It’s been said the Lone Wolf Bandit stole more than $350,000 but perhaps he should be better-remembered as the “Houdini of Escape Artists.”
Newspapers dubbed him the “Smiling Bandit,” and “King of the Escape Artists.” Roy Gardner was more of a throwback to the train robbers of the Old West. His entrance into the world of crime other than petty theft began as a gunrunner during the Mexican Revolution. He lost his money from gambling so he turned to robbery. His first holdup was i

True West March/April 2025
In This Issue:
Western Books & Movies
More In This Issue
- Truth Be Known
- What Has Taught Me: Deb Goodrich
- Earp, Cowboy Songs & Prairie Hygiene
- Trails of the Old West
- The Frontier Characters of South Dakota
- The Bowie Knife
- The Kindled Flame 1835
- King of the Scatterguns
- Selling the Mythic West and the Real West
- A Gut Punch Turns into a Miracle Reprieve
- The Beginnings of the Bird Cage
- Frontier Colossus