Train robbery at the Gila

Robbing a train bought you an automatic death sentence at the end of a rope in the early train days. This did not deter a couple of young men who had no intention of working for their money. 

On May 11, 1910, just before dark, passengers boarded the train at Maricopa for Phoenix without a clue as to what awaited them down the line. As the train reached the Gila River, two young teenage brothers (Oscar and Ernie Woodson) pulled their guns and demanded money and anything of value from the passengers.

These two men had rented a couple of horses the day before from the Cowboy Corral in Phoenix and rode them out to the Gila River. They secured the horses in the middle of the desert and headed back to Phoenix through the desert where they boarded the early evening Arizona Eastern train for Maricopa. When the conductor asked for tickets, they took out their pistols and demanded that everyone raise their hands. 

At first the passengers thought the holdup was a joke and didn’t take it seriously. However, the robbers became abusive, and the passengers became more accommodating. What the robbers didn’t know was that they had just robbed Gila County Deputy Sheriff Ralph Sturgis, who was taking a prisoner to jail, and the District Attorney of Tucson, John Wright. The deputy sheriff was about to confront the brothers when Wright, fearful for the safety of the others, cautioned him to wait. After collecting as much loot as possible from the passengers, they pulled the bell to stop the train, jumped off and disappeared into the desert. Sturgis quickly reloaded his gun and shot off several rounds in their direction as they sped away on their horses.

One of the oddities of this period is how amazing news spread throughout the Arizona Territory (in 1910). In addition, bad luck could have been their sidekick in this escapade because the Woodson brothers ended up near Vekol south of Table Top Mountain. They were headed for Port Lobos in Mexico but became lost because of an inadequate map and lack of knowledge and experience with a compass. 

Meanwhile, the train backed up to Maricopa, and Sheriff Hayden was notified. Immediately, Hayden secured a special train with horses, a posse and headed for Maricopa. Once there Hayden borrowed J. F. McCarthy’s Stoddard-Dayton automobile, and with McCarthy as chauffer, headed in the direction the Pima scout and posse had taken. By this time, others had joined the chase. Pima County Ranger White from Silverbell headed out from that direction with hopes of meeting up with the brothers before they got to the border, and General Torres had sent his Mexican police from Altar to guard the border. 

However, by late afternoon, the posse that had been tracking them from the beginning, along with Pima Sheriff Nelson, was concerned because their horses were severely exhausted and dehydrated. They were about to change directions in hope of finding water for their horses, when Hayden and McCarthy came along in an automobile. The pursuit continued with the Stoddard Dayton while the posse watered their horses at one of the Papago Villages. A few miles more, and the automobile came upon a couple of exhausted young men seeking water and help. The train robbers mistakenly thought the car belonged to miners.

When Hayden identified himself and ordered the two to surrender, one thief refused to drop his pistol. Hayden approached him without blinking an eye. The robber reluctantly dropped the gun, and Hayden quietly returned his unloaded pistol to its holster. The two brothers would not have survived the day had it not been for their rescue, and Carl Hayden returned home to the Valley as a fearless officer and hero. 

The two brothers, tried and found guilty of horse stealing and armed robbery by a federal judge, received a 10-year sentence in a Kansas penitentiary. However, they were released after serving only 31/2 years–never to be heard of again.

Photo courtesy of Fred Cruger; owner Howard Musolf

Editor’s note:  Maricopa factoids are a regular feature on InMaricopa.com. They are provided by the Maricopa Historical Society, a branch of the Friends of the Maricopa Public Library. Most of the photos and information come from “Reflections of a Desert Town” by author and historical society chairperson Patricia Brock.