True West Magazine
Clint Reno is often referred to as “Honest Clint” primarily because he didn’t participate in the larger or more violent crimes led by his brothers with the Reno Gang. But he wasn’t spotless. Clint was arrested on several occasions in the 1870s, most liquor or gambling related.
In later life, he moved his family to Kansas where he lost his mind, burning down his own house and threatening his wife. Clint Reno died in an insane asylum in 1921, reportedly begging for forgiveness with his last breath. Post Views: 239
True West Magazine
For the Reno Gang of Indiana, their last big holdup was the last straw. They robbed a train near Marshfield, Indiana of some $97,000 (around $2-million today) on May 22, 1868. That was bad enough. But several days later, one of the railroad crewmen shot during the hold-up died of his wounds. At that point, citizens in southern Indiana began organizing a vigilante group to put an end to the gang. There is an irony: later, it was revealed that the late crew member may have been part of the outlaw gang. Post Views: 80
The have been tall tales told about Belle Starr and Flora Quick robbing trains and…
True West Magazine
The vigilantes were determined when they entered the New Albany, Indiana jail on December 12, 1868. The targets: four members of the Reno Gang, guilty of a variety of offenses including robbery, arson, counterfeiting, extortion and murder. Except for one man.
William Reno was the youngest member of the family. The 20-year-old had no record of criminal activity. In fact, other members of the gang repeatedly claimed that Will was innocent and should be spared. The vigilantes ignored the pleas and hanged the young man (and the other three) from the rafters of the jail. Post Views: 479
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The Great Apache Scout Alchesay’s service to the U.S. earned him the nation’s highest honor.
Alchesay
Alchesay was a chief of the White Mountain Apaches but he worked closely with the U.S. government. In the 1870s and 1880s, he served as a scout for General George Crook. In fact, he was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1873 for “Gallant conduct during campaigns and engagements with Apaches.
After Geronimo finally surrendered in 1885, Alchesay went back to private life, becoming a successful rancher and an envoy to Washington, seeking better conditions for his people. He died on August 6, 1928.
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Chief Naiche
Geronimo is usually portrayed as the leader of the Chiricahua Apaches, the band that continually left the reservation and headed into Mexico in the 1880s. But the actual chief was Naiche, the son of Cochise. He recognized that, at some point, the Indians would have to adapt to white ways and he worked toward that end, especially when they settled at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
He also was a noted Native artisan, creating colorful paintings on deer skin and carving intricate designs on canes. Naiche died in the great flu epidemic of 1919. Post Views: 220
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