Barnum - Hole-In-The-Wall Area

The first place we headed to yesterday was "The Hole-In-The-Wall". You can read about it below. This is located in a spectacular area that makes you feel like you are in the bottom a very grassy Grand Canyon. However, we faced bitter, yes I said bitter, disappointment about being at the actual spot when we hit a road that was only suitable for a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Alas, we could go no further. Bummer!!!

After being here, I can see why these gangs were able to evade the law.

These are some of the former tenants - The Hole-In-The-Wall Gang...

Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, was the name given to a gang in the American West, which took its name from the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming, where several outlaw gangs had their hideouts.

The Gang was actually made up of several separate gangs, operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass, using it as their base. The gangs formed a coalition, each planning and carrying out its own robberies with very little interaction with the other gangs. At times, members of one gang would ride along with other gangs, but usually the gangs would operate separately, meeting up only when they were all at the hideout at the same time.The hideout had the advantages needed for a gang attempting to evade the authorities. It was easily defended and impossible for lawmen to access without detection by the outlaws hiding there. It contained an infrastructure, with each gang supplying its own food and livestock supply, as well as its own horses. A corral, stable, and numerous cabins were constructed, one or two for each gang. Anyone operating out of there had certain rules of the camp, including a certain way in handling disputes with other gang members, and never stealing from another gang's supplies.

Additionally, there was no leader. Each gang had its own chain of command. The hideout was also used for shelter and a place for the outlaws to lay up during the harsh winters.Members included such infamous outlaws as Butch Cassidy, Sundance Kid, Curry Brothers (Kid and Lonny), "Laughing" Sam Carey, Black Jack Ketchum, Elzy Lay, and George "Flat Nose" Curry, along with several lesser known outlaw gangs of the Old West.

Several posses trailed outlaws to the location and there were several shootouts as posses attempted to enter the camp. The posses were repulsed, and forced to withdraw. No lawmen ever successfully entered it to capture outlaws during its more than fifty years of active existence, nor were any lawmen attempting to infiltrate it by use of undercover techniques successful. The encampment operated with a steady stream of gangs rotating in and out from the late 1860s to the early 20th century.

However by 1910, very few outlaws used the hideout, and it eventually faded into history. One of the cabins used by Butch Cassidy still exists today, and was relocated to Cody, Wyoming, where it is on display to the public.