From Good to Bad

The Dalton boys crossed the line to outlawry.

The Dalton brothers were lawmen before they turned to outlawry. The boys grew up listening to tales of the storied outlaws of Missouri—including their cousins the Youngers. They decided to seek easy money in robbing banks and trains. Later, they tried something that even the James Gang hadn’t done—rob two banks at the same time; that turned out to be their undoing. They hit two institutions in their former hometown of Coffeyville, Kansas on October 5, 1892, but the townspeople fought back. Four of the outlaws died, including Bob (photo) and Grat Dalton. Four citizens also died.