Saturday, November 23, 2013

Now THAT'S a Great Weapon...!

Often times in the old west, guns just were not handy as protection. In such cases, it was up to the folks in bad situations to use whatever they could to protect themselves. This story is just such a case!

Now, it took some serious backbone to defend yourself in this manner, but evidently it worked out just fine for the good guys! Not so much for the bad guys, though!

The Ice Mallet That Won The West
By Nolan Moore on Friday, November 22, 2013

Ben “The Tall Texan” Kilpatrick was an infamous outlaw who made his living robbing trains. When he held up the Southern Pacific Express, he met his match in David Trousdale, a Well Fargo manager armed with an ice mallet. Trousdale killed Kilpatrick with his hammer and was rewarded for his heroism.

When people think of the Old West, they usually think of weapons like the Colt .45 and the Winchester ’73. But sometimes all you needed to take on a deadly outlaw was something simple like an ice mallet. Ben Kilpatrick found that out the hard way.

Nicknamed “The Tall Texan,” Kilpatrick was not a man to be trifled with. He rode with some of the most notorious gangs in the Old West including the infamous Wild Bunch. The law eventually caught up with Kilpatrick, and he spent 10 years behind bars. When he was finally released, he went back to what he knew best: robbing trains.

Kilpatrick and his new partner, Ole Hobek, planned to rob the Southern Pacific Express in grand style. After leaping from their horses onto the train, Hobek went to deal with the engineer while Kilpatrick went to the baggage and mail car to look at the safe. It was there that he ran into Wells Fargo manager David Trousdale. Trousdale was in charge of all the mail, baggage, and valuables on the train, and he was out of his league against a criminal like Kilpatrick. However, Trousdale had the element of surprise on his side. As the Tall Texan rooted through the safe, Trousdale grabbed an ice mallet and hid it in his coat. When Kilpatrick had finished collecting the goods, Trousdale pointed out he’d missed a package, and it was lying on the ground. Kilpatrick bent down to pick it up, and then Trousdale whipped out the mallet and bashed the outlaw’s head three times, breaking his neck, crushing his skull, and coating the wall of the baggage car with his brains.

But the fight wasn’t over yet. Trousdale ditched the mallet and picked up Kilpatrick’s rifle. When Hobek came back to see what was taking his partner so long, Trousdale shot him dead. Trousdale became a hero and was given a gold watch and over $2,500 in rewards. Even the ice mallet was honored for its role in Kilpatrick’s death. If you stop by the National Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington, D.C., you can see Trousdale’s deadly weapon on display.

Guess you didn't always need a big gun to be dangerous, just using the best weapon given to us at birth...our brain! Of course, it never hurts to have some major backbone!

12 comments:

Linda said...

Interesting!

Sixbears said...

It's not the weapon so much as the person behind it.

Gorges Smythe said...

Another interesting bit of history!

Chickenmom said...

Congrats to Mr. Trousdale - he did a bang up job! I'll bring a big box of Dunkins for all

JO said...

Good story this morning. Of course I sure wouldn't want to be the one to clean up that mess on the walls.

Some nice hot coffee this morning sounds so good. It hasn't stopped raining since yesterday. I thought it did but it just slowed down for a few minutes.
What a nasty day for a wedding.

linda m said...

Smashing someones brains out isn't my idea of a killing. However, when faced with danger I'll use whatever is handy. Congrats to Mr. Trousdale on using his brain.

Duke said...

I guess that is the reason we don't have ice mallets today, maybe after that they had a ice mallet ban.

Mamahen said...

Good job of using what he had...A hot cup n one of CM's donut sounds grand!

Rob said...

I have to agree with Sixbears, it was the person behind the tool.

Dizzy-Dick said...

And here I thought that you were going to talk about a mallet made from ice (frozen water). I guess they would have a hard time displaying on made of ice in the museum. . .

chinasyndrome said...

Oh my God Jim! That just goes to show All assault ice mallets should be banned!People don't kill people Ice mallets do. Interesting story!
PS.I have a concealed mallet permit!
China
III

HermitJim said...

Hey Linda...
I thought it was! At least it was different!

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Sixbears...
How true that is, my friend!

Thanks for the visit today!



Hey Gorges...
Certainly adds to what we already knew about the guys of that time, doesn't it?

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Phyllis...
He certainly handled things in a timely manner!

Donuts are cool! Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Jo...
Yeah, I don't think I want to be the one to do the clean-up! Have a great day at the wedding, sweetie!

Thanks for coming over this morning!



Hey Linda M...
Desperate times call for desperate measures!

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Duke...
I'm sure that the Government stepped in after this!

Thanks, buddy, for coming over today!



Hey Mamahen...
Make do with stuff on hand! Weapons included!

Thanks for coming by today!




Hey Rob...
The man with the biggest mallet is in charge!

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Dizzy...
It would certainly be a wet display!

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey China...
Guess we all need to get a license!

Thanks for the visit today!