An Audacious Plan (Part 2 of 4)

Someone had the brilliant idea to rob two banks simultaneously.  It was probably Bob.  He was the “brains” of the outfit.  Certainly, he was the one who took the initiative to plan the robbery.  The Daltons were raised near Coffeyville, were familiar with the town, believed they could pull off a heist that would make a splash in the newspapers and provide them with enough cash to last for a very long time.  Afterall, robbing banks and trains was how the gang made their living.  It’s all they knew.  Two more banks to add to an already long list of banks would be nothing remarkable except that part of the gang would rob one while the rest of the gang held up the other.

It was an audacious plan.  The five of them would don disguises, casually ride into Coffeyville, dismount and tether their horses to the hitching posts near the C. M. Condon & Company Bank, and split into two groups, three entering the Condon Bank while the other two strolled across the street to the First National Bank.  They would demand all the banks’ cash be stuffed in grain sacks, and be out the front doors, mounted on their horses, and galloping out of town within minutes.  It seemed simple enough.

There was little concern that any of the townspeople would offer resistance.  This was 1892; what may have once been part of the “wild west” had long since become a peaceful, progressive community.  Most households had firearms, but they were for hunting or target shooting.  Firearms normally remained at home.  Men carrying revolvers in holsters were a thing of the past, or more likely the future creation of a place called Hollywood.  The marshal of Coffeyville didn’t even carry a weapon; there just didn’t seem to be a need.  If anyone should be worried, the gang reasoned, it should be the townspeople.  The gang would be heavily armed.  If anyone interfered, there would be no hesitation in gunning them down.  These were vicious outlaws who had no qualms about murdering someone.  As audacious as their plan might be, there was little to worry about.

So, on a beautiful Indian summer morning, five horsemen rode into Coffeyville, all with Winchester rifles tucked into saddle scabbards, all with revolvers holstered in gun belts around their waists.  The Dalton brothers, Bob, Grat, and Emmett, were accompanied by Dick Broadwell and Bill Powers.  Some were wearing fake moustaches or sideburns, but anyone who knew the Daltons could easily see through the ridiculous disguises.  No one paying any attention would likely be fooled.  The problem was that most people who saw them didn’t pay much attention.  Most assumed the group was either a hunting party or a posse from a nearby community.

In 1892 the Coffeyville business district was centered between Eighth and Nineth Street which ran east and west, and Maple, Walnut, and Union Street, Maple and Walnut running north and south and Union Street aligned parallel to the nearby railroad tracks at about a fifteen-degree angle to the north-south streets.  Union and Walnut converged between Eighth and Ninth Streets forming an open “plaza”.  At the tip of the convergence and facing the plaza stood a wedge-shaped brick building, the C.M. Condon & Company Bank.  Directly east across Union Street stood the First National Bank.  Directly west across Walnut Street was an east-west alleyway parallel to Eighth and Ninth Streets that stretched all the way to Maple.  The businesses lining the streets were typical of most small towns at the time: dry goods stores, hardware stores, drug stores, blacksmith shops, bootmakers, barber shops, cafes, and the like.  The alleyway was lined with the sides and backsides of various businesses along with several sheds.

The Daltons rode into town on Eighth Street from the west.  It was a busy morning in Coffeyville, and few took notice of the riders.  They just added to an already bustling scene.  They headed for Walnut Street and the hitching posts near the bank where Bob planned for the boys to tie their mounts, but as they approached it became apparent the hitching posts were gone.  The progressive town of Coffeyville was installing curb and gutter on some of its streets and had temporarily removed the hitching posts near the bank while the work was being done.  Without those hitching posts, the getaway after the robbery would not be as expedient as planned.  In fact, it might make things a damn sight inconvenient.  If Bob Dalton had second thoughts, they were quickly erased.  The Daltons were armed, the townspeople likely were not.  They turned their horses down the alley immediately west of the Condon bank.

It wasn’t as though there was an abundance of hitching posts available in the alley either.  There was a blacksmith shop and a stable with access from the alley, and each had a number of horses tethered around or near their business.  The boys had to settle for a post close to Maple Street, about a hundred yards distant from the Condon Bank.  They dismounted, drew their Winchester rifles from their saddle scabbards, and began the long walk to the banks and destiny.