Josie Bassett
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Josie Bassett (January 17, 1874-1964) was a female outlaw, one of two sisters known as The Bassett Girls, best known as cattle rustlers that fought against the powerful and wealthy cattlemen's associations that plagued Wyoming, Colorado and Utah at the end of the 19th century. She and her better known sister "Queen" Ann Bassett are also well known for their love affairs and associations with well known outlaws of the period.
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[edit] Early life
Josie Bassett was born the first of two girls, to Herb Bassett and Elizabeth Chamberlain Bassett, near Browns Park, but in Utah, on January 17, 1874. The girls were raised in a close relationship with their father, who owned a sizeable ranch, teaching both girls to rope, ride, and shoot at a young age. Both girls were sent to prominent boarding schools in their youth, and both chose to return to the ranching life by their teen years.
Herb Bassett was well known to many of the famous outlaws of the day, as he did business with them often, supplying them with beef and fresh horses. Among those who visited the Bassett ranch were "Black Jack" Ketchum, Butch Cassidy, Elzy Lay, Kid Curry, Will "News" Carver and Ben Kilpatrick. With these notable outlaws coming often to the ranch, both Ann and Josie were first exposed to the outlaw lifestyle.
[edit] Adult life, outlaw life and associations
Both Josie and Ann were extremely good looking young women, and both had a wild side. By 1893, Ann Bassett was involved romantically with Butch Cassidy, and Josie was involved with Elzy Lay, Cassidy's closest friend. When Cassidy was sent away to prison for eighteen months, starting in 1894, Ann became involved in a relationship with Ben Kilpatrick. By the time Cassidy was released, Will "News" Carver had became involved with Josie, who ended their relationship when Carver became involved with female outlaw Laura Bullion. Josie in turn became involved with Cassidy for a time, until Cassidy again became involved with Ann.
That was the complicated circle of relationships that developed between the Bassett Girls and Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang. It was those relationships, as well as the Bassett ranch supplying beef and horses to the gang, that assisted the sisters in their time of need. In 1896, several powerful and wealthy cattlemen approached the Bassetts to sell their ranch. When the sisters refused, the cattlemen's association began hiring cowboys to harass the sisters, stampeding their cattle and rustling. The sisters in turn began to rustle cattle from the cattlemen.
However, although the cattlemen's association dispatched cowboys to harass the sisters, and intimidate them into selling, the cowboys rarely followed through with the acts for fear of retribution from the outlaws the sisters were known to associate with. One legend indicates that Kid Curry, easily the most feared of the Wild Bunch gang, approached several of the cowboys known to work for the cattlemen, and warned them to leave the Bassetts alone. That story cannot be confirmed, but what is certain is that by 1899, the sisters were receiving very little pressure to sell.
Josie Bassett was reportedly one of only five women who were ever allowed into the outlaw hideout called "Robbers Roost", located in the rough Utah terrain, the others being her sister Ann, the Sundance Kid's girlfriend Etta Place, Elzy Lay's girlfriend Maude Davis, and gang member Laura Bullion. Despite the seemingly constant changes in romantic companions by both the Bassett Girls and the gang members, there is no indication that any animosity ever resulted from it.
[edit] After the outlaw days
As time passed, the Wild Bunch gang eventually faded. Cassidy remained involved with Ann Bassett off and on until he departed for South America. Ann married her first husband in 1903, divorcing six years later. By 1904, most of the gang members closest to the Bassett Girls had either been killed or captured. Josie Bassett became involved with several men, with dates and names being difficult to keep up with. Her former lover, Wild Bunch gang member Elzy Lay, reportedly visited Ann and Josie at their ranch shortly after his release from prison in 1906, before moving on to California where he lived out the remainder of his life as a respectable businessman. Ann Bassett married her second husband in 1924, remaining with him for the remainder of her life, running a ranch they owned together and becoming successful in the cattle business.
Josie Bassett married five times over the course of her lifetime. She divorced four of her husbands, allegedly running one off with a frying pan. A fifth husband died, reportedly of alcoholism, but rumors persist that Josie poisoned him.[citation needed] With one husband, Carl McKnight, Bassett had a son, Crawford McKnight. In 1913 she moved to a homestead near Vernal, Utah. She loved the area, and made her ranch there her lifetime commitment. The sisters' father, Herb Bassett, died on July 30, 1918. In 1924, Crawford helped her build a new cabin on the Vernal property.
She reportedly had long brown hair throughout her youth, but after catching it in thorns while working one day, she cut it off completely, from then on wearing her hair short. During the Great Depression, Josie supplied food to all those in need in the area, making certain that every family received a supply of beef. She made her own soap, sewed her own clothing, and became known for her prowess at hunting deer, which she often did not only for her own family but to help feed less fortunate neighbors. It was this generous manner that led to Josie Bassett becoming a much cared for fixture in the area where she lived.
She became extremely well thought of by those that lived near Vernal. Once, during the mid-1930s, when a Game Warden stopped by her house, she invited him in for coffee. He replied that he was there to arrest her for poaching. Believing he was serious, Josie Bassett confessed that she had just killed a deer, and took him to the carcass. The Warden laughed, and told her he was only joking, then proceeded to join her for coffee. Also during the 1930s, during the Prohibition years, Josie made and sold bootlegged whiskey. She was never arrested, even though local law enforcement were well aware of her actions.
However, she was not well liked by everyone. In 1936, rancher and former adversary Jim Robinson accused her of butchering his cattle, and selling it in town. Six other ranchers joined in on the accusations. Bassett was arrested, with several neighbors supplying her with bail money until her trial. She was tried twice, both ending in a hung jury. After the second trial, the local prosecutor dropped the charges. In 1945, she fell victim to a land scheme, and lost most of her land. However, she still maintained a good income from her cattle business, and was able to support herself well into her 80s. In later life, she became an eccentric, and talked often with neighbors about the wild days and her and Ann's associations with outlaws. In 1963, Josie Bassett fell while alone at her cabin, breaking her hip. She died a few months later at the age of 90. She was the last remaining associate of the Wild Bunch gang, and the last direct source of information about its members, their personalities, traits and demeanors.
