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Outlaws lived all over the west in the latter half of the 19th century. Montana had its share of ne'er-do-wells that hung around the cow towns of eastern Montana. Like many others, Henry Thompson did not grow up in Montana, but drifted here after his outlaw activities chased him out of other states in the union. Thompson was born about 1866, somewhere in the Oklahoma panhandle. His real name is said to have been Westbrook, Brookside, or Pell. One or both of his parents may have been Cherokee. At one time he was known as a member of the Henry Starr gang, which ran in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The gang was responsible for robbing trains, post offices, banks, general stores, express offices, and homes. They also rustled cattle on the Texas-Mexico border and in Colorado and Arizona. In one scrape, Thompson killed two law officers while attempting to rustle some cattle at Okmulgee in Indian territory.
In 1894, he got into a little trouble. He was tending cattle on Little Dry Creek, when he got into a heated argument with the camp cook, George Dunman. Thompson had witnessed Dunman tormenting a much smaller ranch hand named Watson. Thompson took offense to the man's badgering and warned Dunman to stop. Dunman stopped slapping around the ranch hand, and turned his attention to Thompson. Dunman resented Thompson's interference. Thompson tried to walk away from the disturbance, but Dunman had already had a few drinks. He followed Thompson out into the street. He pulled out his rifle and took aim. However, Thompson was quicker and killed Dunman with his pistols. Thompson was immediately arrested and held in the Miles City Jail. However, his bail was paid and he was cleared by reason of self-defense. His next scrape with the law came the following year. He robbed a bank in Glasgow, Montana. In November of 1895, Thompson and two other men entered the Combination Store Bank at 8:00 p.m. Thompson guarded the door and pulled down the shades. Another man held his gun on the two customers. The third man held the bank clerk at gunpoint and demanded that he empty the cash drawer and vault. Unfortunately for the robbers, the vault was on a time control lock and couldn't be accessed. They had to be satisfied with the $145.00 that they took from the cash drawer.
The copyright of the article Montana Outlaw Henry Thompson in The Old West is owned by Elizabeth Gibson. Permission to republish Montana Outlaw Henry Thompson in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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