184:, and the posse confronted the gang from the canyon's western opening on the afternoon of October 8. In the gunfight that followed, the posse had to fire into the setting sun while the position of the outlaws was shaded. Initially the rangers Tofolla and Hamblin demanded that the gang surrender, Bill Smith replied that he would, but when Bill made his appearance, he opened fire with his rifle. The first three shots fired by Bill Smith hit Tofolla twice in the chest and the deputized rancher Bill Maxwell in the head. Maxwell died instantly but Tofolla returned fire with his revolver. For the next couple of hours the two sides skirmished until it was too dark to continue fighting.
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Bill Smith and his brother Al made their way to
Galveston, Texas, where they took a boat to Argentina. Bill Smith later returned to Douglas, Arizona, where he became involved in a gunfight with Douglas Arizona Constable Tom Vaughn and Constable Dayton Graham May 16, 1903. Smith managed to escape
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and he was said to have developed a grudge against Henry
Barrett. Eventually Bill planned to make his escape from police custody. The jailer at St. Johns, Tom Berry, found Bill to be such a hard sleeper that it was necessary to enter his cell every morning to wake him up. One morning when Berry
144:. A few days later Henry Barrett, in company with another cowboy, were confronted by Bill Smith and his brother Al in the Big Cienega range. During which Henry Barrett was held captive for some time and Bill threatened to kill him but eventually Barrett was released and he informed the local
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The brothers Arch and
William "Bill" Maxwell also lived on the Crosby ranch and they were considered to be great at tracking, both of them joined the posse as well. After that the lawmen continued on the outlaws trail which led to their camp, just within the western border of the
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George Smith returned to
Arizona in 1909 and surrendered himself to Sheriff Jim Parks of Graham County. However, since the only charges against him had been filed in Apache County, he was released from custody and returned to his mother's ranch on the Blue River.
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that could shoot through trees. During the gunfight, Ranger Duane
Hamblin scattered the gang's horses which forced them to have to retreat from the canyon on foot. The posse did not pursue any further though so the Smith Gang escaped to New Mexico and then
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after killing
Vaughan and severely injuring Graham. After Dayton recovered he spent several months tracking down Smith in Southern Arizona. On July 5, 1903, Dayton found Smith in a saloon at a monte table in Douglas, Arizona, and killed him.
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The gang was formed no later than 1898 and included Bill Smith, his younger brothers Al, George and Floyd, a brother in law named Adam
Slagger and two other unidentified men. Before moving to Arizona, Bill was a rustler in the
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Tofolla later died that night and he and Bill
Maxwell were the only casualties on the posse's side. One or two of the gang members may have been wounded by Barrett who carried a
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walked into the cell, Bill Smith revealed a .45 caliber revolver which had been smuggled to him by his brother Al. Bill then locked Berry in the cell and escaped to
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during the late 1890s to 1901. The gang was founded by Bill Smith and included six others, mainly Bill's family members. After an encounter with the law in
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Carlos
Tofolla and Duane Hamblin who were also looking for the Smiths. The two forces decided to combine their strength and they followed the
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172:. There they decided to detour east to the ranch of Lorenzo Crosby to ask for his help in pursuing the gang, to which Crosby agreed.
199:, stealing horses, guns, and food, from settlers, along the way. Another posse was organized to go after the Smith Gang, and the
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with fifteen to twenty stolen horses. According to informants, the group was on their way home from
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for a year. By 1900 the gang was well known in the
Southwest for their thievery along the
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Gunfights and Gunfighters: Reflections from a Phoenix Police Officer
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254:"The Battleground Shootout - Arizona Rangers Fight Smith Gang"
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In the first week of October 1901, the gang was spotted near
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Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters by Bill O'Neal, p. 290
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at St. Johns. On the next day the sheriff organized a
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to go after the Smith Gang. It was to be led by his
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617:Outlaw gangs of the American Old West
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263:. Bulletin Number 94. Archived from
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261:American Society of Arms Collectors
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289:Aker, Andrea (December 10, 2010).
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392:from the original on May 22, 2018
301:from the original on May 22, 2018
16:American Old West cattle rustlers
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291:"Legend of the Bill Smith Gang"
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252:McKnight, Ray A. (Fall 2006).
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140:where they allegedly robbed a
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168:' trail to a crossing at the
410:Hunsaker, Gordon A. (2010).
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339:Arizona republican. [volume
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627:Crime in Arizona Territory
160:the posse met up with the
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95:where he worked with the
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341:, May 19, 1903, Image 1}
178:Fort Apache Reservation
582:Fairbank train robbery
572:Tiburón Island Tragedy
235:Hunsacker, pg. 300-301
546:Battleground Gunfight
386:The Spell of the West
371:Bisbee daily review.
361:Bisbee daily review.
351:Bisbee daily review.
329:Bisbee daily review.
170:Little Colorado River
128:Battleground Gunfight
76:Battleground Gunfight
19:Criminal organization
118:New Mexico Territory
66:who operated in the
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551:Shootout in Benson
489:William D. Allison
201:United States Army
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479:Thomas H. Rynning
474:Burton C. Mossman
421:978-1-4502-0720-1
382:"Arizona Rangers"
82:in October 1901.
72:Arizona Territory
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28:Years active
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632:Arizona folklore
622:Gangs in Arizona
520:Augustine Chacon
484:Harry C. Wheeler
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394:. Retrieved
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122:Mogollon Rim
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525:Burt Alvord
499:Jeff Kidder
182:Black River
109:Rough Rider
97:Dalton Gang
611:Categories
515:Smith Gang
223:References
209:Rio Grande
101:Blue River
57:Smith Gang
44:Activities
36:Membership
23:Smith Gang
539:Gunfights
113:St. Johns
68:Southwest
31:1898-1901
598:Category
565:See also
390:Archived
299:Archived
61:American
508:Outlaws
467:Rangers
396:May 21,
305:May 21,
274:May 21,
189:Spanish
166:outlaws
146:sheriff
86:History
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192:Mauser
154:deputy
80:Mexico
268:(PDF)
257:(PDF)
197:Texas
158:Greer
150:posse
142:train
416:ISBN
398:2018
307:2018
276:2018
138:Utah
55:The
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