Its A Hole In The Wall
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Its A Hole In The Wall
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Photo by the Bureau of Land Management
The Hole-in-the-Wall, a remote pass in the Big Horn Mountains of Johnson County, Wyoming , is a spectacularly scenic part of the Old West. The red sandstone escarpment dominates the area, rich in legend of outlaw activity in the late 1800s.
It was a favorite hiding place for the infamous Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch Gang , who often hid out in an 1883 log cabin preserved at the Old Trail Town Museum in Cody, Wyoming. The Wild Bunch included cattle rustlers and train-bank robbers such as William Ellsworth “Elzy” Lay , Harry “Sundance Kid” Longabaugh , Ben “Tall Texan” Kilpatrick , and Harvey “Kid Curry” Logan , William “News” Carver , Laura Bullion , and George “Flat Nose” Curry .
But these criminals weren’t the only ones that made the Hole-in-the-Wall their hideout — other outlaws such as Al Smith, Bob Taylor, Tom O’Day , “Laughing” Sam Carey , Black Jack Ketchum , the Roberts Brothers, and others also utilized the area as both a hiding place and as a base of operations to coordinate their outlaw activities. Even Jesse James was said to have visited the Hole-in-the-Wall hideout.
Wild Bunch, aka Hole in the Wall Gang (1896-1901) – Led by Butch Cassidy , the Wild Bunch terrorized the states of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada for five years.
Collectively, these various groups and individual outlaws were known as the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. It was not one large organized gang but was made up of several separate gangs, all operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass, using it as their base of operations. The gangs formed a coalition, each planning and carrying out its robberies with very little interaction with the other gangs. At times, members of one gang would ride along with other gangs, but usually, each gang operated separately, meeting up only when they were each at the hideout at the same time.
On one occasion, a cattle rancher fought back in what is now known as the Hole-in-the-Wall Fight. It was well-known that cattle rustling had been taking place in the area, with the cattle and outlaws hiding within the Hole-in-the-Wall country. In 1897 Bob Divine of the CY Cattle Company planned a roundup of this area to gather stock belonging to various ranch outfits. He was warned to stay out in an anonymous note that stated: “don’t stick that damned old gray head of yours in this country again if you don’t want it shot off.”
However, Devine and several other ranchers were not deterred by the threat. On Thursday, July 22, Devine, along with other CY Ranch Cowboys, men from the Ogallala Land and Cattle Company and the Circle L Ranch, Jim Drummond, a Montana livestock inspector; and Joe LaFors , a U.S. Deputy Marshal , all set out to round up the cattle.
They entered the Hole-in-the-Wall country through the Bar C gap and headed south, passing by the Hole-in-the-Wall ranch. About three miles in, the group came upon Bob and Al Smith and Bob Taylor, members of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang.
There was animosity between Bob Divine and Bob Smith, and tension was in the air. Divine asked if they had seen any CY cattle, and Smith replied, “Not a damn one!” Believing Divine’s hand to be gripping his gun, Smith pulled his six-shooter, and the fight was on. Shots were fired, horses were pitching, and the dust flew.
When the smoke cleared, Bob Smith lay on the ground with a bullet through his back. Divine’s horse had been killed, and he and his son Lee had been wounded. Al Smith escaped after his gun had been shot from his hand. Bob Smith was taken to the Hole-in-the-Wall cabin and died the next morning. Bob Taylor was captured, taken to the Natrona County jail, and later released.
Shortly afterward, Divine led a contingent of heavily armed men and two deputies to the Hole and drove several hundred head of cattle out. They were watched closely by several armed men but were not bothered.
From the late 1860s to around 1910, the pass was used frequently by numerous outlaw gangs. Eventually, it faded into history, with gangs using it less frequently. Today, Hole-in-the-Wall and Middle Fork region contains approximately 80,000 acres of public land, including lands managed by the State of Wyoming and Wyoming Game and Fish Department. This remote area is located about 35 miles southwest of Kaycee, Wyoming, and 60 miles north of Casper along the Red Wall Back Country Scenic Byway.
The Middle Fork Powder River is located about 20 miles southwest of Kaycee, Wyoming. The Middle Fork Powder River Management Area contains such notable sites as Outlaw Cave, rumored to have been used as a hideout by various outlaws. It contains diverse topography and vegetation, ranging in elevation from 5,000 to over 8,000 feet with numerous steep incised canyons, a red sandstone escarpment known as the Red Wall, and open grassland parks interspersed with ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and limber pine forests. The wildlife found here are equally diverse: elk, mule deer, antelope, mountain lions, eagles, among other small mammals and rodents.
The Middle Fork of the Powder River lies at the bottom of a fairly steep canyon. But, if you can make your way down, the fishing at the bottom is said to be excellent. This is a “blue ribbon” trout stream containing brown and rainbow trout. Other fishable streams in the area include Blue Creek, Buffalo Creek, and Eagle Creek.
Cody, WY – Old Trail Town – Wild Bunch Cabin, photo by Kathy Weiser-Alexander
Bureau of Land Management
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Wikipedia
Wyoming Historic Marker
Wyoming Tails & Trails
Culture Last Updated on October 12, 2022
About Travel Wyoming
We at the Wyoming Office of Tourism love exploring and sharing the things in our state that make your road trips and adventures one of a kind.
Hole-in-the-Wall isn’t actually a hole in the wall, but an eroded portion of towering red sandstone that once led to an outlaw oasis. Located near Kaycee in north-central Wyoming, this infamous landmark was visited by a number of gangs after crime sprees.
Imagine being on the run and climbing a narrow pass in a canyon wall. When you emerge, you find yourself in a secluded valley protected by an escarpment of red sandstone and mountains. This is the magic of Hole-in-the-Wall. Nestled between the Bighorn Mountains and the Red Wall, Hole-in-the-Wall provided an area of protection not just from the law, but also from harsh Wyoming weather.
Bandits would take refuge here during the winters even if they weren’t fresh from a crime spree. A nearby creek bed kept vegetation in the valley lush, which was perfect for livestock-rustling outlaws; they could keep their stolen goods hidden and fed at the same time. This remote area was about a day via horseback from civilization and provided panoramic views of roads leading up to the passage, making it even more appealing to outlaws of the American West .
Hole-in-the-Wall was used most frequently during the mid-1800s. Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch Gang, which included Harry “Sundance Kid” Longabaugh and William “News” Carver, was one of the most well-known groups to use the hideout. Jesse James, the Roberts Brothers, Jack Ketchum and many other bandits used this space, as well. These notorious outlaws all became known as the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, even though they rarely worked together. Instead, they built cabins, a stable, a corral and other features to improve the state of their hideout, even forming a coalition so they could plan robberies with no interference from other gangs.
With the turn of the century came the end, or at least the decline, of train robberies, cattle rustling and other Wild West crimes. The outlaw gangs slowly left their oasis of a hideout, but the valley remains. It’s currently part of the Willow Creek Ranch , an active cattle and horse ranch located about 30 miles southwest of Kaycee, Wyoming. Ranch guests can take a dirt road to the valley leading up to the pass and then hike a half-mile trail up to the top of the Red Wall to get a glimpse of where members of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang spent their time.
Looking to extend your trip? From Hole-in-the-Wall, travel 90 miles south to spend a few days in Casper , head 70 miles north to explore Buffalo or journey 200 miles northwest to experience Devils Tower . You can also take a drive along the South Bighorn/Red Wall Scenic Backway . This 102-mile horseshoe-shaped route begins and ends along US-20/26, just west of Casper . It travels through livestock trails, passing Hole-in-the-Wall, Hell’s Half Acre and the Seminoe to Alcova Back Country Byway along the way.
Photos courtesy Buffalo Chamber of Commerce
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View from top of the "hole in the wall." jrlewi (Atlas Obscura User)
Cabin site — Hole-in-the-Wall. While Butch Cassidy and other famous Old West outlaws passed through here, HitW was better known as a refuge for local cattle rustlers, many if whim were just small ranchers accused if theft by Eastern US and European cattle barons who did all in rheir power to stamp out competition. dblbbl (Atlas Obscura User)
View from top of the "hole in the wall." jrlewi (Atlas Obscura User)
Getting to there. Rough and tumble roads through the sage. jrlewi (Atlas Obscura User)
Red earth and eroding walls of the valley crossing to the site. jrlewi (Atlas Obscura User)
Red Wall, Johnson-Natrona counties. Hole-in-the-Wall was a break in this natural barrier. dblbbl (Atlas Obscura User)
Cabin site — Hole-in-the-Wall. While Butch Cassidy and other famous Old West outlaws passed through here, HitW was better known as a refuge for local cattle rustlers, many if whim were just small ranchers accused if theft by Eastern US and European cattle barons who did all in rheir power to stamp out competition. dblbbl (Atlas Obscura User)
View from top of the "hole in the wall." jrlewi (Atlas Obscura User)
Getting to there. Rough and tumble roads through the sage. jrlewi (Atlas Obscura User)
Red earth and eroding walls of the valley crossing to the site. jrlewi (Atlas Obscura User)
Sources
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid: http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/butch.html
Wikipedia: Hole-in-the-Wall: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hole-in-the-Wall
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Remember Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? We’re not talking Paul Newman and Robert Redford in stirrups, we’re talking the real thing. In the remote Big Horn Mountains of Northern Wyoming the real life outlaws that inspired books and movies once rustled cattle and raised hell.
Roughly between the 1860s and 1910, this area was a notorious stop on the outlaw trail during the romanticized lawlessness of the American West. One of the most famous hideouts of such outlaws as Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, the Logan brothers, and Jesse James was a remote spot in Johnson County Wyoming called the Hole-in-the-Wall.
Even today this is a remote, secluded, and hard to reach spot. Named after a pass in an eroded rock wall mesa rising over the rolling plains and canyons, the name fits the location. It is a steep climb over loose rock to the top of the wall, but overlooking the country below it is no wonder outlaws chose this spot for a hideout. With sweeping 360 views the pass was well situated to spot approaching lawmen and the narrowness of the approach made it easy to defend.
At least a day’s journey by horseback from any semblance of civilization, the hole-in-the-wall’s remoteness further added to its appeal to outlaws. The grassy plateau at the top and irrigated creek bed of the canyon below made it a good spot to graze all that rustled cattle, too. At one time there were even a series of cabins built here which outlaws used to overwinter through the brutal Wyoming winters. Today the area is a part of the Willow Creek Ranch, a working ranch with hundreds of head of cattle.
With the taming of the American West the time of cattle rustlers and train robbers came to an end by the early decades of the 20th century and the hole-in-the-wall passed into history. Accessible today by a series of dusty two-track roads through the sage brush valleys and canyons a small foot trail pockmarked with mule deer tracks leads up to the pass. Huge red boulders tumbled from the nearby rock wall dot the valley below like a giant’s marble game and scrappy cottonwood trees offer a shady place to escape the sun along the creek bed. At the top are outstanding views of the big sky country for miles around.
The Hole in the Wall is located on Willow Creek Ranch. For more information about how to visit come to http://willowcreekranch.com
Route 25 S from Kaycee, Wyoming, to TTT road and onwards through Willow Creek Ranch.
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