Jack Dunlop

Jack Dunlop, also known as John Dunlop, Jess Dunlop, John Patterson, and most commonly Three Fingered Jack (c.1872 – February 24, 1900) was an outlaw in the closing days of the Old West, best known for being a train robber. Whether or not he actually physically had three fingers on either of his hands has never been confirmed.

Dunlop was born in Texas, and spent most of his early life from his mid to late teens as a cowboy. How and where he first became involved in the outlaw life is uncertain, but he was arrested after several bank robberies in 1893. Released from prison in 1895, Dunlop joined the "Black Jack" Christian Gang, but by 1898 he was riding with the Burt Alvord Gang, led by Alvord, and including George and Louis Owens, Billy Stiles, Bravo Juan Yoas, and Bob Brown. The gang began hitting trains in Arizona, with success, and with "Three Fingered Jack" Dunlop quickly becoming the best known of the bunch. At midnight on September 9, 1899, the gang robbed a Southern Pacific Express for just over $10,000. During that robbery, the gang had detached the car containing the money, then opened the safe by way of dynamite. The gang then escaped into the Chiricahua Mountains, and a posse led by Sheriff Scott White and including George Scarborough was unsuccessful in their pursuit.

A few months later, the gang struck again. On February 15, 1900, the gang hit a train at the Fairbank, which served Tombstone, Arizona. Noted and well known lawman Jeff Davis Milton was working as a guard on that train. A gunfight between Milton and the five gang members ensued, resulting in Milton shooting buckshot into the stomach of Dunlop, while shooting and wounding gang member Juan Yoas. Milton was badly wounded in the right arm during the gunbattle. Not aware that Milton was so badly injured, the gang fled.

Dunlop's wound was serious, as he had been hit by eleven pellets from the shotgun, mostly in the stomach region, whereas Yoas had been shot in the buttocks. The five outlaws split up shortly after fleeing the scene, with the understanding that they would meet up just outside of Contention City, Arizona. Dunlop fell from his horse only a few miles from where the robbery had taken place, where he lay for fourteen hours before a posse came across him. He was taken to Tombstone, where he gave an interview to Tombstone newspaper The Prospector, before dying on February 24, 1900. Dunlop is buried near the graves of Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, and Billy Clanton, in Tombstone's Boot Hill cemetery.

See also

• Fairbank Train Robbery

External links

• The Infamous Dunlops
• Dunlop shot during robbery attempt
• Jeff Milton Kills Three Fingered Jack
• Jack Dunlop
• Significant Events of the Old West, 1900