Kansas Charley Becomes Victim
Gang Activity in the 1800s
Sep 19, 2006 Mary Trotter Kion
No Inheritance from Father
Kansas Charley, after being let go following the theft of two watches from the Pohls in Lyons, New York, finally made it to New York City. His first contact was a friend of his father's, a Mr. Holz. But Holz did not have any money that Charlie's father might have left him. And neither could the Children's Aid Society or the New York Orphan Asylum assist him. Since New York City had nothing left for Charley he hopped a "free" ride on a train bound for Philadelphia. There, a gang of boys had been robbing freight cars. Because of this, and the Pennsylvania Tramp Act of 1879, Charley was arrested. He spent the next six weeks, beginning July 2, 1890, at the House of Corrections in Holmesburg, Pennsylvania. When he was released, in August, the only money he had was the small amount he had earned from working at the prison vegetable farm. He also had received a well-rounded education on the ways of criminals and outlaws. It was an education he now took west with him.
Gang Rape and a Pistol Bought
Somewhere between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Kansas City a gang of tramps turned on him, brutalizing him in a manner approximating a gang rape. It would be difficult to determine just what long-lasting effect this incident had on Kansas Charley. Afterwards, Charley bought a secondhand .32-caliber pistol while he was working as a dishwasher in Kansas City. He paid $1.25 for the gun, more than half of his spars weekly wage.
Disaster for Charley Begins in St. Joseph
In Kansas City, Charley washed dishes for a demanding boss and supplemented his meager wages by stealing scraps from the hotel kitchen's unwashed plates. But consistent to his usual pattern of behavior he again ran away. He took another 'free' ride on a train, this time headed for Omaha, Nebraska.
In Omaha he heard that there were jobs to be had riding horses and tending sheep at the Gleason's Ranch just outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Somehow, he'd have to make it the five hundred miles that lay between Omaha and Cheyenne. The season was getting late, as it was September of 1890, but there was only one way he could afford to get to Cheyenne. Again he hopped on a freight car.
A Fatal Connection Brewing
While Charley, who was now slightly over five feet tall and weighed only about one hundred pounds, was making his plans in Omaha to head for Cheyenne, his fatal future was forthcoming from St. Joseph, Missouri.
In St. Joseph two other lads, who each weighed in at about 130 pounds and was taller and broader than Charlie Miller, were bidding their families farewell. These two fellows, neither orphans nor poor, were heading west on a grand adventure. One boy, fair-haired Waldo Emerson, was just nineteen. The other was tall, dark-haired Ross Fishbaugh who was almost twenty. Rather than being long-time friends who had grown up together, Emerson and Fishbaugh had just recently met each other.
A Secret Plan for Disaster
Even before Emerson and Fishbaugh bid their families good-bye, and although they had enough money in their pockets, they had secretly planned to hop a free train ride.
Waldo Emerson and Ross Fishbaugh, the two young men that Kansas Charley would soon meet were having a high old time in St. Joe, as that Missouri city came to be called. They were busy shopping for new spiffy duds to wear on their grand westward adventure. Someone later recalled that they had seen the two young gentlemen at a gambling house the night before they had left. The person had noted that one of them had shown off a roll of bills. It was guessed that Emerson had about forty dollars and Fishbaugh possessed close to one hundred dollars. What spectators and friends didn't know was that Fishbaugh, in addition to new clothes, had purchased a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol to carry along on the trip.
Kansas Charley Becomes the Victim: , continues with Murder on the Union Pacific.
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