Greedy Louis Eytinge made Arizona Territory shudder over his psychopathic crimes.
Perhaps the most cold-blooded conman early Arizona ever knew, Louis Eytinge suffered from tuberculosis and had two months to live.
He should’ve died unknown, another bankrupt soul in a rugged land struggling to emerge from its frontier past.
Yet upon entering Yuma Territorial Prison in 1907, a place where, Ohio papers claimed, “weaklings died and the strong men went mad,” prisoner No. 2608 made a remarkable comeback.
By 1922, he was celebrated nationwide.
He ended up in prison after a picnic with boarding house roommate John Leicht resulted in the barber’s decomposing body being found in the desert, along with chloral hydrate, chloroform and an “E”-embroidered handkerchief. Louis reportedly laced Leicht’s whiskey with chloral hydrate (knockout drops) and held a chloroform-soaked hanky over his face to steal his money.
This story is from the July 2018 edition of True West.
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This story is from the July 2018 edition of True West.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.
Hero of Horsepower - Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
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