William Brocius
Encyclopedia
William "Curly Bill" Brocius (c. 1845 – March 24, 1882) was a gunman
Gunslinger
Gunfighter, also gunslinger , is a 20th century word, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun...

, rustler
Cattle raiding
Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle.In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the person as a duffer...

  and an 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 Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...

 Cowboy
The Cowboys (Cochise County)
The Cowboys were a loosely associated group of outlaw cowboys in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona Territory in the late 19th century. They were cattle rustlers and robbers who rode across the border into Mexico and rounded up cattle that they then sold in the United States...

 in the Cochise County
Cochise County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*78.5% White*4.2% Black*1.2% Native American*1.9% Asian*0.3% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*4.0% Two or more races*9.6% Other races*32.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

 area of 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....

 during the early 1880s. He had a number of conflicts with the lawmen of the Earp family, and he was named as one of the individuals who participated Morgan Earp
Morgan Earp
Morgan Seth Earp was the younger brother of Deputy U.S. Marshals Virgil and Wyatt Earp. Morgan was a deputy of Virgil's and all three men were the target of repeated death threats made by outlaw Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. This conflict eventually...

's assassination. Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...

 and a group of deputies including his brother Warren Earp
Warren Earp
Baxter Warren Earp was the youngest brother of Wyatt, Morgan, Virgil, James, and Newton Earp. He was not present during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. After Virgil was maimed in an ambush, he joined Wyatt and was in town when Morgan was assassinated. He helped Wyatt in the hunt for the outlaw...

 pursued
Earp vendetta ride
The Earp Vendetta Ride, lasting from March 20 to April 15, 1882, was a manhunt for outlaw Cowboys led by newly appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp. He was searching for men he held responsible for maiming his brother Virgil, the Tombstone Marshal and Deputy U.S. Marshal, and assassinating his...

 those they believed responsible for Morgan's death. The Earp posse unexpectedly encountered Curly Bill and other Cowboys on March 24, 1882, at Iron Springs
Iron Springs (Cochise County, Arizona)
Iron Springs is historical name of a natural spring in the Whetstone Mountains of Arizona, now known as Mescal Springs.The site is known as that of the confrontation between Wyatt Earp and William Brocius on March 24, 1882...

 (present day Mescal Springs). Wyatt killed Curly Bill during the shoot out. In his journal written in October 1881, George Parsons
George W. Parsons
George Whitwell Parsons was a licensed attorney turned banker during the 19th century Old West. He is remembered due to his having kept an accurate diary of his days in the west, which gave detailed accounts of his interaction with Old West notables such as Wyatt Earp and "Curly Bill"...

 referred to Brocius as "Arizona's most famous outlaw".

Time in Tombstone

Brocius arrived from either Texas or Missouri around 1878 and went briefly to the San Carlos Reservation with a herd of cattle, before arriving in the 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....

.

In late October, 1880, Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...

 transported Brocius to Tucson for trial in the shooting death of Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...

 Fred White. During that trip Brocius told Wyatt Earp that he had escaped from prison in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

. The El Paso Daily Times speculated that he was the man that Texas Ranger Thomas Mode shot in the right ear. According to Earp, Curly Bill asked him about lawyers during the journey, and Earp recommended a man named Zabriski. Curly Bill had said he could not use Zabriski because Zabriski had years earlier been his state prosecutor for a crime he had been convicted of in El Paso, Texas—a robbery in which a man had been killed. The Tombstone Epitaph reported that "Within the past few years he stopped a stage in El Paso County, Texas, killing one man and dangerously wounding another. He was tried and sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary, but managed to make his escape shortly after being incarcerated."

Shooting of Fred White, 1880

In a drunken revelry, some of Curly Bill's friends were firing pistols into the air on October 27, 1880 in a dark vacant lot between Toughnut and Allen Streets, near where the Birdcage Theater now stands. Tombstone's Town Marshal Fred White attempted to disarm Brocius and grabbed his weapon by the barrel. The gun discharged, striking White in the left testicle. Wyatt Earp had borrowed Fred Dodge's pistol and he pistol-whipped
Pistol-whipping
Pistol-whipping is the act of using a handgun as a blunt weapon, wielding it as if it were a club or blackjack. "Pistol-whipping" and "to pistol-whip" were reported as "new words" of American speech in 1955, with cited usages from 1940s...

 Brocius. At the preliminary hearing for Brocius afterward, Wyatt testified that he had heard White say: "I am an officer; give me your pistol.” When he got close, he saw Brocius remove his pistol from his scabbard and White grab it by the barrel. He said he put his arms around Brocius from behind to see if he had any other weapons, and White "gave a quick jerk and the pistol went off." White fell to the ground, wounded. When the pistol discharged, Wyatt buffaloed Brocius and arrested him. Brocius complained, "What have I done?" I have not done anything to be arrested for.”

He grabbed Brocius by the collar and told him to get up. Brocius protested, asking, "What have I done? Wyatt told his biographer John Flood many years later that he thought Brocius still armed at the time and didn't notice that Brocius' pistol lay on the ground in the dark, until Brocius was already down.

White was carried to a doctor and they initially thought he would recover, and the next day he gave a statement that exonerated Curly Bill of murder. But that night White's condition worsened.

Brocius later claimed that his gun discharged accidentally and reportedly immediately regretted shooting White. He testified at his trial that he did not consider himself to have committed a crime. Brocius waived his right to a preliminary hearing, and Pima County
Pima County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.3% White*3.5% Black*3.3% Native American*2.6% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.7% Two or more races*12.4% Other races*34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

 Deputy Marshall Earp immediately took Brocius to Tucson for trial, possibly averting a lynching
Lynching in the United States
Lynching, the practice of killing people by extrajudicial mob action, occurred in the United States chiefly from the late 18th century through the 1960s. Lynchings took place most frequently in the South from 1890 to the 1920s, with a peak in the annual toll in 1892.It is associated with...

, as White was very popular as town marshal. White died two days after Curly Bill shot him. Before dying, White testified that he thought the pistol had accidentally discharged and that he did not believe that Curly Bill shot him on purpose. Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...

 supported this testimony, as did a demonstration that Brocius's pistol could be fired from half-cock, and the fact that it had been found to contain six rounds, with only one of them fired (an unsafe way to carry a single action revolver in 1880). After spending most of November and December 1880 in jail awaiting trial, Brocius was acquitted with a verdict of accidental death.

Outlaw Cowboy

Brocius was known to develop a mean sense of humor when drunk. He was reported to have perpetrated such "practical jokes" as using gunfire to make a preacher "dance" during a sermon, or making Mexicans at a community dance take off their clothes and dance naked. (Both incidents were reported by Wells, Fargo agent Fred Dodge in this memoirs, and both incidents are alluded to in the newspapers of the time).

Brocius was an outlaw Cowboy
The Cowboys (Cochise County)
The Cowboys were a loosely associated group of outlaw cowboys in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona Territory in the late 19th century. They were cattle rustlers and robbers who rode across the border into Mexico and rounded up cattle that they then sold in the United States...

 and a rustler
Cattle raiding
Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle.In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the person as a duffer...

, and was for a time also a tax collector for Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan
Johnny Behan
John Harris Behan was from April, 1881 to November, 1882 sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona Territory. Behan was appointed the first sheriff of the newly-created county in February, 1881. The mining boomtown of Tombstone was the new county seat and Behan's headquarters...

, making other rustlers pay taxes on their stolen cattle (the money went into the sheriff's coffers and added to his salary). On May 25, 1881, Brocius was drinking heavily in Galeyville with Lincoln County War
Lincoln County War
The Lincoln County War was a 19th-century range war between two factions during the Old West period. Numerous notable figures of the American West were involved, including Billy the Kid, aka William Henry McCarty; sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett; cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and...

 veteran and his friend of several months Jim Wallace, and 8 or 9 other Cowboys.

Wallace made an insulting comment to Tombstone Deputy Marshall Billy Breakenridge
Billy Breakenridge
William Milton "Billy" Breakenridge was an American lawman, teamster, railroader, soldier and author. He was assistant Tombstone City Marshal in the Arizona Territory when the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place....

 as he passed by, who ignored him, but Brocious took offense,and insisted that Wallace accompany him and apologize to Breakenridge. Wallace complied, but Brocius afterward heaped abuse on Wallace, announcing, "You damned Lincoln County sonofabitch, I'll kill you anyhow." Wallace left the saloon and when Curly Bill followed him, Wallace shot him. The bullet passed though his neck and out the opposite cheek, wounding him, though not seriously. Breakenridge arrested Wallace but he was not prosecuted due to self-defense.

Curly Bill may have first met Pony Diehl
Pony Diehl
Charles "Pony" Diehl was an Old West outlaw who crossed paths and associated with some of the most famous western characters in American history. His origins are unknown, although he is believed to have been part Cherokee....

 around this time as well. Diehl was implicated in several Cowboy criminal activities later on.

On March 8, 1881, Brocius and his friend Johnny Ringo
Johnny Ringo
John Peters "Johnny" Ringo was an outlaw Cowboy of the American Old West who was affiliated with Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell in Cochise County, Arizona Territory during 1881-1882.-Early life:...

 rode to Maxey, near Camp Thomas, Arizona. While drinking and playing poker in O'Neil and Franklin's saloon, Cowboy Dick Lloyd got drunk. After shooting and wounding one man, Lloyd rode his horse into the saloon where Brocius was drinking. He and several other men resented the interruption and about a dozen of the men, including Brocius, shot and killed Lloyd. Owner O'Neil took the blame and was acquitted.

On March 15, 1881, three outlaw cowboys attempted to rob a Kinnear & Company stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...

 carrying USD$26,000 in silver bullion near Benson. Popular stagecoach driver Eli "Budd" Philpot and passenger Peter Roerig were murdered. Cowboy confederates were suspected, and Virgil and Wyatt Earp, Fred Dodge, and Harry Breakinridge tracked the men down and arrested Luther King, who implicated Bill Leonard, Harry "The Kid" Head, and Jim Crane. In July 1881, Bill Leonard and Harry Head attempted to rob William and Isaac Haslett general store in Hachita, New Mexico
Hachita Valley
The Hachita Valley, , is a small valley in southwest New Mexico. The valley is in the east of the New Mexico Bootheel region and borders Chihuahua state, Mexico...

. The Haslett brothers killed Leonard and Head during the hold-up. Brocius and friend Johnny Ringo
Johnny Ringo
John Peters "Johnny" Ringo was an outlaw Cowboy of the American Old West who was affiliated with Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell in Cochise County, Arizona Territory during 1881-1882.-Early life:...

 rode to New Mexico to avenge their friends' deaths and killed both Haslett brothers.

Later in July, Brocius led an ambush and attacked a Mexican trail herd in the Skeleton Canyon Massacre
Skeleton Canyon Massacre
The Skeleton Canyon Massacres refer to two separate attacks on Mexican citizens in 1879 and 1881. Skeleton Canyon is located in the Peloncillo Mountains , which straddles the modern Arizona and New Mexico state line border...

. They killed six vaqueros
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

 and capture the remainder, perhaps torturing the remaining eight men before they killed them. There was no way of verifying these stories, however, and Brocius was not charged with the crimes. Curly Bill reportedly sold the Mexican beef
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

 he stole to Newman Haynes Clanton the next month. When Old Man Clanton was on the trail herding the beef to Tombstone, he and four others were ambushed
Guadalupe Canyon Massacre
The Guadalupe Canyon Massacre was an incident that occurred on August 13, 1881 in the Guadalupe Canyon area of the southern Peloncillo Mountains – Guadalupe Mountains. The canyon straddles the modern Arizona and New Mexico state line and connects the Animas Valley of New Mexico with the San...

 and murdered by Mexicans.

Brocius had been shot through the face on May 25 and some reports dispute whether he could have been well enough to participate in these killings about six weeks later. George Parsons rode through the McLaury brothers ranch in Sulphur Springs Valley
Sulphur Springs Valley
The Sulphur Springs Valley is a major valley in the eastern half of Cochise County, Arizona. The valley covers an approximated vertical rectangle west of the Chiricahua Mountains–Dos Cabezas Mountains complex; the Chiricahua's have a valley to the northeast, San Simon Valley, and to the southeast,...

 as part of an Indian scouting party on October 6 and noted that Brocius had not yet completely recovered from his wound but was well enough to ride.

Assassination of Morgan Earp

Following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a roughly 30-second gunfight that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, of the United States. Outlaw Cowboys Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran from the fight, unharmed, but Ike's brother...

 in October 1881, Brocius robbed the Tombstone-Bisbee stagecoach on January 6 and the Tombstone-Benson stage the next day. Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp gathered a posse and rode after the men but was unable to find them in the Chiricahua Mountains
Chiricahua Mountains
The Chiricahua Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern Arizona which are part of the Basin and Range province of the southwest, and part of the Coronado National Forest...

. Brocius returned to Tombstone on March 17. He was named by Pete Spence
Pete Spence
Pete Spence , suspected of robbery in 1878 in Goliad County, Texas, changed his name from Elliot Larkin Ferguson. He was later a suspect in a stagecoach robbery outside Bisbee, Arizona and was known for his association with outlaw Cowboys Frank and Tom McLaury and Ike and Billy Clanton of...

's wife Marietta Duarte as a participant in the assassination of Morgan Earp
Morgan Earp
Morgan Seth Earp was the younger brother of Deputy U.S. Marshals Virgil and Wyatt Earp. Morgan was a deputy of Virgil's and all three men were the target of repeated death threats made by outlaw Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. This conflict eventually...

. Justice of the Peace Wells Spicer
Wells Spicer
Wells W. Spicer was an American journalist, prospector, politician, lawyer and judge whose legal career immersed him in two significant events in frontier history: the Mountain Meadows massacre in the Utah Territory in 1857; and the 1881 shootout commonly known as the Gunfight at the O.K...

 disallowed her testimony because it was hearsay
Hearsay
Hearsay is information gathered by one person from another person concerning some event, condition, or thing of which the first person had no direct experience. When submitted as evidence, such statements are called hearsay evidence. As a legal term, "hearsay" can also have the narrower meaning of...

 and because she could not testify against her husband. Lacking evidence, the prosecution dropped all charges against all of the Cowboys. Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...

 killed outlaw Cowboy Frank Stilwell
Frank Stilwell
Frank C. Stilwell was an outlaw Cowboy who murdered at least two men in Cochise County during 1877-1882. For four months he was a deputy sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona Territory for Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan...

 in Tucson on March 20, 1882 while guarding his brother Virgil enroute to California.

Gunfight at Iron Springs

On March 24, 1882, the Earp party was expecting to meet Charlie Smith at Iron Springs
Iron Springs (Cochise County, Arizona)
Iron Springs is historical name of a natural spring in the Whetstone Mountains of Arizona, now known as Mescal Springs.The site is known as that of the confrontation between Wyatt Earp and William Brocius on March 24, 1882...

 (later Mescal Springs), in the Whetstone Mountains
Whetstone Mountains
The Whetstone Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern Arizona. Major ranges in the region are part of sky island ranges called the Madrean Sky Islands. Part of the Coronado National Forest, the range is one of the least accessible areas...

. Charlie was bringing cash from Tombstone about 20 miles (32.2 km) to the west to help pay posse expenses. As they surmounted the edge of a wash near the springs, they stumbled upon Brocius, Pony Diehl
Pony Diehl
Charles "Pony" Diehl was an Old West outlaw who crossed paths and associated with some of the most famous western characters in American history. His origins are unknown, although he is believed to have been part Cherokee....

, Johnny Barnes, Frank Patterson, Milt Hicks, Bill Hicks, Bill Johnson, Ed Lyle, and Johnny Lyle, cooking a meal alongside the spring.

According to Wyatt Earp, who left the only record of the fight, he was in the lead of the Earp party when they suddenly came upon the Cowboys' camp less than 30 feet (9.1 m) behind an embankment. He dismounted, shotgun in hand, as the Cowboys seized their weapons. Texas Jack Vermillion
Texas Jack Vermillion
John Wilson Vermillion , alias "Texas Jack" and later as "Shoot-Your-Eye-Out" Vermillion, was a gunfighter of the Old West known for his participation in the Earp vendetta ride and his later association with Soapy Smith.- Early life :...

 remained cool under fire and stuck close to Wyatt during the fight. Lacking cover, Doc, Johnson, and McMasters retreated. Warren Earp
Warren Earp
Baxter Warren Earp was the youngest brother of Wyatt, Morgan, Virgil, James, and Newton Earp. He was not present during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. After Virgil was maimed in an ambush, he joined Wyatt and was in town when Morgan was assassinated. He helped Wyatt in the hunt for the outlaw...

 was away on an errand at the time.

Eighteen months prior, Wyatt had protected Curly Bill against a mob ready to lynch him for killing Sheriff Fred White, and then provided testimony that helped spare Curly Bill from a murder trial. Now Curly Bill fired at Wyatt with his shotgun from about 50 feet (15.2 m) but missed. Wyatt returned fire with his own shotgun, killing Brocius with a load of buckshot to his chest. Curly Bill fell into the water at the edge of the spring and lay dead.

The Cowboys
The Cowboys (Cochise County)
The Cowboys were a loosely associated group of outlaw cowboys in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona Territory in the late 19th century. They were cattle rustlers and robbers who rode across the border into Mexico and rounded up cattle that they then sold in the United States...

 fired a number of shots at the Earp party. Texas Jack Vermillion's horse was struck and killed. Wyatt's long coat was punctured by bullets on both sides. Another bullet struck his boot heel and his saddle-horn was hit as well, burning the saddle hide and narrowly missing Wyatt. Firing his pistol, Wyatt shot Johnny Barnes in the chest and Milt Hicks in the arm. Vermillion tried to retrieve his rifle wedged in the scabbard under his fallen horse, exposing himself to the Cowboys' gunfire. Doc Holliday
Doc Holliday
John Henry "Doc" Holliday was an American gambler, gunfighter and dentist of the American Old West, who is usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...

 helped him gain cover. Wyatt had trouble remounting on his horse due to a cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...

 belt that had slipped down his legs. He was finally able to get on his horse and retreat. McMaster was grazed by a bullet that cut through the straps of his field glasses.

Earp biographer John Flood wrote that Curly Bill's friends buried his body on the nearby ranch of Frank Patterson near the Babocomari River. This is close to the original McLaury ranch site about 5 miles (8 km) west of Fairbank
Fairbank, Arizona
Fairbank is a ghost town in Cochise County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona, near the San Pedro River. First settled in 1881 in what was then known as the Arizona Territory, Fairbank, the closest rail stop to nearby Tombstone, was an important location in developing Arizona...

 (before the McLaurys moved to the Sulphur Springs Valley in late 1880) and is believed to have originally belonged to Frank Stilwell. Brocius's grave site has never been identified.

Description

The only known photo of Brocius is found in the Bird Cage Theater Museum in Tombstone. There is no way to authenticate it. Brocius was said by several writers who knew him to have been well-built with curly black hair and a freckled complexion.

Brocius was described by contemporary Billy Breakenridge
Billy Breakenridge
William Milton "Billy" Breakenridge was an American lawman, teamster, railroader, soldier and author. He was assistant Tombstone City Marshal in the Arizona Territory when the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place....

 in his book Helldorado: Bringing the Law to the Mesquite as being the most deadly pistol shot of the Cowboys, able to hit running jackrabbits, shoot out candle flames without breaking the candles or lantern holders, and able to shoot quarters from between the fingers of "volunteers." When drunk, Brocius was also known for a mean sense of humor and for such "practical joke
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...

s" as using gunfire to make a preacher "dance" during a sermon or forcing Mexicans at a community dance to take off their clothes and dance naked. Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...

 agent Fred Dodge reported both incidents in his memoirs, and both were alluded to in local newspapers.

Earlier name

Brocius' birth date, birth name, and birth place are not known. Because of his nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

, "Curly Bill" Brocius has been confused with "Curly Bill" Graham, a different outlaw of the same geographical region and time period. Graham was killed in a gunfight by Deputy Sheriff James D. Houck on October 17, 1887, and buried in Young, Arizona
Young, Arizona
Young is a census-designated place in Gila County, Arizona, United States. The population was 561 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Young is located at , along Arizona State Route 288 . SR 288 is paved within and north of the town, totaling about ten miles of pavement...

, and is not considered by historians to be the same Curly Bill of Charleston and Tombstone.

In newspapers of the time, Brocius was known alternately as "Curly Bill" and "Curley Bill." His surname, "Brocius" has also been spelled as "Brocious", although the former is the spelling used for his maildrop in Arizona Territory, according to one published letter of the time.

Historical research into Brocius' death turned up two possible earlier identities. Denis McLoughlin in The encyclopedia of the Old West reports that Brocius was from Missouri and named William B. Graham. He said Brocius rode for various Texas cow outfits and was known in Kansas.

Other historical research linked Brocius with a man known as William "Curly Bill" Bresnaham, who was convicted in a robbery attempt in Texas in 1878 along with Robert Martin. The men were convicted and sentenced to five years in prison, but both escaped, presumably to the southwest Arizona Territory. Since both Robert Martin and Curly Bill became known as leaders of the rustlers in Arizona Territory, they are likely the same Robert Martin and Curly Bill of the Texas crime. Wyatt Earp reported that Brocius told him he was from Texas. According to historian Robert M. Utley
Robert M. Utley
Robert Marshall Utley is an author and historian who has written sixteen books on the history of the American West. He was a former chief historian of the National Park Service. Fellow historians commend Utley as the finest historian of the American frontier in the 19th century.The Western History...

, Robert Martin was a member of the Jesse Evans gang of outlaws in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 during the mid-to-late 1870s. Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...

 briefly joined this group before going to work for John Tunstall
John Tunstall
John Henry Tunstall , born in England, became a rancher and merchant in New Mexico, where he became a prominent figure and was the first man killed in the Lincoln County War, an economic and political conflict perhaps compounded by ethnic rivalries.-Early life and education:John Henry Tunstall was...

. Evans's gang, a looseknit consortium of desperadoes known as "The Boys"
Jessie Evans Gang
The Jesse Evans Gang, also known as The Boys, was a gang of rustlers and robbers led by outlaw and gunman Jesse Evans, which lasted from 1876 until 1880. The gang was formed after Evans broke with the John Kinney Gang...

, ended up fighting against the "Regulators" during the Lincoln County War
Lincoln County War
The Lincoln County War was a 19th-century range war between two factions during the Old West period. Numerous notable figures of the American West were involved, including Billy the Kid, aka William Henry McCarty; sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett; cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and...

. Because of the time frame, the location, and his friendship with Martin, Curly Bill Brocius may have been a member of the Evans gang as well.

Proof of death

Some accounts dispute whether Wyatt shot Curly Bill. Steve Gatto in The Real Wyatt Earp: A Documentary Biography cites evidence that Brocius may have been out of the territory at the time of the supposed death.

Fred J. Dodge, an undercover operative for Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...

 in Tombstone, asked Curley Bill's associates about his death. He wrote that he talked to "J. B. Ayers, a saloonkeeper of Charleston where the outlaws and rustlers headquartered, told me that the men who were in the fight told him that Wyatt Earp killed Curley Bill and that they took the body away that night and that they buried him on Patterson’s ranch on the Babocomari. " The Tombstone Nugget first put up a $1,000 reward for proof Curly Bill lived, and The Tombstone Epitaph countered with a $2,000 reward. Neither was ever collected. Brocius was not wanted by the law in Arizona and if he was not dead, had no reason to disappear. He also was unlikely to return to Texas where, according to Wyatt Earp's recollection, he was probably still wanted for murder.

Portrayals in film

  • Brocius is played by Edgar Buchanan
    Edgar Buchanan
    Edgar Buchanan was an American actor with a long career in both film and television, most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies television sitcoms of the 1960s...

     in Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die
    Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die
    Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die is a Western film released in 1942, starring Richard Dix and Kent Taylor, and directed by William McGann.-Plot:...

    (1942)
  • Brocius is played by Jon Voight
    Jon Voight
    Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....

     in Hour of the Gun
    Hour of the Gun
    Hour of the Gun is 1967 Western film starring James Garner and depicting Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday during their 1881 battles against Ike Clanton and his brothers in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and the gunfight's aftermath in and around Tombstone, Arizona.The film is based on the non fiction...

    (1967).
  • Brocius is played by Powers Boothe
    Powers Boothe
    Powers Allen Boothe is an American television and film actor. Some of his most notable roles include his Emmy-winning 1980 portrayal of Jim Jones and his turn as Cy Tolliver on Deadwood, as well as Vice-President Noah Daniels on 24....

     in the 1993 movie Tombstone (1993) starring Kurt Russell
    Kurt Russell
    Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...

     as Wyatt Earp. This movie draws heavily on the Breakenridge book Helldorado.
  • Brocius is played by Lewis Smith
    Lewis Smith
    -Early life:Smith was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He graduated from Lookout Valley High School in 1974.-Career:Smith is best known for the role of Charles Main on the first and second part of North and South miniseries, He also played "Curly Bill" Brocious in the Kevin Costner film Wyatt Earp...

     in the 1994 movie Wyatt Earp
    Wyatt Earp (film)
    Wyatt Earp is a 1994 American semi-biographical Western film, written by Dan Gordon and Lawrence Kasdan and directed by Kasdan. It stars Kevin Costner in the title role as lawman Wyatt Earp, and features an ensemble cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Isabella Rossellini, Mark Harmon,...

    (1994) starring Kevin Costner
    Kevin Costner
    Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...

     as Wyatt Earp.

Resources

  • Sifakis, Carl. Encyclopedia of American Crime. New York: Facts on File Inc., 1982.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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