Review
Title: Life and Death on the Mormon Frontier: The Murders of Frank LeSueur and Gus Gibbons by the Wild Bunch
Author: Stephen C. LeSueur
Publisher: Greg Kofford Books
Genre: Religious Non Fiction
Year Published: 2023
Number of Pages: 335
Binding: Paperback and eBook
ISBN-13: 978-1-58958-787-8
Price: $32.95 (paperback) / $24.99 (ebook)
Reviewed by Richard Ji for the Association for Mormon Letters
Life and Death on the Mormon Frontier: The Murders of Frank LeSueur and Gus Gibbons by the Wild Bunch, written by Stephen C. LeSueur, offers a fresh perspective on the Wild Bunch gang, made famous by their leader Butch Cassidy. The author is a direct descendent of Frank LeSueur, and this book documents his findings as he studies all available sources related to the murder of his great uncle and Gus Gibbons. During his research, LeSueur has found discrepancies between prevailing understanding by scholars as well as stories circulating within the family. In this work, the author makes no qualms about calling facts as he sees them, even if they may counter cherished beliefs. He seeks to take a historian’s lens to a personal story.
Life and Death begins with an Introduction followed by 11 chapters, and Afterword, Acknowledgements, Works Cited, Additional Resources, and an Index. The book is well annotated and contains several photographs. The book begins by providing a history of Mormons settling the Arizona territory, specifically the St. Johns area. It gives the reader a sense of the hardships faced when seeking to domesticate the harsh landscape. It then provides an overview of Butch Cassidy, born a Latter-Day Saint, and the Wild Bunch. It includes biographical sketches and activities of key members leading up to the murders of LeSueur and Gibbons. LeSueur and Gibbons were part of a Sheriff’s posse to track and arrest suspected cattle rustlers. Unfortunately, these men were separated from the Sheriff and the rest of the posse and were brutally gunned down about 20 miles outside of St. Johns. Life and Death traces the events leading up to the murders and then follows the aftermath in the affected families and others involved.
While reading Life and Death on the Mormon Frontier, one gets a wonderful sense of life on the frontier. It shows the humanity of those involved and does not seek to paint a hagiographic account of early Latter-Day Saints. I especially appreciated the objective approach the author sought when making conclusions on available facts. The common thread throughout the book are the deaths of Frank LeSueur and Gus Gibbons, but it documents the lives of those adjacent to these two and their families. Thumbnail biographical sketches of numerous individuals related to these events are found throughout the book. At times, it was difficult to keep track of who was who, especially when it came to the outlaws where several aliases were used.
But Life and Death is helpful to smash folklore such as the Wild Bunch being Robin Hood types. While they robbed deep-pocketed entities such as railroads and banks, they did not redistribute wealth to the poor. But they were generous towards those who aided them, whether willingly or not. They also had no qualms shooting people in the back or brutally murdering to protect themselves. Family folklore, such as facts surrounding a dream by Frank LeSueur’s older brother James of seeing a woman who was to be sealed to him post-mortem were also explored.
For those who have Latter-Day Saint ancestry in the Arizona territory, Life and Death is an invaluable resource. It is also a wonderful account of what life on the Arizona frontier was like, particularly for those early Mormon colonizers. Life and Death on the Mormon Frontier: The Murders of Frank LeSueur and Gus Gibbons by the Wild Bunch by Stephen C. LeSueur is an excellent book to gain new insights on Western outlaws and frontier justice.