Laura Bullion: The Thorny Rose of the Wild Bunch
The outlaw amazed people with her wit, fortitude, and beauty
America’s Wild West birthed several legendary figures. In this environment, one group stood out among many others: Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch. This outlaw gang terrorized trains during the turn of the 20th century. It was a hard, dangerous time. One woman, Laura Bullion, would walk into the world that gained immortality through the stories of the Old West.
Soil swiveled skyward
Fereby Bullion (née Byler) gave birth to a baby girl in 1876. Laura would be this newcomer’s name. Her father, Henry Bullion, was a robber with Native American heritage. When Laura was five, her parents separated — she, her mother, and sister went to live with her maternal grandparents near Knickerbocker, Texas.
In 1888, when Laura was twelve, her mother remarried, then moved away with her new husband. Her grandparents thenceforth cared for her and her sister. The Ketchum gang’s presence in the area exposed her to the outlaw life.
