Ice Mallet

This ice mallet is responsible for killing Ben "The Tall Texan" Kilpatrick, one of the last well-known outlaws of the old Wild West. While his exact birth date is unknown, records show Kilpatrick to have been born sometime around 1877 in Concho County, Texas. Kilpatrick left his life as a cowboy behind at an early age to join a gang of outlaws that included siblings Thomas "Black Jack" Ketchum and Sam Ketchum, in addition to William Carver. Following a botched train robbery in New Mexico, Kilpatrick and Carver traveled to Utah and joined forces with Butch Cassidy's "Wild Bunch."

On August 29, 1900, Kilpatrick, Butch Cassidy, The Sundance Kid, Harvey Logan, and Carver held up the Union Pacific train in Tipton, Wyoming. Then, on September 19, they held up First National Bank in Winnemucca, Nevada, escaping with over $32,000. In early 1901, the gang hit up the Great Northern train on the outskirts of Wagner, Montana for $65,000. During the spring of 1901, upon Kilpatrick and Carver's return to Texas, Carver was attacked by Sheriff Elijah Briant and his deputies in Sonora, TX. Carver died within three hours due to gunshot wounds. In the meantime, Kilpatrick and Carver's former girlfriend, Laura Bullion, had become an item and were on the run to St. Louis, Missouri.

By November 8, 1901, authorities had caught up with them and thrown them in jail. Kilpatrick was convicted of robbery and received 15 years, and Bullion was sentenced to five. After serving a reduced sentence, Kilpatrick was out of prison by June 1911 and wasted no time returning to his degenerative lifestyle.

In March 1912, Kilpatrick boarded the Southern Pacific Express train near Sanderson, Texas alongside a former inmate whom he had befriended. In the process of an attempted robbery, Kilpatrick held up the express messenger, David Trousdale, in the Wells Fargo baggage and mail car. While Kilpatrick looted the safe and any other valuables he could find, Trousdale managed to hide the ice mallet underneath the back of his jacket. Thinking on his feet, Trousdale told Kilpatrick there was a valuable package sitting on the ground. Kilpatrick proceeded to rest his rifle against his leg while he leaned over to pick up the package. Just as he did so, Trousdale pulled the mallet from beneath his coat and struck Kilpatrick three times in the back of the neck and head. Kilpatrick died instantly of a broken neck and crushed skull. The beating with the mallet was so brutal that Kilpatrick's brains stained the wall of the car.

F.J. Dodge, an officer with Wells Fargo involved in the investigation of the attempted robbery, is responsible for preserving this ice mallet, telegrams, and other documents related to this incident.

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