b'OLD WEST LEGENDSThe Wham Payroll RobberyBy Dakota LivesayTodays story has more twistsWanna and turns than a pretzel. First,SPRUCE UP were going to look at the storyFOR SPRING?as it unfolded at the trial. Then well look at theWe Can information that came out about it 53 years later.I t was May 11, 1869. Two military wagonsValleyWide Service Help!were heading from Fort Grant in southern Arizona to deliver a $29,000 payroll.Same Day & Next Day ServicePaymaster Major Joseph Wham and elevenWe Specialize In:Black soldiers rode guard. They came to a Storefronts Call Us For Anarrow pass that was blocked by a large rock. Custom Mirrors FREE ESTIMATE Custom ShowersAs soon as they stopped, gunfire broke out. In Shade Screensthe process, eight of the eleven soldiers were Residential Windowswounded. The Wham Robbery, as it came to Window Film 10% OFFMention this ad and receivebe known, got nationwide attention.Glass Railings Window Repair & ReplacementCharges were filed against seven ranchers, Board Up Servicemost of who happened to be Mormons.24 Hour every time you need us!Major Wham did the most damage forEmergency Servicethe prosecution by identifying a man as aOffice:participant who happened to be 85 miles away at the time of the hold-up. He at firstWe Service Your Every Glass Need. 928-232-3540positively identified some gold coins found25 N Adams St. Wickenburg, AZ 85390on one of the defendants as being payroll coins and then admitted he wasnt sure. LaterPaymaster Major it came out that Major Wham, who was unarmed at the time, probably abandonedJoseph Whamhis troops at the sound of the first shots. Because of concerns about his conduct, the jury asked to have the judge replaced. Angered, the judge fired the jury. Finally, President Harrison stepped in and appointed a new judge. EXPOSING YOUR BUSINESS TO It was discovered that one of the soldiers wives was in the area riding a horse.THOUSANDS OF POTENTIAL She reluctantly admitted that she ran a Monte Game and always wantedCUSTOMERS MONTHLYto be around on payday. Although she identified two of the defendants, she wasnt believable. After 33 days and 165 witnesses, the jury retired for deliberations, ate supper, and returned 33 minutes later with a verdict ofnot guilty. The citizens werent happy. Everyone knew that the guilty men had gotten off by a misguided jury.Wham Paymaster RobberyBut thats not the end of the Defendants and Counsel story. Fifty-three years later, after the death of Emma Hurley in 1942, notes from a conversation with her brother, Bert Cooley, showed what really happened on that day. It seems that he and some friends were approached by the wife of a soldier who was to be part of a detachment guarding a payroll wagon. The plan was for both the robbers and the soldiers to shoot to miss, and the two groups would splitPOINTS PEOPLE the four sacks of gold. Unfortunately, one of the soldiers wounded a robber, andIN THE RIGHT DIRECTIONthen all bets were off. This resulted in eight of the eleven soldiers being wounded. When the two groups met up to split the loot, because the soldiers had shot a robber, they only got one of the four sacks. Because of the statute of limitations,CONTACT US TODAY AT the case was never reopened. Incidentally, its interesting to note that later MajorArizonaRealCountryMagazine@gmail.comWham reimbursed the government the $29,000 from his own resources. ArizonaRealCountry.com April 2022 23'