This photo of a mountain in the Andes doesn't have much to do with this post except it's in the Andes, but I just like it so it's here.
![vad2h8k00d.jpg](https://img.esteem.ws/vad2h8k00d.jpg)[source](rmiguides.com/aconcagua)

Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!

We're in a series about two of America's most famous and successful outlaws, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In case you haven't been following along, the boys had moved to Argentina in South America to start their lives over and to avoid capture in the U.S.

They were blamed for a robbery they didn't commit and had to move out of the area. In the last few posts we found them in a small town in Bolivia working for a tin mining company but after their identity was discovered that were forced to move on.

## An empty stage coach

The boys drifted around for awhile, rode over into Peru,  and found out about a silver mine that was transporting large amounts of money by stage coach. Well shoot, that's right up their alley. 

They held up the coach but there was no money and as was their custom they left the passengers alone. 

Their information was correct but the stage they robbed was a diversion. Another stage coming later held lots of gold. Not long after that a train was robbed  but it was never proven that it was our boys, just that the two robbers spoke English. 

## hey it's been awhile since we've robbed a bank..

Near the town of Tupiza they got jobs working at a gold dredging operation and Butch had heard that they had a bank in town so he went to case the joint.  

He really liked the potential of the bank but about that time a Bolivian cavalry unit moved in right next door to the bank, making that building their headquarters. lol. 

Butch decided that was not the bank for them. However, when he was spending time in town he heard that a large shipment of cash was about to be sent from a mining company to another town which was a 3 day ride away. And the amount was supposed to worth $500,000.

Back in 1908 that was like 14 million dollars in todays money! It was a cargo of 80,000 Bolivianos. 

Three days ride by pack mules through rough areas of mountains and passes with easy ambush sites...this was the robbery to pull off!

## This was a no brainer

This would give them enough money to buy another ranch and settle down for good. They were middle aged now and wanted to retire or at least have their own place. **All they needed was one last big score.**

They rented a room at the hotel across the street from the mine office and keep a 24 hour watch for any signs of a major shipment going out. 

Finally they saw men loading two pack mules with heavy bags. There were three men along with the two pack mules and they rode out of town. 

Butch and Sundance followed them in the distance and when the men from the mine stopped to spend the night in a village the boys rode on ahead to find a good ambush site. 

## The holdup

They found a perfect spot for an ambush...a sharp bend with high walls and it was a desolate stretch of trail. The boys had their pistols, rifles, and lots of ammunition.  

The pack mules and geography would be similar to this:
![2hne39g1vr.jpg](https://img.esteem.ws/2hne39g1vr.jpg)<center>[source](dreamstime.com)</center>

Right as the entourage came up on the sharp corner the boys stepped out with guns drawn. Butch did the talking and Sundance covered them from a distance. 

Carlos was one of the men. He later reported:  

**"We encountered two well armed Yankees, who awaited us with their faces covered by bandannas and their rifles ready, and made us dismount and open the baggage, from which they took only the cash shipment. They also took from us a dark brown mule named Aramayo, with a new hemp rope."**

**"The two Yankees are tall; one thin and the other- who carried a good pair of Hertz binoculars-heavyset."**

**"They clearly came from Tupiza, where they must have been waiting for my departure to make their strike, because from the beginning they did not ask me for anything but the cash shipment."**

Carlos also said..**"They wore new, dark-red, thin wale corduroy suits with narrow, soft-brimmed hats so that only their eyes were visible."**

It's interesting that Carlos and his companions were very impressed with how polite the bandits were. He said they were very courteous and ordered them off their horses **"in a very pleasant manner."** lol.  

Plus, as was their custom, they didn't rob the three men of their personal cash. Butch and Sundance were the nicest outlaws in history!  Such gentlemen. 

## But wait!

Where's all the money? They found 15,000 Bolivianos. There was supposed to be 80,000. Carlos explained to them that the larger shipment was scheduled to go out next week. 

Rats. This wasn't going to be the job that gave them the retirement they deserved. This was only about $90,000 worth instead of a half million. 

Visibly disappointed they loaded up their new friend Aramayo and headed South. Is that violins I hear?

![a0esw215rr.png](https://img.esteem.ws/a0esw215rr.png)

In the next post we'll talk about this heist and what happens next.

Thanks for reading folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy   Texas
the gentleman redneck

![uvsylyennv.png](https://img.esteem.ws/uvsylyennv.png)
    
**PS**- ya know...you **might** just be a redneck if:

You've ever used a toilet seat as a picture frame!

![l1xgphrt5d.png](https://img.esteem.ws/l1xgphrt5d.png) 

![ak059z170l.png](https://img.esteem.ws/ak059z170l.png)