Charlie Siringo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charlie Siringo
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Charlie Siringo, circa 1890
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| Born | February 7, 1855 |
| Died | October 18, 1928 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Lawman, detective, bounty hunter, cowboy, author, merchant |
| Known for | Being a lawman and Pinkerton detective |
Charles Angelo Siringo (born February 7, 1855 – died October 18, 1928) was a famous American lawman and detective. He worked for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was also a bounty hunter, a cowboy, and an author.
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Early Life as a Cowboy
Charlie Siringo was born in Matagorda County, Texas. His mother was from Ireland and his father was from Italy. When Charlie was just one year old, his father passed away.
He went to public school until the American Civil War began. In 1867, he started learning how to be a cowpuncher, which is another name for a cowboy. After his mother remarried, he moved to St. Louis. Later, he returned to Texas and began working as a cowboy for Abel Head "Shanghai" Pierce in 1871.
By 1877, Siringo was working as a cowboy on LX Ranch. One of his jobs was to chase after cattle stolen by the famous outlaw Billy the Kid in 1880. Charlie stopped working for the LX Ranch when he got married in 1884. He opened a tobacco store in Caldwell, Kansas.
His daughter, Viola, was born in 1885. Around this time, he started writing his life story. His book, A Texas Cow Boy, was published a year later and became very popular.
Joining the Pinkerton Agency
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In 1886, Charlie Siringo decided to join the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. This agency was like a private police force. He used the name of Pat Garrett, a well-known lawman, as a reference to get the job. Siringo had met Garrett when they were both looking for Billy the Kid.
Siringo was sent to work in Denver, Colorado. His wife passed away in 1890, and his daughter went to live with her aunt and uncle.
Charlie Siringo was quickly given many cases. These cases took him all over, from Alaska to Mexico City. He started working undercover, which was a new way of investigating back then. He would pretend to be someone else to join groups of robbers and cattle thieves. He helped arrest more than 100 criminals this way.
In the early 1890s, he worked in the Denver office. He didn't like office work much. During this time, he worked with another famous Pinkerton agent named Tom Horn. Siringo admired Horn's skills but also saw that he had a tough side.
Undercover in New Mexico
In 1891, Siringo took on a six-month investigation for the Governor of New Mexico. He used the fake name Charles T. Leon. He investigated attacks on several important people. Siringo managed to join groups like Las Gorras Blancas and the Knights of Labor. He also learned about their connections to a powerful group called the Santa Fe Ring. The investigation ended before he could find all the answers. However, Siringo liked the area so much that he bought land near Santa Fe, New Mexico, and started his own ranch called Sunny Slope.
The Idaho Mine Strike
In 1892, Siringo was sent to Silver Valley, Idaho, to investigate a case for mine owners. He pretended to be Charles Leon Allison and worked as a shoveler in a mine. At first, Siringo didn't want the job because he felt sympathy for the miners' union. But his boss convinced him to go. Siringo joined the miners' union and found that some of its leaders were causing trouble. After 14 months, his undercover work helped to convict 18 union leaders.
In 1893, Siringo married Lillie Thomas. They had a son named William Lee Roy in 1896. But they soon divorced because she wanted to live in Los Angeles.
Chasing the Wild Bunch
For four years, starting in 1899, Siringo went undercover to find Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang. He used different fake names like "Charles L. Carter" and "Harry Blevins." Siringo called Butch Cassidy "the smartest and most daring outlaw of the present age." He said the Wild Bunch had secret mailboxes hidden in rocky places across the desert.
Siringo traveled more than 25,000 miles by train, wagon, on foot, and on horseback to track them down. He said, "The 'Wild Bunch' during these four years were pretty well scattered, many being put in their graves and others in prison." During this time, Siringo worked with and considered Tom Horn and Joe Lefors as friends.
In 1907, Siringo worked as a bodyguard during a big trial. He later warned the Governor of Idaho about a plan to harm some people involved in the trial, which helped prevent it.
Life After the Pinkertons
In 1907, Charlie Siringo left the Pinkerton Agency and married Grace. This marriage ended in divorce in 1909. He took on some detective jobs for another agency.
Siringo wrote another book about his adventures called Pinkerton's Cowboy Detective. However, the Pinkerton Agency tried to stop him from publishing it. They felt it broke a promise he made not to share their secrets. Siringo had to change the book's title to A Cowboy Detective and change the names of people in the story.
In 1913, Siringo was briefly married to Ellen Partain. This was his last marriage.
Still upset with the Pinkerton Agency, Siringo published another book called Two Evil Isms: Pinkertonism and Anarchism. In this book, he shared more about the agency's methods. The Pinkerton Agency tried to stop this book too, saying it was untrue. They even tried to have him arrested. But the Governor of New Mexico did not allow it. Still, the Pinkertons managed to get a court order to stop the book from being printed and sold.
In 1916, Siringo became a New Mexico Mounted Patrolman. He helped catch many cattle thieves until 1918. His health started to decline, and his ranch was not doing well because he was away so much. He moved to Los Angeles, where he became somewhat famous for his past adventures. He even reconnected with his old friend, Wyatt Earp.
In 1920, Siringo published a book about Billy the Kid. By 1922, he had to give up his Santa Fe ranch due to money problems and moved to Los Angeles permanently. In 1924, Siringo appeared in a movie called Nine Scars Make a Man. In 1925, he worked as a consultant for the movie Tumbleweeds.
In 1927, he released another book, Riata and Spurs. Again, the Pinkerton Agency tried to stop its publication. This resulted in a changed version of the book, with many made-up stories instead of his true experiences.
Death
Charlie Siringo passed away in Altadena, California, on October 18, 1928. He was buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.
See also
In Spanish: Charlie Siringo para niños
