Daniel Boone May (known as Boone May on the frontier) was an icy cool shotgun messenger employed by the Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage & Express Company during the late 1870s. He served as the station keeper at Robbers' Roost, Wyoming Territory, and rode as an express messenger protecting the treasure coaches. He was involved in at least eight documented shooting scrapes and was known as the arch foe of Black Hills highwaymen.
May was born in 1852 in Missouri and moved with his family to Bourbon County, Kansas where his father was a farmer. Other aspects of his early life are a bit hazy until he shows up in historical accounts of the Black Hills and Wyoming. It is known from May family correspondence and other sources that his brothers Jim and Bill joined him in the Black Hills.
Boone May joined with several other shotgun messengers in hatching a scheme to lure a gang of road agents into an ambush. In August 1877 gamblers Mike Goldman and Jim Lebby proposed May ride on a coach with them. May agreed, but just prior to departure from Deadwood, a woman and child boarded the coach. May objected, but finally agreed they could ride the coach, in spite of the danger. When the southbound coach reached Robbers' Roost, three men stopped it and ordered the passengers to surrender. May tried to get out of the coach and fight it out, but the other passengers objected, so he threw his rifle out the window in disgust. He told the outlaws to help themselves to the goods. The gang briefly considered killing May, but in the end, sent the coach on its way without hurting him. They did help themselves to all the passenger's belongings. In late August 1877, May was in Deadwood, Dakota Territory when he recognized the man who had taken his rifle in the earlier robbery. Stage robber Prescott Webb was armed with two revolvers. He recognized May at the same time and began shooting. May was hit in the wrist of his left arm but returned fire and chased Webb down the street. Webb jumped on a horse that was tied in front of the post office, but May put two slugs into it. He then hit Webb in the shoulder, but Webb was able to urge the horse a short distance down the street before it fell dead. Webb was surrounded by Sheriff Seth Bullock, Deputy John Cockran and Captain A.M. Willard before he decided to "chuck it in" and give up. Webb was treated by Doctor L. F. Babcock and arrested by Sheriff Bullock. Later that day, Bullock also arrested Webb's two companions, C. P. Wisdom and G. W. Connor.1 In October 1877 May was riding the coaches as messenger in place of Scott Davis, who had been wounded in an earlier hold-up. The treasure coach was run weekly from Deadwood to Cheyenne, with its special strong box, called the "salamander" filled with gold dust and bullion. By 1878, mining in the Black Hills had matured into a profitable business. Treasure coaches rolled into Cheyenne on-time, with messengers Scott Davis and Boone May on the boot with the driver. On July 2, 1878 a coach was held up near Whoop Up canyon, sixty five miles south of Deadwood. May and two other men tried to trail the outlaws, but were not successful.2 The mail was often taken during stage robberies, so the Post Office decided to secretly appoint some special agents to try to bring the bandits to justice. Inspector John B. Furay appointed May deputy U. S. Marshal along with Scott Davis and nine other men. They were equipped with good horses and extra ammunition. In addition, they were to be paid $5.00 a day and $200.00 from the United States government, as well as $200.00 from Laramie County for every road agent that was captured, dead or alive. On the night of September 13, 1878 May and messenger John Zimmerman were warned that the northbound coach had been held up near Old Woman's Creek, Wyoming Territory. They were riding about two hundred yards in the rear of the Cheyenne bound coach and decided to drop back further and keep out of sight. When the coach reached the general vicinity of the earlier robbery, it was stopped by the same outlaws. The leader of the gang asked the stage driver if any guards were on the coach. The driver told him there were two mounted guards following the coach. The gang leader told two of his men to drop back and kill the guards, but May and Zimmerman surprised the outlaws who then started firing.3 Zimmerman was carrying a rifle and in the darkness missed his target, but May had a shotgun and mortally wounded robber Frank Towle. One of the robbers was supposedly identified as Frank James (alias Tom Reed) by May. May had lived fairly close to the James family while in Missouri so this bit of information is intriguing.4 However, there is no evidence James was ever in the Black Hills or Wyoming. May and Zimmerman could not drive off the outlaws, but they did foil the robbery, and the coach moved on without further being molested. A mail sack had been dropped on the ground near the body of Frank Towle, and at least one passenger had been robbed before May and Zimmerman were able to open fire. May also lost his overcoat, because one of the robbers was later captured and admitted he picked it up on September 13. May and Zimmerman fought the outlaws for thirty minutes after the coach left, and then followed it down the road. May returned to the spot later, but the body was gone. This was not the end of the Frank Towle story, but Boone May did not know this until later. After the robbery attempt, passenger C. H. Brown praised May and Zimmerman very highly for their conduct.5 The Black Hills Daily Times reported: There were two passengers in this coach (the "up" coach), Mr. J. Goldsworthy and Mrs. A. J. Rigby. The thieves then went through the mail and treasure box and having finished this work let this coach and passengers go on. When the southbound coach reached this spot, it was also stopped. There were two passengers in this coach and two messengers following about two hundred yards behind on horseback. As soon as the coach was halted the messengers dismounted and approached within about fifteen steps of the thieves, one of whom called to the messengers to halt, accompanying his command with a shot. One of the messengers returned the shot, killing the thief. The remaining thieves at this moment began firing at the messengers and retreating towards a gulch close by, to which point the messengers could not follow. The coach, in the meantime, had been ordered to go ahead by the thieves, who had succeeded in robbing one passenger and secured the mail sacks before the fighting began.6 On September 26, 1878 May and messengers Jesse Brown and Billy Sample were at Beaver Station, on the Wyoming/ Dakota border about 10 miles from Canyon Springs Station. They were in readiness to escort the loaded coach on its journey south to Hat Creek Station. When the coach failed to show, they started back up the road and met Scott Davis, who told them it had been robbed and one passenger killed. All the men immediately headed back for Canyon Springs Station but the outlaws were gone. Because a passenger had been killed, the stage line offered sizable rewards for the capture of the outlaws. Many posses were organized and were out scouting the hills and prairie. Boone May, Bill May, detective Noah Siever and their posse worked the area toward Pactola on Rapid Creek (Black Hills, Dakota Territory) and learned the outlaws had paid $250.00 cash for a dead-axle wagon.7 One of the outlaws had been wounded by Scott Davis in the robbery, so his friends procured the wagon to carry him. May's posse trailed the outlaws east, past Rapid City and out onto the prairie near the town of Wasta. Seth Bullock and his posse joined them here. The combined posse trailed the outlaws to their camp near Pino Springs. Some of the posse members elected to wait and capture the outlaws in the morning, over the objections of Seth Bullock. By daylight, the outlaws had pushed on, abandoning their wagon. The wounded outlaw, later identified as Frank McBride, had died and been buried on the trail. The posse split up and returned home after losing the trail near Fort Pierre, Dakota Territory, on the Missouri River. In mid October 1878, May started wooing Lurline Monte Verde, a Deadwood restaurant owner, singer, and gambler. She was a known associate of road agent Archie McLaughlin. One source says that May won her confidence, and learned the hiding place of McLaughlin and his companions. May then captured them north of Cheyenne and sent them under guard to Deadwood on the northbound coach. On November 3, 1878 this coach was stopped by a group of vigilantes, who hanged McLaughlin and outlaw Billy Mansfield from some nearby cottonwood trees.8 Another version of the story says that on October 18, 1878, outlaws McLaughlin and William Mansfield (who were implicated in the Whoop Up Canyon and Canyon Springs Robberies) were sent under guard from Deadwood to Cheyenne to stand trail. McLaughlin and Mansfield were kept in jail in Cheyenne until November 3, when it was learned that the next court term would not be for several months. They were sent back to Deadwood again on the northbound coach to stand trail immediately on charges of grand larceny. Near Fort Laramie, on the Little Cottonwood River, the coach was stopped and five masked vigilantes disarmed the guards and hung the outlaws.9 A third version of this story says that McLaughlin and Mansfield were captured in Deadwood, when recognized by an un-named shotgun messenger. They were later taken to Cheyenne for trial, and were lynched on the return trip to Deadwood when the Cheyenne trial was delayed.10 The leader of the gang to which McLaughlin belonged was Tom Price. He was captured in November 1878 by a posse consisting of Jesse Brown, Boone May, Jim May, and Wes Travis. Price was wounded during a gun battle preceding his capture and was laid up in Deadwood for several weeks recuperating. In February 1879, Boone May escorted him to Cheyenne where he stood trail and was sentenced to five years in the penitentiary at Lincoln, Nebraska. In late December 1878 John Irwin was arrested in Cheyenne for the offense of firing his revolver in McDaniels' Theater. He identified some of the gang members who participated in the September 13 robbery attempt. In addition to Irwin, others identified were Frank Towle, Joe Manuse and possibly Charles Carey. Joe Manuse was a Mexican outlaw who had recently been captured at Rock Creek wearing an overcoat that Boone May had dropped during while exchanging gunfire with the outlaws during the robbery attempt. May and agent Billy Sample proposed a method for getting Manuse to divulge information about other gang members. They disguised themselves with masks and then put a rope around Manuse's neck and hoisted him up until he revealed all he knew about his pards. During the fracas, Sample's mask fell off, and Manuse recognized him. In his anger he shouted, "Sample, you damned Missouri son of a bitch, I know you and will get even with you." Boone May said, "Mex you have seen too much," and both him and Sample pulled their guns and permanently ended Manuse's outlaw career.11 Captured outlaw John Irwin admitted to Sheriff Nathan K. Boswell of Laramie that Frank Towle had been killed by one of the shotgun messengers during the September 13 robbery. He confessed to Boswell where the gang had buried Towle. Boswell told the story to Boone May, who rode out and located the body. May hoped to collect the reward money that Laramie County was offering, so he dug up the body, cut off the head, and carried it 178 miles to Cheyenne. There he presented it as evidence to the county commissioners. His claim was delayed for some time and then disapproved, because of lack of proof that he had killed Towle. May also filed a claim to Carbon County, saying that Towle was involved in the earlier killings of detectives Widdowfield and Vincent. May's sworn affidavit filed in the court house at Rawlins read: Territory of Wyoming Carbon County, Wyo. T. To Boon (sic) May, Dr. For reward of Frank Toll (sic) one of the Murders of Widdowfield and Vincent Territory of Wyoming, County of Albany Boon (sic) May being first duly sworn on oath says: That on the night of 13th September A.D. 1878 he shot and killed Frank Toll (sic) one of the murders (sic) of Widdowfield and Vincent on the Old Womans fork on the Black Hills Stage road running from Cheyenne to Deadwood that affiant has the head of the said Frank Toll (sic) in his possession sufficient to identify him and that affiant is prepared to prove that the man killed by him as above stated is the identical Frank Toll (sic) and the murderer of Widdowfield at Elk mountain in said Carbon county. Boone May Subscribed and sworn to before me this 29th day of January A.D. 1879 John D. Brockway, Notary Public Apparently the reward was never paid to May. Several years later, Big Nose George confessed that Towle had been one of the murderers of Widdowfield and Vincent, but by then reward had been withdrawn. Towle's skull was buried near the outskirts of Cheyenne, where prairie dogs dug it up and played with it in May 1879.12 In July 1879 the coach going from Cheyenne to Deadwood carried captured stage robber Lame Johnny who was being returned to Deadwood for trial. Near Buffalo Gap, Dakota Territory, Lame Johnny became "restless and nervous." He revealed his fear of Boone May, who was seen riding parallel to the coach. May and messenger Jesse Brown left the stage at Buffalo Gap and "Whispering" Smith, retained responsibility for Lame Johnny. Shortly thereafter, the coach was stopped, and eight vigilantes hanged Lame Johnny, who went to his grave without stooling on his partners.13 In late January 1880, May was asked by Special Agent William H. Llewellyn to assist in the capture of mail robber Curly Grimes. May and Llewellyn found out that Curley was working with a freighting team in the Black Hills. They requisitioned horses from Fort Meade, Dakota Territory and pursued the bull team to Elk Creek, halfway between Rapid City and Fort Meade. Curly Grimes was arrested without incident on February 3, 1880. The temperature was twenty below zero and Grimes complained the handcuffs would make his hands freeze if they were not removed. He promised not to escape, so they were removed. They arrived near Erb's Bull Dog Ranch that evening. Grimes picked up a metal sled skate off the ground to use as a weapon but dropped it when Llewellyn covered him with a shotgun. By about nine o'clock that evening, they were two miles from the Bull Dog Ranch and getting close to Fort Meade. Grimes was about twenty feet ahead of May and Llewellyn. A blinding blizzard made it difficult to distinguish landmarks. Grimes turned around in his saddle, then gave his horse the spur. He disregarded a command to halt and was shot by May and Llewellyn. He was dead when they got to him. They left him there and continued on to Fort Meade, where they informed Lieutenant Scott that Grimes had been killed while trying to escape.14 Because the killing had occurred on the Fort Meade military reservation, May and Llewellyn were indicted for his murder. Boone May was hated by the desperadoes, road agents and horse thieves, and some of Grimes' friends tried specifically to kill him. They also trumped up the charges that May had murdered Grimes in cold blood. On March 16, 1880 some of Grimes' friends stopped the Deadwood to Sidney, Nebraska bound coach and asked if Boone May was on board. When they determined that he was not, they let it pass. May was actually on the northbound coach going from Sidney to Deadwood. When the two coaches passed, the driver of the southbound coach warned him. He merely changed coaches and returned to Sidney.15 The outlaws never did get Boone May. May and Llewellyn were acquitted of the murder charges on August 16, 1880. May moonlighted as a messenger for the Black Hills Placer Mining Company of Rockerville during July and August 1880 and killed at least one robber while employed for them. The company's eastern board of directors were shocked when General Agent Ambrose Bierce employed May (then under indictment for the murder of robber Curley Grimes) as a messenger for their firm. Bierce simply listed him as Boone May - Murderer on the company payroll. Bierce later wrote a story in which Boone May figured prominently. In Sole Survivor, Bierce wrote: "I knew the road fairly well, for I had previously traveled it by night, on horseback, my pockets bulging with currency and my free hand holding a cocked revolver the entire distance of fifty miles. To make the journey by wagon with a companion (Boone May) was a luxury. Still, the drizzle of the rain was uncomfortable. May sat hunched up beside me, a rubber poncho over his shoulders and a Winchester rifle in its leathern case between his knees. I thought him a trifle off his guard, but said nothing. The road, barely visible, was rocky, the wagon rattled, and alongside ran a roaring stream. Suddenly, we heard through it all, the clinking of a horse's shoes directly behind, and simultaneously the short, sharp words of authority: 'Throw up your hands.'" "With an involuntary jerk at the reins I brought my team to its haunches and reached for my revolver. Quite needless: with the quickest movement that I had ever seen in anything but a cat -- almost before the words were out of the horseman's mouth -- May had thrown himself backward across the back seat, face upward, and the muzzle of his rifle was within a yard of the fellow's breast! What further occurred among the three of us there in the gloom of the forest has, I fancy, never been accurately related." Ambrose Bierce wrote that May was "a man who has captured and killed more road agents and horse thieves than any man in the west; whose name is a terror to all evil-doers in the (district); whose fidelity and trustworthiness are as famous as his courage…"16 Boone May disappears from Black Hills and Wyoming history after his stint with Ambrose Bierce and the Black Hills Placer Mining Company. Bierce quit in disgust in September 1880, and May resigned also. The eastern board of directors in New York had never approved of his methods. May headed out for Santiago, Chili in 1883. During 1891 he shot an army officer in a fight over a woman. He then hid out in the hills for awhile before heading to Brazil, where he heard there was a new gold rush. D. Boone May died of yellow fever in Rio de Janeiro in 1910. 17 Even though he was a gunfighter and express messenger, little is known about Boone May's arms and equipment. His Sharps Model 1874 Sporting Rifle, Serial No. C53,982 is illustrated on page 191 of Frank Sellers' book Sharps Firearms. It has a half octagon barrel and pistol grip stock. It was converted by Cheyenne gunsmith Frank Freund into a fine grade sporting rifle for May. It is currently in a private collection. May was also known to have used a Winchester rifle, probably a Model 1873, since he worked as a shotgun messenger during the late 1870s and early 1880s. Ambrose Bierce only identifies it as a Winchester in his story on May.1Agnes Wright Spring, The Cheyenne and Black Hills
Stage and Express Routes, page 223.
2ibid, page 250.
3Jesse Brown and A.M. Willard, The Black Hills Trails, page 253
4Campbell, Patty. A one page email to the author, August 2, 2005
5Spring, page 262.
6Black Hills Daily Times, September 14, 1878.
7Spring, page 272.
8Howard Bryan, Wildest of the Wild West, page 128.
9Spring, page 277.
10Brown and Willard, page 302
11Brown and Willard, page 254
12Cheyenne Daily Leader, May 21, 1879
13Doug Engebretson, Empty Saddles, Forgotten Names - Outlaws of the
Black Hills and Wyoming, page 103.
14ibid, page 133-134.
15ibid, page 135.
16Bierce to S. B. Eaton, September 2, 1880. The Black Hills Correspondence,
Vol. I, pages 78-79.
17May, Fred. A one page email to the author, Aug. 3, 2005.
Revised August 3, 2005
|
Date |
Location |
Outlaws Killed or Wounded |
| Aug ? 1877 | Deadwood, Dakota Territory | Outlaw Prescott Webb wounded and captured |
| Sep 13, 1878 | Red Canyon, Dakota Territory | Stage robber Frank Towle killed by Boone May |
| Nov 3, 1878 | North of Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory | Stage robber Archie McLaughlin captured by Boone May |
| Nov ?, 1878 | West of Lead, Dakota Territory | Outlaw Tom Price was wounded and captured by posse |
| 1879 | Black Hills, Dakota Territory | Bandit spy Joe Manuse shot by messengers Billy Sample and Boone May |
| Feb 3, 1880 | West of Fort Meade, Dakota Territory | Stage robber Curley Grimes killed by Special Agent William H. Llewellyn and Boone May |
| Summer 1880 | Black Hills, Dakota Territory | Unknown stage robber killed by Boone May |
| 1891 | Chile | Unknown Chilean Army officer killed by Boone May |