Cyrus Skinner
American outlaw / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Cyrus Skinner (ca. 1829 – January 25, 1864) was an Old West outlaw and brother to criminal George Skinner. Skinner was called a "roadster, fence, and [a] spy" for Henry Plummer.[1] He and his brother were members of Richard H. Barter's (Rattlesnake Dick) gang that robbed a mule train transporting $80,000 (equivalent to $2,712,889 in 2023) in gold bullion. Skinner and Barter were caught stealing mules to transport the gold. He was imprisoned at the Angel Island and San Quentin State Prisons, until he escaped by mid-1860. Skinner left California and established four saloons in Idaho and Montana.
Cyrus Skinner | |
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Born | ca. 1829 Ohio |
Died | January 25, 1864 |
Other names |
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Occupation | Saloon keeper |
Known for | Outlaw |
In the spring of 1863, Skinner and fellow outlaws planned an attack against the Bannock people while intoxicated. Some of the men thought better of the idea once they sobered up, and others slept off the alcohol while Winnemuck, the chief, planned a defensive strategy and, if attacked, a plan to kill all of the white people in Bannack, Montana.
Skinner, like many of his outlaw friends, was killed by the Montana Vigilantes. Thomas Dimsdale, editor of the Montana Post and author, said that Skinner was a "hardened, merciless, and brutal fiend."[1]