William Brocius

William "Curly Bill" Brocius (circa 1845 – March 24, 1882), was an American gunslinger, cattle rustler and member of the Cowboy outlaw gang in the Cochise County area of what was then Arizona Territory during the late 1870s and early 1880s. Brocius' name is likely an alias or nickname, and some evidence links him to another outlaw named William "Curly Bill" Bresnaham, who was convicted of an 1878 attempted robbery and murder in El Paso, Texas.

Brocius had a number of conflicts with the lawmen of the Earp family, and was named as one of the men who participated in Morgan Earp's assassination. Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp and a group of deputies, including his brother Warren, pursued those they believed responsible for Morgan's death. The Earp posse unexpectedly encountered Curly Bill and other Cowboys on March 24, 1882, at Iron Springs (present-day Mescal Springs). Wyatt killed Curly Bill during the shootout. In his journal written in October 1881, George Parsons referred to Brocius as "Arizona's most famous outlaw."

Life in Arizona

William Brocius emigrated to Arizona Territory from either Texas or Missouri about 1878, traveling briefly to the San Carlos Reservation with a herd of cattle before arriving in the territory. Brocius was an Outlaw Cowboy and a cattle rustler, and was for a time also a tax collector for Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan, making other rustlers pay taxes on their stolen cattle (the money went into the sheriff's coffers and added to his salary).

Brocius was known for a mean sense of humor when drunk. He was reported to have perpetrated such "practical jokes" as using gunfire to make a preacher "dance" during a sermon, and making Mexicans at a community dance take off their clothes and dance naked. Both incidents were reported by Wells Fargo agent Fred Dodge in his memoirs and alluded to in the newspapers of the time.

Description

An unauthenticated photo of Brocius is displayed in the Bird Cage Theatre Museum in Tombstone. Two other unauthenticated photos of Brocius have been provided by descendants. Several writers who knew Brocius reported that he was well-built with curly black hair and a freckled complexion.

Shooting of Fred White, 1880

thumb|Present day site where Brocius shot Marshal Fred White

In a drunken revelry, some of Curly Bill's friends were firing pistols into the air on October 28, 1880, in a dark vacant lot between Toughnut and Allen Streets, near where the Birdcage Theater now stands. Tombstone's Town Marshal Fred White attempted to disarm Brocius and grabbed his weapon by the barrel. The gun discharged, striking White in the groin. Wyatt Earp had borrowed Fred Dodge's pistol and he pistol-whipped Brocius. At the preliminary hearing for Brocius afterward, Wyatt testified that he had heard White say: "I am an officer; give me your pistol." When he got close, he saw Brocius remove his pistol from his holster and White grab it by the barrel. He said he put his arms around Brocius from behind to see if he had any other weapons, and White "gave a quick jerk and the pistol went off." White fell to the ground, wounded. When the pistol discharged, Wyatt buffaloed Brocius and arrested him. Brocius complained, "What have I done? I have not done anything to be arrested for."

Brocius fearful of lynching

White was carried to a doctor and they initially thought he would recover, and the next day, he gave a statement that exonerated Curly Bill of murder, but that night, White's condition worsened. Brocius later claimed that his gun discharged accidentally and reportedly immediately regretted shooting White. He testified at his trial that he did not consider himself to have committed a crime. Brocius waived his right to a preliminary hearing, apparently because he feared a lynching, as White was very popular as town marshal. Brocius was anxious to be moved out of town. Pima County Deputy Sheriff Earp and George Collins immediately took Brocius to Tucson for trial.

Brocius exonerated of White's death

White died two days after Curly Bill shot him. Before dying, White testified that he thought the pistol had accidentally discharged and that he did not believe that Curly Bill shot him on purpose. Wyatt Earp supported this testimony, (ironically, given his later vendetta against Brocius and the rest of the Cowboy gang) as did a demonstration that Brocius's pistol could be fired from half-cock, and the fact that it had been found to contain six rounds, with only one of them fired. After spending most of November and December 1880 in jail awaiting trial, Brocius was acquitted with a verdict of accidental death.

Wyatt told his biographer, John H. Flood, Jr., many years later that he thought that Brocius was still armed at the time and did not notice that Brocius' pistol lay on the ground in the dark, until Brocius was already down. Despite being responsible for the deaths of several other men during his life, Brocius had apparently personally liked White and maintained that his death had been an accident.

Outlaw Cowboy

Brocius was described by contemporary author Billy Breakenridge in his book, Helldorado: Bringing the Law to the Mesquite, as being the most deadly pistol shot of the Cowboys: "able to hit running jackrabbits, shoot out candle flames without breaking the candles or lantern holders, and shoot quarters from between the fingers of volunteers". When drunk, Brocius was also known for a mean sense of humor and for such "practical jokes" as using gunfire to make a preacher "dance" during a sermon or forcing Mexicans at a community dance to take off their clothes and dance naked. Wells Fargo agent Fred Dodge reported both incidents in his memoirs, and both were alluded to in local newspapers.

Shot in face

On May 25, 1881, Brocius was drinking heavily in Galeyville with his friend of several months and Lincoln County War veteran Jim Wallace and eight or nine other cowboys. Wallace insulted Brocius' friend and ally, Tombstone Deputy Marshal Billy Breakenridge. Breakenridge ignored him, but Brocius took offense and insisted that Wallace accompany him and apologize to Breakenridge. Brocius threatened to kill him. Wallace complied, but Brocius afterward heaped abuse on Wallace, announcing, "You damned Lincoln County son of a bitch, I'll kill you anyhow." Wallace left the saloon and Curly Bill followed him. Feeling threatened, Wallace shot Curly Bill, wounding him in the cheek and neck. However, no witnesses to this crime were found, nor to Curly Bill's involvement in the Hasletts' death.

Four months after Brocius was shot, on October 6, 1881, George Parsons rode through the McLaury brothers' ranch in Sulphur Springs Valley as part of an Indian scouting party, and noted that Brocius had not yet fully recovered from his wound, but was well enough to ride. For this reason, many historians doubt that Brocius took part in killing William and Isaac Haslett.

Shootout with Wyatt Earp

According to Wyatt Earp — and an anonymous report to The Tombstone Epitaph— he was in the lead of the posse when they suddenly came upon the Cowboys' camp at the springs from less than 30 feet (9 m) behind an embankment. The Cowboys began firing just as Earp dismounted and thought for a moment they had shot him, but they had hit his saddle horn, instead. Texas Jack Vermillion, whose horse was killed, remained cool under fire and stuck close to Wyatt during the fight. Doc, Johnson, and McMaster fired their weapons and sought cover. Warren Earp was away on an errand at the time.

Eighteen months prior, Wyatt Earp had protected Brocius against a mob ready to lynch him for killing Town Marshal Fred White, and then provided testimony that helped spare him from a murder conviction. Now, Brocius fired at Earp with his shotgun from about , but missed. Earp returned fire over his horse using a 22-inch, 10-gauge shotgun. He killed Brocius with a load of buckshot to the stomach, nearly cutting him in half. Brocius fell into the water at the edge of the spring.

The Cowboys fired a number of shots at the Earp party, but the lawmen's fire was so intense that those Cowboys who could, left. Earp's long coat was punctured by bullets on both sides. Another bullet struck his boot heel and his saddle horn was hit, as well, burning the saddle hide and narrowly missing Wyatt. Firing his pistol, Earp shot Johnny Barnes in the chest and Milt Hicks in the arm. Vermillion tried to retrieve his rifle wedged in the scabbard under his fallen horse, exposing himself to the Cowboys' gunfire. Doc Holliday helped him gain cover. Earp had trouble remounting his horse due to a cartridge belt that had slipped down his legs. He was finally able to get on his horse and retreat. McMaster was grazed by a bullet that cut through the straps of his field glasses.

Other names

Because of his nickname, "Curly Bill" Brocius has been confused with "Curly Bill" Graham, a different outlaw of the same geographical region and time period. Graham was killed in a gunfight by Deputy Sheriff James D. Houck on October 17, 1887, and buried in Young, Arizona, and is not considered by historians to be the same Curly Bill of Charleston and Tombstone. Brocius' birth date, birth name, and birthplace are not known. He said Brocius rode for various Texas cattle outfits and was known in Kansas.

Origins in Texas

While on the way to Tucson, Brocius asked Wyatt Earp to recommend an attorney. As reported in The Tombstone Epitaph:

The El Paso Daily Times speculated that he was the man whom Texas Ranger Thomas Mode shot in the right ear.

Modern researchers have linked Brocius with a man known as William "Curly Bill" Bresnaham, who was convicted in a robbery attempt in Texas in 1878, along with another known cowboy of the Tombstone area named Robert Martin. The men were convicted and sentenced to five years in prison, but both escaped, presumably to the southwest Arizona Territory. Since both Robert Martin and Curly Bill became known as leaders of the rustlers in Arizona Territory, they are likely the same Robert Martin and Curly Bill of the Texas crime.

Harry Bellaver portrayed Brocius in the 1959 episode "Bad Gun" of the series Wanted Dead or Alive.
William Phipps portrayed Curly Bill Brocius on the TV series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.
Robert Yuro played Brocius in the episode "A Mule ... Like the Army's Mule" (October 5, 1968) of the television anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Robert Taylor, and also starring Sam Melville as Army Lt. Jason Beal and Luke Halpin as Sandy King, the youngest member of the Brocius gang at the time.
Wes Hudman earlier played Brocius in the 1955 episode, "Death and Taxes" of Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews. In the story line, novice deputy Bud Payson (Wayne Mallory), while courting the sheriff's daughter, June (Eve Brent), enlists the aid of Curly Bill Brocius to assist him in collecting property taxes from a large area of the Death Valley country, which had not been previously taxed.
Curly Bill was portrayed by Jon Voight in the 1967 film Hour of the Gun, which begins with the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and continues with a somewhat accurate account of the aftermath. The death of Curly Bill was inaccurate.
Curly Bill was portrayed by Powers Boothe in the 1993 film Tombstone.
Curly Bill was portrayed by Lewis Smith in the 1994 film Wyatt Earp.

References

External links

Quotes from historical documents
Historical detective work by Steve Gatto
Contemporary newspaper account of Curly Bill's near-fatal shooting in May 1881