Josie Bassett
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January 17, 1874
40°47′29.04″N 108°50′44.88″W / 40.7914000°N 108.8458000°W
Josie Bassett | |
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| Born | Josephine Bassett January 17, 1874 |
| Died | May 1, 1964 (aged 90) Jensen, Utah, US |
| Resting place | Bassett Cemetery 40°47′29.04″N 108°50′44.88″W / 40.7914000°N 108.8458000°W |
| Other names | Josie Bassett Morris |
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| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Ann Bassett (sister) |
Josie Bassett (January 17, 1874 – May 1, 1964) was a rancher. She and her sister "Queen" Ann Bassett are known for their love affairs and associations with well-known outlaws, particularly Butch Cassidy's "Wild Bunch".
Josie Bassett was born the first of two girls to Herb Bassett and Mary Eliza Chamberlain (Elizabeth) Bassett in Arkansas on January 17, 1874. When she was still a young girl, her parents moved to a ranch spanning the borders of Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. She and her sister were taught to rope, ride, and shoot at a young age. Both girls were sent to prominent boarding schools in their youth, but both chose to return to the ranching life by their teen years.
Herb Bassett was well known to many of the famous outlaws of the day as he did business with them often, supplying them with beef and fresh horses. Among those who visited the Bassett ranch were "Black Jack" Ketchum, Butch Cassidy, Elzy Lay, Kid Curry, Will "News" Carver and Ben Kilpatrick. With these notable outlaws coming often to the ranch, both Ann and Josie were first exposed to outlaws.
Association with outlaws
Josie and Ann were good looking young women, and both had a wild side. By 1893, Ann Bassett was involved romantically with Butch Cassidy, and Josie was involved with Elzy Lay, Cassidy's closest friend.[citation needed] When Cassidy was sent to prison for 18 months, starting in 1894, Ann became involved in a relationship with Ben Kilpatrick. By the time Cassidy was released, Will "News" Carver had become involved with Josie, who ended their relationship when Carver became involved with female outlaw Laura Bullion. Josie in turn became involved with Cassidy until Cassidy again became involved with Ann.
That was the complicated circle of relationships that developed between the Bassett girls and Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang. Despite the seemingly constant changes in romantic companions by both the Bassett girls and the gang members, there is no indication that any animosity ever resulted from it.
Josie Bassett was reportedly one of only five women who were allowed into the outlaw hideout called "Robbers Roost", located in Utah; the others were her sister Ann, the Sundance Kid's girlfriend Etta Place, Elzy Lay's wife Maude Davis, and Will "News" Carver's girl Laura Bullion.
Those outlaw relationships, as well as the Bassett ranch's supply of beef and horses to the gang, assisted the sisters in their time of need. In 1896, several powerful and wealthy cattlemen approached the Bassetts to sell their ranch. When the sisters refused, the cattlemen's association began hiring cowboys to harass the sisters, stampeding their cattle and rustling. The sisters in turn began to rustle cattle from the cattlemen.
Although the cattlemen's association dispatched cowboys to harass the sisters and intimidate them into selling, the cowboys rarely followed through with the acts for fear of retribution from the outlaws with whom the sisters were known to associate. One legend indicates that Kid Curry, easily the most feared of the Wild Bunch gang, approached several of the cowboys known to work for the cattlemen and warned them to leave the Bassetts alone. That story cannot be confirmed, but what is certain is that by 1899, the sisters were receiving very little pressure to sell.