as "Battle Ground"...

, the Smith Gang was forced to escape to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 in October of 1901.

History

The gang was formed no later than 1898 and included Bill Smith, his younger brothers Al, George and Floyd, a brother in law named Adam Slagger and two other unidentified men. Before moving to Arizona, Bill was a rustler in the Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

 where he worked with the Dalton Gang

Dalton Gang

The Dalton Gang, also known as The Dalton Brothers, was a family of both lawmen and outlaws in the American Old West during 1890-1892. They specialized in bank and train robberies. They were related to the Younger brothers, who rode with Jesse James, though they acted later and independently of...

. In 1898 the Smith brothers were living with their mother and sisters at a ranch located near the Blue River in northeastern Graham County

Graham County, Arizona

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*72.1% White*1.8% Black*14.4% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*8.3% Other races*30.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, Arizona. That year the brothers were arrested for stealing unbranded calves from ranchers Henry Barrett, a former Rough Rider, and Bill Phelps. Bill assumed full responsibility for the crime so his brothers were released. Bill spent the next several months in jail at St. Johns

St. Johns, Arizona

St. Johns is the county seat of Apache County, Arizona, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 180, mostly west of where that highway intersects with U.S. Route 191. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 3,538....

 and he was said to have developed a grudge against Henry Barrett. Eventually Bill planned to make his escape from police custody. The jailer at St. Johns, Tom Berry, found Bill to be such a hard sleeper that it was necessary to enter his cell every morning to wake him up. One morning when Berry walked into the cell, Bill Smith revealed a .45 caliber revolver which had been smuggled to him by his brother Al. Bill then locked Berry in the cell and escaped to New Mexico Territory

New Mexico Territory

thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...

 for a year. By 1900 the gang was well known in the Southwest for their thievery along the Mogollon Rim

Mogollon Rim

The Mogollon Rim is a topographical and geological feature running across the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately from northern Yavapai County eastward to near the border with New Mexico.-Description:...

.

Battleground Gunfight

In the first week of October 1901, the gang was spotted near Springerville

Springerville, Arizona

Springerville is a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States within the White Mountains. Its postal ZIP code is 85938. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 1,956.Springerville sits at an elevation of 6,974 feet...

 with fifteen to twenty stolen horses. According to informants, the group was on their way home from Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 where they allegedly robbed a train

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

. A few days later Henry Barrett, in company with another cowboy, were confronted by Bill Smith and his brother Al in the Big Cienega range. During which Henry Barrett was held captive for some time and Bill threatened to kill him but eventually Barrett was released and he informed the local sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 at St. Johns. On the next day the sheriff organized a posse

Posse

Posse may refer to:* Posse comitatus , a group of men assembled to assist in law enforcement* Posse , starring Kirk Douglas* Posse , starring Mario van Peebles...

 to go after the Smith Gang. It was to be led by his deputy, Hank Sharp, who would ride with Henry Barrett and two other ranchers. At Greer

Greer, Arizona

Greer is an unincorporated community in Apache County, Arizona, United States. It lies at an elevation of approximately 8,500 feet in the White Mountains of Arizona, and is surrounded by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Greer was founded around 1879 by Mormon settlers from Utah...

 the posse met up with the Arizona Rangers

Arizona Rangers

The Arizona Rangers is an Arizona law enforcement agency modeled on the Texas Rangers. The Arizona Rangers were created by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1901, disbanded in 1909, and subsequently reformed in 1957. They were created to deal with the infestations of outlaws in the sparsely...

 Carlos Tofolla and Duane Hamblin who were also looking for the Smiths. The two forces decided to combine their strength and they followed the outlaw

Outlaw

In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...

s' trail to a crossing at the Little Colorado River

Little Colorado River

The Little Colorado River is a river in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico...

. There they decided to detour east to the ranch of Lorenzo Crosby to ask for his help in pursuing the gang, to which Crosby agreed.

The brothers Arch and William "Bill" Maxwell also lived on the Crosby ranch and they were considered to be great at tracking, both of them joined the posse as well. After that the lawmen continued on the outlaws trail which led to their camp, just within the western border of the Fort Apache Reservation

Fort Apache Indian Reservation

The Fort Apache Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in Arizona, United States, encompassing parts of Navajo, Gila, and Apache counties. It is home to the federally recognized White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, a Western Apache tribe. It has a land area of 2,627.608...

. The camp was located along a creek, within a deep canyon, near the Black River

Black River (Arizona)

The Black River is a river in the White Mountains of Arizona, USA, to the west of Alpine. Along with the Whiteriver, it forms the Salt River, a major tributary of the Gila River.It was named by James Ohio Pattie in 1826 as he explored the area....

, and the posse confronted the gang from the canyon's western opening on the afternoon of October 8. In the gunfight that followed, the posse had to fire into the setting sun while the position of the outlaws was shaded. Initially the rangers Tofolla and Hamblin demanded that the gang surrender, Bill Smith replied that he would, but when Bill made his appearence, he opened fire with his rifle. The first three shots fired by Bill Smith hit Tofolla twice in the chest and the deputized rancher Bill Maxwell in the head. Maxwell died instantly but Tofolla returned fire with his revolver. For the next couple of hours the two sides skirmished until it was too dark to continue fighting.

Tofolla later died that night and he and Bill Maxwell were the only casualties on the posse's side. One or two of the gang members may have been wounded by Barrett who carried a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 Mauser

Mauser

Mauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces...

 that could shoot through trees. During the gunfight, Ranger Duane Hamblin scattered the gang's horses which forced them to have to retreat from the canyon on foot. The posse did not pursue any further though so the Smith Gang escaped to New Mexico and then Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, stealing horses, guns, and food, from settlers, along the way. Another posse was organized to go after the Smith Gang, and the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 dispatched two Apache Scouts

Apache scouts

The Apache Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts, most of their service was during the Apache Wars up to 1886 though the last scout retired in 1947. The Apache scouts were the eyes and ears of the United States military and sometimes the cultural translators for the various...

, Chicken and Josh, to help in the search, but the scouts lost the outlaws' trail at the Rio Grande

Rio Grande

The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

, the international border between Texas and Mexico. Following this the Smith Gang ceased to exist as a criminal enterprise in the United States but they may have continued their life of crime in Mexico.