Did Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid die in a Bolivian shootout in 1908? Or did the gentlemen outlaws survive to return to the United States and a new day, as some old-timers, relatives, and historians contend? Lawyer-turned-writer Anne Meadows sets out to solve the mystery of what really happened to them. Accompanied by her husband, historian Dan Buck, she tracks the outlaws and the enigmatic Etta Place through South America, where they fled in 1901. In
Digging Up Butch and Sundance, Meadows and Buck rove the pampas of Argentina, deserts of Chile, and sierras of Bolivia; pore over faded newspapers and musty documents; exhume skeletons with the aid of forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow; and unearth eyewitness accounts of Butch and Sundance’s final holdup and the Bolivian shootout.
While filling in the blanks in the Wild Bunch saga, Meadows explores the nature of truth and discovers how myths are made. This revised edition draws on newly discovered letters by the bandits and interviews by the Argentine police who investigated their activities. It also includes fresh information about William T. Phillips, who claimed to be Butch Cassidy.
"It’s hard to imagine even the most chair-bound stay-at-home not enjoying this great adventure. Tracking down these odd bandidos with Meadows is lots of fun."—Tony Hillerman.
"What a book! Hard-traveling historians on a quest. Romance! Altitude sickness! The driest desert in the world! Potentially deadly disputes over centuries-old bones! The answer to a ninety-year-old mystery. First-class travel writing."—Tim Cahill. "Fun and wonderfully suspenseful."—Kirkus. "Better than any mystery novel."—Dee Brown.
Lawyer-turned-writer Anne Meadows and her husband, Dan Buck, set out to solve the mystery of what really happened to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. With the tenacity of Pinkerton agents, the couple tracks the outlaws and the enigmatic Etta Place through South America, where they fled in 1901. Meadows and Buck rove Argentinian pampas, Chilean deserts, and Bolivian sierras; pore over faded newspapers and musty documents; exhume skeletons with the aid of forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow; unearth eyewitness accounts of Butch and Sundance’s final holdup and the Bolivian shootout; and examine letters by the bandits and interviews by the Argentine police who investigated their activities. Information about William T. Phillips, who claimed to be Butch Cassidy, is also included.
While filling in the blanks in the Wild Bunch saga, Meadows explores the nature of truth and discovers how myths are made. She updates the search with a new afterword to this edition.
