Bill Downing
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Bill Downing a.k.a. William F. Downing (1860 – August 5, 1908) was a notorious outlaw during the
Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
era 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 ...
. Downing had fled from the Texas Rangers posse who was after him when he came to Arizona. In Arizona, he was involved in the killing of William S. “Slim” Traynor and in various train robberies including the robbery of the Train Depot in the town of
Cochise Cochise (; Apache: ''Shi-ka-She'' or ''A-da-tli-chi'', lit.: ''having the quality or strength of an oak''; later ''K'uu-ch'ish'' or ''Cheis'', lit. ''oak''; June 8, 1874) was leader of the Chihuicahui local group of the Chokonen and principa ...
. Downing was so unpopular that even members of his gang couldn't stand him.


Early years

Downing 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 ...
. He was in trouble with the law when he came to
Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...
, with a Texas Rangers posse in pursuit. Allegedly his real name was Frank Jackson, a teenager who was a member of the Sam Bass gang. Jackson had been involved in a shoot-out at
Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of the 2020 census. The city straddles the Bal ...
between the Bass gang and the Texas Rangers in July, 1878. Jackson was shot in one leg, but survived. The posse killed Bass, however Jackson escaped and rode through
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
until he reached Arizona where he assumed the name William F. Downing."200 Texas Outlaws and Lawmen, 1835–1935"; By: Yadon, Laurence; Page: 53; Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company; Once he settled down, he sent for his wife, Linda Downing who was also a native of Texas. Downing never spoke about his relationship with the Bass gang. He and his wife settled down near the small
Sulphur Springs Valley The Sulphur Springs Valley is a valley in the eastern half of Cochise County, Arizona. The valley covers an approximated vertical rectangle west of the Chiricahua Mountains–Dos Cabezas Mountains complex. The Sulphur Springs Valley is the larg ...
mining town of
Pearce Pearce may refer to: Places *Pearce, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb *Division of Pearce, an electoral division in Western Australia *Pearce, Arizona, United States, an unincorporated community *RAAF Base Pearce, the main Royal Australian Ai ...
. Downing worked as a cowhand at nearby ranches. He was hired to work in the Esperanza Ranch, which was known for hiring rustlers, outlaws and renegade Apaches. Though Downing became known for his quarrelsome nature, he was also known to be less quarrelsome when he was drinking whiskey.


The killing of William S. “Slim” Traynor

Downing and his wife moved to the town of Willcox. There he spent most of his time hanging around saloons and associating with the members of an outlaw gang run by Albert R. “Burt” Alvord, who was the town constable when he wasn't working as a ranch-hand. However, there was a particular person whom Downing did not like and that was William S. “Slim” Traynor. Traynor, who also went by the name of "Bill Traynor", was a native of
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
who at onetime had been an outlaw, mine guard and a veteran
Rough Rider The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...
campaigning in
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during the Spanish-American War under the command of
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
. He was hired by Edwin Russell Hooker, a cattle inspector, to look after his father, Henry Hooker, Sierra Bonita range interests. Traynor was engaged to be married to Mila Allaire, a young lady who was a member of a Willcox ranching family. He suspected Downing of stealing cattle and re-branding them. As such he made it known publicly that Downing was a rustler and that he was looking for him. On the evening of May 19, 1899, Traynor and his friend Henry C. Taylor, an off-duty bartender, walked into Tom Fulghum's "Elite Saloon" on the corner of Maley and Haskell Streets. Some witnesses say that Downing came in after Traynor, while others claim that Downing was already in the saloon. Witnesses to the events that followed stated that when Downing walked in, Traynor dropped his right hand as if going for his gun. Four shots rang out from Bill Downing's pistol and Bill Traynor lay dead on the barroom floor; shot through the head and chest. Downing was arrested and during his trial he claimed the following: "I accepted Taylor's invitation to take a cigar and as I answered, (Traynor) whirled around as though he went after his gun. As I stepped up to the bar, I was watching him on account of the threats he had made, and I looked outside. I thought it was a life-and-death matter and drew my gun and jerked Thomas Burts back so as not to shoot him and commenced shooting. I am not certain as to how many shots I fired.” Constable Alvord testified that he took the pistol and belt off the person of the deceased. He continued to state that he found the pistol loaded with five cartridges and one empty chamber. The pistol was in the scabbard when he took it off the deceased. No one took and checked Downing's gun. According to Constable Alvord, Traynor's body bore wounds from three bullets. One had torn through his breast and exited his shoulder; the other two had penetrated his skull. The coroner's jury found that Downing was acting in self-defense and was justified.


The Southern-Pacific Cochise Depot robbery

Constable
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 ...
was hired by the town of Willcox to police the boisterous cowboys in the area because of his reputation of being a bad man in Tombstone. Alvord hired Bill Downing and
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 ...
as deputies. Together with their newfound legality they would be able to pursue their criminal careers without arousing the suspicion of the town folks. Among the members of the newly founded Alvord-Stiles Gang were local cowboys, such as Matt Burts, the Owen brothers and Jack Dunlap. They conspired to hold up the Southern Pacific's westbound No. 10 train that stopped at Cochise Station at Cochise Junction. In order to carry out their mission Downing burglarized the Soto Brothers Mercantile store in Willcox where they pilfered dynamite. Then, Downing and the gang burglarized a mining camp in Dos Cabezas, where they stole additional dynamite, plus explosive caps and fuse. The date set for the robbery was September 9, 1899. It was Downing's responsibility to tend to the horses. Stiles and Burts were to stop the train at Cochise Station and proceed with the robbery. They held at gun point the engineer, the fireman, the mail clerk and a Wells Fargo man. The safe inside the express car was blown up. Their first heist was successful and they seized between $2,000 and $3,000 in cash and jewelry. Constable Alvord organized a posse when news of the robbery reached Willcox. He sent the posses in all directions except the right one. Downing, Burts and Stiles stashed everything in Burt Alvord's chicken house in Willcox and then they "joined the posse." As expected the posse did not find anything. The stolen goods were removed from the chicken house and stashed in Bill Downing's ranch near Pearce. The only member of the gang that took his share was Matt Burts who headed to the state of
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
.


The failed Fairbank train robbery

On February 15, 1900, the Alvord-Stiles Gang attempted a second major robbery, this time in
Fairbank, Arizona Fairbank is a ghost town in Cochise County, Arizona, next to the San Pedro River. First settled in 1881, Fairbank was the closest rail stop to nearby Tombstone, which made it an important location in the development of southeastern Arizona. The ...
. The members of the gang who participated in the holdup of the New Mexico & Arizona's northbound No. 1 on the Nogales-to-Benson line, were Jesse “Three-Fingered Jack” Dunlap, Tom “Bravo Juan” Yoas, Robert Brown, and George and Lewis Owings. However, they were unaware that
Jeff Milton Jefferson Davis Milton (November 7, 1861 – May 7, 1947) was an Old West lawman and a son of Confederate Governor of Florida John Milton. He was the first officer appointed to the U.S. Immigration Service Border Patrol in 1924. Family and e ...
a Wells Fargo Express messenger was aboard the train that day. Milton, an ex-Texas Ranger, had a long career in law enforcement. The gang's attempt to rob the train failed because of Milton's intervention. He fired his gun and shot Jack Dunlap despite the fact that he himself was wounded with a bullet on his left arm between the shoulder and elbow which shattered the bone and left his arm useless. The gang fled the scene and left Dunlap behind. When a posse from Tombstone arrived and found Dunlap, he decided to cooperate and told them the names of those involved in the attempted but failed robbery. Dunlap died shortly after the encounter, but not before implicating Burt Alvord, Billy Stiles and Bill Downing as the planners of the robbery. Bill Downing and some members of the gang were arrested and sent to the jail in Tombstone, since he had been implicated in the earlier Southern-Pacific Cochise Depot holdup. At the time, train robbery was a capital offense in the Arizona Territory. Downing's trial was set for December 10, 1900, in the Tombstone Courthouse in what is officially known as "Territory of Arizona vs. W.F. Downing, case No. 745A". On April 7, 1900, Stiles went to Tombstone and went to the jailhouse. He shot
Deputy Marshal ''Deputy Marshal'' is a 1949 American Western film directed by William Berke and starring Jon Hall, Frances Langford and Dick Foran. The film was a more expensive production that usual from Robert L. Lippert who originally hoped for Rod Camer ...
George Bravin in the foot, and freed the gang members who were in the jail, with the exception of Downing. During the trial some of the members of the Alvord gang turned against Downing and testified against him. Stiles and Matt Burts were among those who testified for the prosecution. However, the majority of the jurors believed that capital punishment was not justified in cases where there were no deaths. Jury foreman L.A. Smith announced before Judge
George Russell Davis George Russell Davis (December 13, 1861 – June 13, 1933) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court from 1897 until 1905. An attorney by trade, he was active in Republican politics and ...
that even though the jurors believed that Downing was guilty of train robbery, they refused to return a guilty verdict. Even though Downing was acquitted in the robbery case, he was found guilty of interfering with the United States mail, a federal charge and was sentenced to 10 years of prison-time to be served in the Yuma Territorial Prison.


Yuma Territorial Prison

The
Yuma Territorial Prison The Yuma Territorial Prison is a former prison located in Yuma, Arizona, United States. Opened on July 1, 1876, and shut down on September 15, 1909. It is one of the Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites on the National Register of Historic Places ...
was a prison built by prisoners in 1875. The prison opened while Arizona was still a U.S. territory. Conditions in the prison were harsh. Some prisoners had to sleep in steel bunkbeds. Downing was assigned a number, inmate number 1733, just like any other prisoner. On April 11, 1901, he entered the Yuma prison through the
sally port A sally port is a secure, controlled entry way to an enclosure, e.g., a fortification or prison. The entrance is usually protected by some means, such as a fixed wall on the outside, parallel to the door, which must be circumvented to enter an ...
which is a secure, controlled entryway to the prison. Downing's leg became infected and swollen while he was in prison. This was a result of the gunshot injuries he received during a gun battle while riding with the Sam Bass gang back in Texas. The penitentiary physician, Dr. James A. Ketcherside treated the old wound. The doctor suggested that the leg be amputated, but Downing refused to accept the request. Mrs. Downing was an attractive lady who was in poor health. While her husband was incarcerated, she sold their property in Willcox and used the money to try to gain her husband's freedom from the prison in Yuma. Mrs Downing eventually found herself alone and in need of money. She was hired to work in the home of A.F. Franklin in
Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
. On April 17, 1902, she was hired as a domestic servant by Tucson civic leader and entrepreneur John Ivancovich. The following day, she was found dead in the servant's quarters, this was shortly before her husband's release from prison. A coroner's jury determined that she had died of heart failure and attributed it to worry and nervousness brought on by the conviction and sentence of her husband. Mrs. Downing was buried in the Old City Cemetery in Willcox a.k.a. Willcox Pioneer Cemetery. Downing served a total of seven years in prison and was finally released for good behavior. According to Thomas H. Rynning, the Yuma prison warden, Downing had been a model prisoner.


Downing's last stand

Downing returned to Willcox upon his release from prison and opened a saloon which he named the Free and Easy Saloon on the corner of Maley Street. Willcox at the time had an ordinance which forbade gambling, prostitution and the serving of alcohol to women. Downing was known as one to defy the law and he hired prostitutes who were highly skilled pickpockets. Constable Bud Snow and Ranger Speed arrested Downing for serving women at the Free and Easy. Downing had encountered Arizona Ranger William Slaughter “Billy” Speed before. Speed was among the jurors who acquitted Downing in the 1899, killing of William S. “Slim” Traynor. Despite that they became bitter enemies. Downing pleaded guilty and paid a fifty dollar fine. The very next day he was arrested again, this time he was charged with assaulting a barber. Again he pleaded guilty and paid a fine of ten dollars. The citizen's of Willcox became tired of Downing's defiance of the law and sent a citizens petition to Harry C. Wheeler, the Captain of the Arizona Rangers, requesting protection from the “drunk and unruly” saloon-keeper. Wheeler received word that Downing had threaten to kill any officer who interfered with him. Thus, Wheeler ordered his men to kill Downing on the spot without any hesitation. Downing had some problems with Cuco Leal, a prostitute who lived in his saloon. He went to the office of Constable Snow to complain and to ask that she be removed from his saloon. At the same time he also warned that if Ranger Speed ever stuck his head inside of the door of his saloon, he would shoot it off. He also stated that he will kill Speed when the time is right. The following day a saloon customer complained that someone had stolen some of his money. Downing jumped to the conclusion that it was Cuco Leal. He confronted and beat her. She then ran into the Ranchman's Corral Saloon, whose owner was George McKittrick, a rival of Downing. McKittrick told Leal to stay in his saloon and to stay clear of the "Free and Easy" saloon. McKittrick then went to town Justice Page and told him about the Downing-Leal situation. Page issued a warrant for Downing's arrest and handed the warrant to Constable Bud Snow. The constable went to Ranger Speed's house and asked him to join him in presenting the warrant. Speed agreed and recommended that they act in the following morning. The following morning Downing was in his saloon drinking whiskey. He decided that he would show up in Judge Page's office to discuss the Leal situation. He got up to go and at the same time left his gun behind. When he stepped out the door he noticed that Constable Snow was heading towards the saloon and he ran back inside. He did not notice that Ranger Speed was accompanying the constable. Once they reached the saloon, Constable Snow told Speed to guard the back door of the saloon which was located by an alley. Ranger Speed loaded his .30-40 Winchester and headed towards the alley door. Downing thought that the constable would come in through the front door and decided to leave the saloon through the back exit. When he went out to the alley he came face-to-face with Ranger Speed. The Ranger ordered him to surrender but, Downing made a gesture as if he was reaching for his gun, forgetting that he had left his weapon in the saloon. The Ranger then raised his Winchester and fired. The bullet from Speed's rifle entered through Downing's right breast, punctured his right lung and exited beneath his right shoulder blade. He died immediately of the wounds which he received. Arizona Ranger Captain Wheeler made the following remark in regard to the community's reaction to Downing's demise: “This is the first time I have known a dead man to be without a single friend and the first time that I have known a killing to meet absolute general rejoicing in all this town and precinct.” Downing was buried in an unmarked grave in the Old City Cemetery of Willcox a.k.a. Willcox Pioneer Cemetery. The coroner's jury found that the shot fired by Ranger Speed was in the performance of his duty as an officer of the law and that he was perfectly justified in the act, and, therefore, he was exonerated from all blame in the matter.


See also

*
List of historic properties in Willcox, Arizona This is a list, which includes a photographic gallery, of some of the remaining historic buildings, houses, structures and monuments in Willcox, Arizona, a town located in Cochise County. Some of the structures are located in the Railroad Avenue H ...


Arizona pioneers

*
Mansel Carter Mansel Carter (May 12, 1902 – June 5, 1987), also known as "Man of the Mountain", was a businessman and prospector. In 1987, ''The Phoenix'' named him one of "Arizona Legends". The San Tan Historical Society of Queen Creek recognized his grave ...
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*
Winston C. Hackett Dr. Winston Clifton Hackett (1881–1949) was the first African American physician in Arizona. He was the founder of the Booker T. Washington Memorial Hospital, the first hospital in Phoenix which served the African American community. Early ye ...
*
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* Paul W. Litchfield *
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*
William John Murphy William John Murphy (August 23, 1839 – April 17, 1923) was an American businessman, contractor, land developer and founder of the Arizona Improvement Company. He is also remembered as the "Founder of Glendale, Arizona" and an important contrib ...
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Wing F. Ong Wing Foon Ong (February 4, 1904 – December 19, 1977) was the first Chinese-American not born in the United States to be elected to a state House of Representatives when in 1946 he ran for the Arizona House of Representatives and won. In 1966, ...
*
Levi Ruggles Levi Ruggles (1824–1889) known as the "Father of Florence, Arizona" was a soldier and pioneer who founded the town of Florence, Arizona. Early years Ruggles was born in the state of Ohio. He was a carpenter by trade and also a school teacher. U ...
*
Sedona Schnebly Sedona Schnebly (born Sedona Arabella Miller February 24, 1877 – November 13, 1950) was an early pioneer in the Oak Creek area of Arizona. She was the namesake of the town of Sedona, Arizona. She helped in the establishment of the family farm ...
* Michael Sullivan *
Trinidad Swilling Trinidad Swilling Shumaker This name uses marriage naming customs; the first is the surname of her first husband ''"Swilling"'' and the second surname is of her second husband ''"Shumaker"''. (April 15, 1849 – December 27, 1925), known as "The M ...
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References


Further reading

*"Arizoniana: Stories from Old Arizona"; by: Marshall Trimble; Publisher: Primer Pub; ; *"Arizona Outlaws and Lawmen: Gunslingers, Bandits, Heroes and Peacekeepers"; by: Marshall Trimble; Publisher: The History Press; ASIN: B00XZPQM2W {{DEFAULTSORT:Downing, Bill 1860 births 1908 deaths Arizona folklore Lawmen of the American Old West Gunslingers of the American Old West Arizona pioneers Outlaws of the American Old West Cowboys