For a while, Robert worked as a butcher in Wyoming. There he acquired the nickname “Butch” which seemed to stay with him. He wanted to carve out a better life for himself, so he left home as a teenager. Working on farms and ranches, he met rancher Mike Cassidy who did not have a stellar reputation. Butch took a liking to Cassidy and in time, added Cassidy’s last name to his nickname and, thus, he became Butch Cassidy.

Between 1880 and 1887, Butch Cassidy had his first run-ins with the law. The first offense was minor. He broke into a closed store, took a pair of jeans and left an IOU for the owner to find, fully intending to pay for the jeans. The owner did not appreciate the way Butch handled this situation and pressed charges against him. The case ended in acquittal.

After that, the robberies took a serious turn and Butch Cassidy, along with three other men robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride, Colorado. He had romantic interests with Ann Bassett and became involved with Ann’s older sister Josie as well. He formed a gang, the “Wild Bunch” and robbed another bank.

With his friend and partner in crime, Henry Alonzo Longabaugh, the Sundance Kid, he traveled to Argentina. From there, they fled to Chile.

While the exact circumstances of Cassidy’s death are not known, it is believed he died on November 6, 1908 from a gunshot.