Jack Dunlop, also known as John Dunlop, Jess Dunlop, John Patterson, and most commonly Three Fingered Jack (1872 – February 24, 1900) was an

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

in the closing days of the Old West, best known for being a

train robber Train robbery is a type of robbery, in which the goal is to steal money or other valuables being carried aboard trains. History Train robberies were more common in the past when trains were slower, and often occurred in the American Old West. Tr ...

. Whether he had just three fingers on one of his hands is not confirmed.

Background

Dunlop was born in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and spent most of his mid to late teens as a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

. Where he became an outlaw is unknown, but he was arrested after several bank robberies in 1893. Released from prison in 1895, Dunlop joined the "Black Jack" Christian Gang, but by 1898 he was riding with

Burt Alvord Albert "Burt" Alvord (September 11, 1867 – after 1910) was an American lawman and later outlaw of the Old West. Alvord began his career in law enforcement in 1886 as a deputy under Sheriff John Slaughter in Cochise County, Arizona, but turne ...

's Gang, along with George and Louis Owens,

Billy Stiles William Larkin Stiles (September 1871 – December 5, 1908), better known as Billy Stiles or William Larkin, was an American outlaw in the Old West who, with partner Burt Alvord, led a small gang of train robbers while serving as a deputy ...

, Bravo Juan Yoas, and Bob Brown. The gang began robbing trains in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and "Three Fingered Jack" Dunlop quickly became the best known. At midnight on September 9, 1899, the gang robbed a Southern Pacific Express of just over $10,000. The gang had detached the car containing the money, then opened the safe with

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

. They escaped into the Chiricahua Mountains, where they eluded a posse led by

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Scott White and including George Scarborough. A few months later, they struck again. On February 15, 1900, the gang robbed a train at the Fairbank, which served

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew si ...

. However, well known lawman Jeff Davis Milton was working as a guard on the train.

A gunfight ''A Gunfight'' is a 1971 American Western film directed by Lamont Johnson, starring Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash. The film was financed by the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, although there are no leading Native American characters in the story. ...

began, resulting in Milton shooting buckshot into Dunlop, and wounding gang member Juan Yoas. Milton was badly wounded in the right arm, but the gang fled anyway. Dunlop's wound was serious, as he had been hit by eleven pellets from the shotgun, mostly in the stomach area, whereas Yoas had been shot in the butt. The five outlaws soon split up, planning to meet outside of Contention City, Arizona. Dunlop fell from his horse only a few miles from the robbery, and he lay there for fourteen hours before a posse found him. He was taken to Tombstone, where he gave an interview to Tombstone

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

''The Prospector'' before dying on February 24, 1900. William D. Allison had allegedly killed him. Dunlop is buried near the graves of

Tom McLaury Tom McLaury (June 30, 1853 – October 26, 1881) was an American outlaw. He and his brother Frank owned a ranch outside Tombstone, Arizona, Arizona Territory during the 1880s. He was a member of a group of outlaws Cowboys and cattle rustlers th ...

Frank McLaury Frank McLaury born Robert Findley McLaury (March 3, 1849 – October 26, 1881) was an American outlaw. He and his brother Tom owned a ranch outside Tombstone, Arizona, Arizona Territory during the 1880s, and had ongoing conflicts with lawmen W ...

, and Billy Clanton, in Tombstone's Boot Hill cemetery.

References

External links

The Infamous Dunlops

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlop, Jack 1870s births 1893 crimes in the United States 1900 deaths Cowboys Jack Dunlop (outlaw) Crime in Arizona Territory Criminals from Texas Deaths by firearm in Arizona Fugitives Outlaws of the American Old West

Background

See also

References

External links