The area of Montana directly south of the Big Beaver-Coronach area was one of the last counties in the U.S west to have regular full-time law enforcement. In fact Valley County was one of the most lawless areas in the U.S.

The settlement of the U.S west was moving at a faster pace than in Canada. Once the law moved into Valley County the outlaws moved north a few miles into Canada. In the 1890’s the population on the Canadian side of the border was very sparse and the nearest R.N.W.M.P post was at Wood Mountain about 90 miles to the west.

Patrols were infrequent due to the distance and scarcity of population. This was the ideal situation for the outlaws. Threats and intimidation made sure that the law abiding citizens of the area turned a blind eye to the activities of the outlaws and in some cases were directly involved.

Most of the outlaws in the area started out as cowboys but droughts and the ensuing economic troubles pushed these men to the wrong side of the law.

The cast of characters were as varied and colourful as their names. The more well known and interesting ones were: Dutch Henry and his brother Coyote Pete, Pigeon Toed Kid, Kid Trailer and Bloody Knife. Others had more mundane names like Sam Kelly and Frank Jones although whether these were their real names is open to debate. In fact, most had more than one alias and were used depending on where they were operating. One exception to the habit of multiple names appears to have been the unfortunate Mountie turned Outlaw, Frank Carlisle.

To discover the stories behind the names visit The Big Muddy and take a tour.

Below is a map of the Outlaw Trail as organised by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It appears to have been modeled after the famed Pony Express as there was a stop every 15-20 miles where the outlaws could get fresh horses and supplies. This allowed them to stay ahead of the posses thus eluding capture.

There were four “havens” where they could “hole up” and take a break from the dusty trail. These havens were Hole in the Wall, Brown’s Park, Robbers Roost and Alma.

Outlaw Trail