Jeff Guinn
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Small-time Texas hoodlums Henry Massingale and Dock Potter: Ibid., pp. 129–33.
In mid-October, tragedy struck the Parker family: Fortune, ed., Fugitives, p. 149.
she began drinking heavily again: Jonathan Davis interview.
Emma intensified her efforts to talk Bonnie into leaving Clyde: Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, p. 141.
the Barrows and Parkers wondered why Smoot Schmid and his deputies: Fortune, ed., Fugitives, p. 148.
the Barrows and Parkers referred to Clyde and Bonnie as “Mr. and Mrs. Howard”: Buddy Barrow Williams interview.
he confided to deputies Bob Alcorn and Ted Hinton: Hinton, Ambush, p. 104.
Clyde convened a family gathering to celebrate: Cumie Barrow unpublished manuscript. In that memoir, Cumie said they were celebrating her sixty-first birthday. But she was born in 1874, so in 1933 she turned fifty-nine.
Their car was driven by Joe Bill Francis: Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, pp. 141–44.
Years later, the Barrow family decided: Buddy Barrow Williams interview.
The lawmen were well armed: Hinton, Ambush, p. 104.
he suddenly felt something was wrong: Woolley, Mythic Texas, pp. 137–38.
Cumie, curled under the dashboard: Cumie Barrow unpublished manuscript.
Driving west of downtown Dallas: Hinton, Ambush, pp. 107–8.
They contacted a doctor: Knight with Davis, Bonnie and Clyde, p. 120.
“too careless with the lives of civilians”: Rick Mattix interview.
Clyde and Bonnie went to Sallisaw: Terry Whitehead interview.
“a couple of kids stealing grocery money”: Sandy Jones interview.
Paperboys hawked extra editions: Phillips, Running with Bonnie and Clyde, p. 165.
He and his men had found bloodstains: Hinton, Ambush, p. 107.
he fell back on the alibi suggested by Clyde: Jonathan Davis interview; Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, p. 148; Jones confession.
The one Clyde immediately wanted to hunt down and kill: Phillips, Running with Bonnie and Clyde, p. 167; Fortune, ed., Fugitives, pp. 151–52; Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, pp. 146–47.
now, he confided where and when only to Cumie: Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, p. 150.
Cumie even recorded the dates of Clyde’s visits: Cumie Barrow unpublished manuscript.
they brought baskets full of fruit: Fortune, ed., Fugitives, p. 153.
Chapter 23: The Eastham Breakout
James Willett, former Huntsville prison warden and current director of the Texas Prison Museum, was especially insightful about the January 1934 raid on Eastham Prison Farm. John Neal Phillips, who collaborated with Ralph Fults on Running with Bonnie and Clyde, also had a great deal of information to contribute. His own painstaking research, including “walking the ground” at the escape site, contributed to this chapter.
As soon as he arrived at Eastham Prison Farm: Phillips, Running with Bonnie and Clyde, pp. 159–160.
Prison officials didn’t take it seriously: James Willett interview.
Palmer suffered from various respiratory diseases: Patrick M. McConal, Over the Wall: The Men Behind the 1934 Death House Escape (Eakin, 2000), pp. 66–69.
Mullen claimed Raymond had promised him $1,000: Knight with Davis, Bonnie and Clyde, p. 124.
Fred Yost, an old acquaintance of Raymond’s: Underwood, Depression Desperado, p. 41; Hinton, Ambush, p. 118.
Clyde hated the plan: John Neal Phillips interview; Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, p. 148; Jonathan Davis interview; Floyd Hamilton, Public Enemy Number One (Acclaimed Books, 1978), pp. 30–31. Floyd Hamilton claimed in his memoir that he was close friends with Clyde. Marie Barrow Scoma insisted the two barely knew each other. The truth probably lies somewhere in between.
Around 1:30 or 2:00 A.M.: James Mullen, “I Framed Ray Hamilton’s Prison Break: Confessions of an Ex-Convict, Startling Detective Adventures, November 1934.
Palmer pretended to suffer an asthma attack: Knight with Davis, Bonnie and Clyde, p. 126.
Clyde’s current ride was another black Ford V-8 coupé: Phillips, Running with Bonnie and Clyde, p. 169.
He hurriedly switched places with another prisoner: Several books state that Raymond stabbed a Squad One prisoner in the back and took his place, but that seems unlikely. The guards would have noticed a body falling to the ground. Probably Raymond simply asked a Squad One member to trade places with him.
Joe Palmer walked up to them with a .45 in his hand: McConal, Over the Wall, pp. 96–97. Bill Palmer says his cousin ordered Crowson to raise his hands and only shot him when the high rider went for his gun. It’s possible.
Hilton Bybee fled with them, and so did two other prisoners: There is considerable disagreement about which Eastham Farm inmates were originally included in the breakout plot. Raymond Hamilton, Palmer, and Fults certainly were, and Fults said in Running with Bonnie and Clyde that he asked Raymond to let Hilton Bybee go in his place. But there is no real evidence that Henry Methvin was ever part of the original group. Floyd Hamilton noted in Public Enemy Number One that Methvin “joined in the escape” during all the confusion after Joe Palmer shot Major Crowson and Raymond Hamilton wounded Olin Bozeman.
Though French kept on running: Some versions of the breakout story have French riding out with Clyde and the others, then splitting off from them later on January 16. But eight passengers would not have fit in the V-8 coupé, so French must never have been in the car.
By the time he stopped for gas in Hillsboro: McConal, Over the Wall, p. 103.
Clyde called the Barrow service station: Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, p. 157.
Major Crowson lingered until January 27: McConal, Over the Wall, pp. 99–101.
she and former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer loathed each other: Harrison Hamer and Ben Procter interviews.
Lee Simmons wanted the only lawman in Texas who was as famous: Publicly, Simmons stated Hamer was always his first choice, but it is possible he may have asked two other Texas Ranger captains to head the Barrow Gang hunt before approaching Hamer. Both Tom Hickman and Manuel “Lone Wolf” Gonzaullas later said they turned down the assignment because they did not want to kill Bonnie Parker. Ben Procter interview; Phillips, Running with Bonnie and Clyde, p. 354.
Chapter 24: Hamer
Interviews with Harrison Hamer, great-nephew of Frank Hamer, and with historian Ben Procter, widely acknowledged as the foremost living expert on all things related to the Texas Rangers, provided much of the information included in this chapter. Also of great help was “I’m Frank Hamer,” a biography published in 1968 that is based to a large extent on a series of interviews granted by Frank Hamer to historian Walter Prescott Webb.
Frank Hamer almost became an outlaw himself: Harrison Hamer interview; John H. Jenkins and H. Gordon Frost, “I’m Frank Hamer”: The Life of a Texas Peace Officer (Pemberton, 1968), pp. 16–17.
Three years earlier, Hamer and one of his brothers: Jenkins and Frost, “I’m Frank Hamer,” pp. 12–15; Harrison Hamer and Ben Procter interviews.
Founded in 1835 as a small, elite force: Barkley and Odintz, eds., The Portable Handbook of Texas, pp. 861–63.
Hamer, rising quickly to a captaincy, told his troops: Ben Procter interview.
By the end of his Ranger career he was credited: Robert Caro, Means of Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson (Alfred A. Knopf, 1990), p. 326.
He established his reputation: Barkley and Odintz, eds., The Portable Handbook of Texas, p. 405.
An early legend had him arriving alone: Ben Procter interview.
Even celebrities were starstruck: Jenkins and Frost, “I’m Frank Hamer,” p. 74.
he wasn’t shy about claiming near-superpowers: Ben Procter, Just One Riot: Episodes of Texas Rangers in the 20th Century (Eakin, 1991), pp. 8–9; Ben Procter interview.
Several times,
Hamer resigned and took other employment: Barkley and Odintz, eds., The Portable Handbook of Texas, p. 405.
He despised the politics of Ma Ferguson: Harrison Hamer interview; Phillips, Running with Bonnie and Clyde, p. 201; Jenkins and Frost, “I’m Frank Hamer,” pp. 174–77.
So he resigned his commission on February 1, 1933: In Texas Rangers and the Mexican Revolution, authors Charles H. Harris III and Louis R. Sadler state that Hamer resigned outright with no “inactive status” involved. Since he never rejoined the Rangers, it’s immaterial.
just over three times the monthly $150: Procter, Just One Riot, p. 7.
Hamer wasn’t immediately interested: Harrison Hamer interview; Jenkins and Frost, “I’m Frank Hamer,” pp. 207–8; Phillips, Running with Bonnie and Clyde, p. 4.
Ferguson, he promised, would even grant Hamer the authority: Knight with Davis, Bonnie and Clyde, p. 140.
Hamer was concerned about providing: Harrison Hamer interview.
Hamer would be authorized to take: Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, p. 164; Jonathan Davis interview.
Simmons assured him that wouldn’t be a problem: Phillips, Running with Bonnie and Clyde, p. 4; Ben Procter interview.
Chapter 25: The New Barrow Gang
Marie Barrow Scoma’s unpublished memoir helps illuminate what Clyde and Bonnie said and did directly following the Eastham Prison Farm break. Bill Palmer’s interview filled in certain details about Joe Palmer.
Dr. Glenn Jordan’s interview with Bienville Parish sheriff Henderson Jordan and transcripts of testimony by Ava Methvin and her son Henry during his murder trial in Oklahoma were helpful in discerning the dates that Clyde and Bonnie first visited the Methvin family in Louisiana.
Shortly after 1 P.M. on Tuesday, January 23: Knight with Davis, Bonnie and Clyde, pp. 131–33.
Mullen was the type who’d cause trouble: Mullen later claimed Raymond Hamilton paid him only $75 of the amount owed.
Hilton Bybee didn’t care one way or the other: John Neal Phillips interview; Phillips, Running with Bonnie and Clyde, pp. 172–73.
just three days after their successful robbery in Iowa: Ramsey, On the Trail of Bonnie and Clyde Then and Now, pp. 208–9.
there was trouble between Palmer and Raymond: Bill Palmer interview; Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, p. 164; Knight with Davis, Bonnie and Clyde, p. 133.
Now Palmer wanted to see her: Bill Palmer interview.
Then Palmer wanted to go to Houston: Knight with Davis, Bonnie and Clyde, p. 133.
Things didn’t go quite as smoothly: Ramsey, On the Trail of Bonnie and Clyde Then and Now, pp. 210–11.
Afterward the gang traveled to Bienville Parish: Dr. Glenn Jordan interview on October 12, 1958, with Henderson Jordan (they were not related—Dr. Jordan was head archivist for Northeastern University in Monroe, Louisiana); trial testimony of Ava Methvin and Henry Methvin, September 1934.
Clyde got lost: Ramsey, On the Trail of Bonnie and Clyde Then and Now, pp. 212–13.
Clyde and Bonnie had some of their sparkle back: Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, pp. 165–66.
Nicknamed “Tush Hog” by other inmates: Knight with Davis, Bonnie and Clyde, p. 125.
Nobody besides Raymond found anything to like: Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, pp. 158–59; Hamilton, Public Enemy Number One, p. 33.
they broke into the state armory: Ramsey, On the Trail of Bonnie and Clyde Then and Now, pp. 214–15.
Laborer Ollie Worley, who’d just cashed his $27 paycheck: Knight with Davis, Bonnie and Clyde, pp. 136–37.
Raymond suggested that they divide the loot: Cumie Barrow unpublished manuscript: Knight with Davis, Bonnie and Clyde, p. 137.
During the week that the gang spent in Terre Haute: Jonathan Davis interview; Marrie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, p. 170.
Clyde and Bonnie still had fights: Marie Barrow Scoma with Davis unpublished manuscript, p. 171.
Chapter 26: Hamer on the Trail
Frank Hamer, Lee Simmons, Bienville Parish sheriff Henderson Jordan, and Dallas County deputy Ted Hinton all offered conflicting versions of when and how Clyde and Bonnie were first betrayed in March and then ambushed in May. Their various testimonies combine into one of the most dazzling displays of deliberate obfuscation in modern history. Such widely varied accounts can’t be dismissed as different people honestly recalling the same events in different ways. Motive becomes an issue, and they all had reason to lie. Hamer was fanatical about protecting sources. Simmons was interested in resurrecting his own public image, which was damaged after the January 16, 1934, breakout from Eastham Prison Farm. Jordan wanted to present himself as the critical dealmaker. Nobody can account for Ted Hinton’s highly improbable reminiscences, especially concerning how he and Bob Alcorn joined Hamer’s posse, and the events of the May 23 ambush itself. Some people who knew him suspect he became delusional late in life.
If all written history by nonparticipants is “best guess,” then my descriptions in this and subsequent chapters are based mostly on testimony by Ava and Henry Methvin at Henry’s murder trial in Oklahoma five months after the May 23 ambush. At this point, neither Methvin had any reason to lie. Frank Hamer provided the Oklahoma court with documentation that Henry and his family betrayed Clyde and Bonnie. Both Methvins were reasonably specific about how they initially contacted Henderson Jordan and the deals they tried to put together through him with Hamer and FBI agent Lester Kindell.
No two writers are likely to look at the convoluted material available and draw the same conclusions. My reasoning regarding presentation of each disputed date and incident is explained in the appropriate chapter notes.
On February 11 he drove to Dallas in a Ford V-8: Jenkins and Frost, “I’m Frank Hamer,” p. 210; Phillips, Running with Bonnie and Clyde, p. 210.
West Dallas denizens always kept a sharp eye out for the cops: Jonathan Davis interview.
The Dallas County sheriff and his deputies had plenty of stories to tell Hamer: Hinton, Ambush, pp. 128–32. Though he seems to wildly exaggerate subsequent events, Ted Hinton had no reason to embellish his office’s frequent failures to catch Clyde and Bonnie.
Hamer wanted to hear those stories and more: Jenkins and Frost, “I’m Frank Hamer,” pp. 210–11. Hamer’s methodical approach to tracking criminals was well known to his peers and the public.
At a recently abandoned Barrow Gang camp outside Wichita Falls: Jenkins and Frost, “I’m Frank Hamer,” p. 211. There’s no reason to doubt Hamer went to these places and found these clues.
He soon believed he’d discerned a pattern: Rick Mattix interview.
Sometimes when he camped in his V-8 at night: Harrison Hamer interview.
Hamer had no respect for Bonnie Parker: Ben Procter interview.
So Hamer decided he would try to trap the couple: Jenkins and Frost, “I’m Frank Hamer,” p. 212.
During the first four weeks of his pursuit: Hamer claimed afterward that he discovered a Barrow Gang hideout in Louisiana on February 17, but because he didn’t trust the sheriff with jurisdiction there he “arranged to have Barrow’s hideout moved into a parish where the officers were more reliable. In a comparatively short time the hideout was established in Bienville Parish at a place well known to me” (“I’m Frank Hamer,” pp. 211–12). This is palpably false. Not even Frank Hamer could have “arranged” for the gang’s hideout to be moved—Clyde wouldn’t have cooperated. Clearly, this was one way Hamer tried to disguise the Methvin family’s betrayal of Clyde and Bonnie. Bienville Parish sheriff Henderson Jordan and Ava and Henry Methvin all testified later that the Methvins first approached Jordan early in March, and Hamer was only summoned to Bienville Parish several days after that. But when Hamer talked about discovering the gang’s Louisiana hideout by himself in February, no contemporary journalists checked to verify his story. Hamer’s reputation was so fearsome that few reporters would have dared contradict him, a
nd there is no evidence that any of them tried.
In Running with Bonnie and Clyde, Ralph Fults said that Frank Hamer and Bob Alcorn met in Bienville Parish with Henderson Jordan and Ivy Methvin on February 19; in his interview with Dr. Glenn Jordan, Sheriff Jordan vaguely refers to the date of this first meeting as “in the early Spring of 1934.” Ava Methvin testified in Oklahoma that her son Henry, Clyde, and Bonnie visited them in Louisiana around the 1st of March, and that during the visit Henry called her aside to say he wanted to betray Clyde and Bonnie in exchange for a pardon from the state of Texas.
he was contacted by Henderson Jordan: Henderson Jordan interview with Dr. Glenn Jordan, October 12, 1958; Ava Methvin, Methvin v. Oklahoma A-9060.
Chapter 27: The Methvins Make a Deal
Much of the material in this chapter is based on Henderson Jordan’s 1958 interview with Dr. Glenn Jordan, and on testimony in Henry Methvin’s Oklahoma trial by Henry and Ava Methvin and John Joyner, erroneously identified in court transcripts as “Joiner.” There is additional information from the unpublished manuscript by Marie Barrow Scoma with Jonathan Davis. A great deal of information about the Methvin family comes from transcriptions of video interviews conducted by Oklahoma historian Terry Whitehead with Clemmie Methvin, daughter-in-law of Ivy and Ava Methvin, and with Percy and Willie Methvin, Henry Methvin’s cousins and contemporaries. Whitehead generously provided me with DVD copies of the interviews for use in this book. To my knowledge, they have not been previously made available to other authors.
Almost all dates of meetings involving Henderson Jordan, Ivy Methvin, John Joyner, L. A. Kindell, Prentiss Oakley, and/or Frank Hamer are approximate. When meeting with law enforcement officials, there is no record of Ivy Methvin mentioning that Raymond Hamilton and Mary O’Dare were with the gang during their early March visit. Raymond and Mary left the gang in Terre Haute on March 6. We know from Cumie Barrow’s and Marie Barrow Scoma’s unpublished manuscripts that Clyde, Bonnie, and Henry were back in West Dallas for a visit on March 12, so it would follow that Clyde and Bonnie brought Raymond home between those days, not on March 1 as Ava Methvin testified later in an Oklahoma court.