Aftermath of the Canyon Diablo shootout- How Cowboys Sought To Have One Last Drink With A Dead Man

The Wild West era of the United States was marked by lawlessness and violence, with outlaws and lawmen engaged in a never-ending battle for control of the region. One of the most infamous incidents of this era was the Canyon Diablo shootout, which took place in 1905 in the Arizona Territory.

The Beginning

The robbery that eventually resulted in the Canyon Diablo shootout took place on April 7, 1905, during the night. William Evans and John Shaw, dressed in their best clothes, entered the Wigwam Saloon in Winslow, Arizona, shortly before midnight. Upon arriving, they quickly made their way to the bar and ordered a few shots of whiskey.

However, they were not there just to drink and immediately drew their revolvers to hold up a group of seven men who were playing poker at one of the tables.

Under the threat of their firearms, the two bandits proceeded to rob the poker players of a sum ranging from $200 to $600 worth of silver coins. They then swiftly exited the saloon through the front door without.

As soon as the robbery occurred, Navajo County's deputy sheriff and saloon proprietor, Pete Pemberton, was informed of the incident. He examined the scene and promptly reported the crime to his superior, Sheriff Chet Houck.

Shortly before, Pemberton and the city marshal, Bob Giles, found a trail of silver coins along the railroad tracks leading to Flagstaff so it was assumed that the bandits had jumped on board a moving train and that the coins must have fallen out of their pockets.

Sheriff Houck traveled from Holbrook to Flagstaff by train, where he met with Deputy Sheriff Pemberton to begin their investigation. Despite their efforts, they failed to locate the bandits or any useful information. As a result, they boarded the train once again to return to Winslow. However, during the journey, they received information that two suspicious individuals had been spotted hiding in the bushes near the turn to Canyon Diablo, along the railroad tracks.

The Lawmen vs The Bandits

Sheriff Houck and Pemberton first talked to a man who owned a shop in the vicinity and told them that he had seen two well-dressed men standing outside the trading post for a long time and acting suspiciously.

Not long after this, William Evans and John Shaw appeared from around the corner of the trading post and were noticed by the lawmen. The bandits were heading towards the train depot, in the opposite direction of the lawmen, but Houck and Pemberton started to pursue them. Upon coming close to the bandits, Houck commanded them to allow themselves to be searched, but one of them retorted, "No one searches us!" A brief standoff ensued, and suddenly both sides drew their weapons and began shooting at close range.

The resulting gun battle led to the death of Shaw and Evans was badly wounded.

Following the shootout, Sheriff Houck ordered for John Shaw's body to be placed in a pine wood coffin and buried in a shallow grave. Meanwhile, William Evans was transported to a hospital in Winslow for medical treatment. Evans eventually recuperated from his injuries and was sentenced to nine years in Prison.

History Behind The Iconic Photo

The night after the Canyon Diablo shootout, a group of cowboys was drinking at the Wigwam Saloon when they heard about the incident. They also heard how William Evans and John Shaw, the two bandits involved in the shootout, had not even taken the shots they had paid for on the night before they committed the robbery.

Upon hearing this, one of the cowboys came up with a bizarre plan to go to Canyon Diablo and exhume John Shaw's body to have one final drink with him.

Reportedly, between fifteen and twenty men quickly volunteered for this expedition. They hopped aboard a westbound train and arrived at Canyon Diablo at daybreak on April 10, 1905. Upon arrival, they had a few more drinks at the train station before proceeding to borrow some shovels to begin digging up Shaw's coffin.

After a brief period of digging, the cowboys successfully opened Shaw's coffin. Two of them then lifted his body out of the box and propped it up against the picket fence surrounding another man's grave. To their surprise, Shaw's face appeared to have a smile, which made some of the men uncomfortable, and a few even wept.

After giving Shaw "a plentiful gulp of whiskey," taking a few photographs, and reciting some prayers, his body was placed back into the coffin, along with a half-consumed bottle of whiskey before he was buried again.