Bill Carver.
William “News” Carver was an outlaw and Texas cowboy who rode with the Black Jack Ketchum Gang, the Wild Bunch, and the High Fives Gang.
Born in Coryell County, Texas, around 1866, Carver worked as a cowboy at the Half Circle Six Ranch in Tom Green County when he fell in love with and married 17-year-old Viana Byler in 1891. However, just a few months later, Viana got sick and died, and Carver, heartbroken, turned to a life of crime.
Later, he would turn his affections towards Viana’s 15-year-old niece, Laura Bullion, who would often assist him in his outlaw pursuits. In 1896, Carver carried out several robberies in New Mexico with Thomas “Black Jack” and Sam Ketchum.
After a failed train robbery, he fled to the Robber’s Roost in Utah and joined Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch. He soon started riding with Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Ben Kilpatrick, Harvey Logan, George Curry, Elza Lay, and Bob Weeks, taking an active part in their illegal activities.
On August 29, 1900, Carver, Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and Harvey Logan held up a Union Pacific train at Tipton, Wyoming. Wasting no time, they hit the First National Bank of Winnemucca, Nevada, on September 19, taking over $32,000. The following year, the gang obtained $65,000 from the Great Northern train near Wagner, Montana.
In April 1901, William Carver and Ben Kilpatrick returned to Texas, and on April 2, Carver was ambushed by Sheriff Elijah Briant and his deputies in Sonora. Shot by Briant, Carver died from his wounds three hours later. Kilpatrick was able to escape, was later imprisoned, and died during another train robbery.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2025.
Also See:
Adventures in the American West
An Encounter With Train Robbers
Butch Cassidy & the Wild Bunch
See Sources.