Bonnie and Clyde

The Story of Bonnie and Clyde

You've read the story of Jesse James- Of how he lived and died; If you're still in need Of something to read Here's the story of Bonnie and Clyde.

Bonnie and Clyde

The Story of Bonnie and Clyde

The Beginning

When we look back to the early 1930's in American history, the first thing that comes to mind is the stock market crash on October 27, 1929. It heralded the start of the Great Depression. While investors lost large sums of money, it was the working poor that suffered the most. Once fertile farmlands had turned into dust bowls, unemployment skyrocketed, and thousands of the homeless and unemployed were forced to take up residence in shanty towns. Hope for the future gave way to worry over where the next meal would come from.

It was little wonder that the public got caught up in Bonnie and Clyde's exploits. They were notorious oulaws running from the law, but they took matters into their own hands. Bonnie and Clyde refused to play the hand Fate dealt them. The downtrodden masses envied and respected that. Few openly condoned Bonnie and Clyde's actions, but public sentiment was clearly on their side.

Bonnie Parker

Bonnie Parker was born on October 1, 1910 in Rowena, Texas. She was the second of Charles and Emma Parker's three children. When Charles died in 1914, Emma packed the children up and moved to Cement City, Texas to live with Bonnie's maternal grandparents.

Little is known about Bonnie's childhood. Her scholastic records indicate that she was an excellent student with an aptitude toward writing. Like any teenager, Bonnie had goals and dreams. She wanted to be a writer, or maybe a singer or actress. She was a blond haired blue eyed pixie standing just 4 feet 11 inches and weighing in at 90 pounds. She was cute as a button. If Bonnie wanted to be an actress she may well have succeeded, but at 15 she threw away her personal goals and dreams and married Roy Thornton.

Bonnie was in love. She even went so far as to have two hearts with their names intertwined tattooed on her inner thigh, but according to her diary, Bonnie and Roy's marriage was a turbulent one. Roy would disappear for days at a time leaving her behind. He was a "roamer". Once Bonnie acknowledged that, she booted him out of her life. While Bonnie separated from her husband in 1929, she never divorced him.

Eighteen and on her own, Bonnie supported herself by working as a waitress. Little did she know her life was about to change. While visiting a friend in West Dallas Bonnie met Clyde Barrow.

Bonnie Parker

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Clyde Barrow

Clyde Champion Barrow was born on March 24, 1909 in Ellis County, Texas. He was the fifth of eight children born to a family of sharecroppers. His schooling was sporadic never having even finished the fifth grade. In 1921 Clyde's father gave up farming, moved his family to West Dallas, and opened a gas station. Clyde was sent back to school.

Clyde's school career didn't last long. He quit shortly after getting in trouble with his brother Buck over the selling of stolen turkeys. Before moving out of the house in 1928, Clyde was arrested three more times. He was charged with auto theft and safecracking but without the evidence to back up the charges, they had to let him go.

Clyde was five feet seven inches tall and had the innocent face of a schoolboy. He loved to play the saxophone, and idolized the legendary Bill Cody, and movie actor William S. Heart. It's hard to believe that nine deaths would be laid at his feet before he reached the age of 24.

The Rocky Road to Love and Romance

Bonnie and Clyde met through a mutual friend in West Dallas, Texas in January of 1930. Love at first sight? The traditional route of courtship, love and marriage where out. Bonnie was a married woman, but whatever the bond between them, it blossomed fast. The law stepped between them within weeks of their meeting. He law came looking for Clyde.

Clyde was arrested and taken back to Denton, Texas, but the police couldn't make the charges stick. Determined to make him pay for what they "knew" he was guilty of, Clyde was transferred to Waco where he confessed to a couple of burglaries and auto theft. He was sentenced to two years.

Bonnie was in love and visited Clyde in prison nearly every day. On one such visit, at Clyde's request, Bonnie smuggled a pistol into the prison. That night, Clyde, his cellmate William Turner, and another prisoner named Emory Abernathy escaped.

Clyde and Turner didn't get far. They were recaptured in Middleton, Ohio and sent back to Texas. Clyde was sentenced to 14 years at the Texas State Prison in Huntsville.

Huntsville State Prison

Clyde didn't spend the following 14 years in prison. His mother successfully intervened on his behalf. Clyde was pardoned and released from Huntsville on February 2, 1932. He left the prison on crutches. In a shortsighted effort to avoid the cotton fields, Clyde had another inmate chop off two of his toes.

Determined to prove he had reformed, Clyde took a job in Massachusetts. He kept his nose to the grind for two full weeks before tracking down Bonnie and taking off. Clyde was once again behind the wheel of a stolen car.

The law caught up with them. Clyde managed to escape but they caught Bonnie. She spent the next few months in jail in Kaufman, Texas. It was during this incarceration that Bonnie wrote the poem "The Story of Suicide Sal."

The Story of Suicide Sal

We each of us have a good "alibi"
For being down here in the "joint;"
But few of them really are justified
If you get right down to the point.
You've heard of a woman's glory
Being spent on a "downright cur,"
Still you can't always judge the story
As true, being told by her.
As long as I've stayed on this "island,"
And heard "confidence tales" from each "gal,"
Only one seemed interesting and truthful ---
The story of "Suicide Sal."
Now "Sal" was a gal of rare beauty,
Though her features were coarse and tough;
She never once faltered from duty
To play on the "up and up."
"Sal" told me this take on the evening
Before she was turned out "free,"
And I'll do my best to relate it
Just as she told it to me:
I was born on a ranch in Wyoming;
Not treated like Helen of Troy;
I was taught that "rods are rulers"
And "ranked" as a greasy cowboy.
Then I left my old home for the city
To play in its mad dizzy whirl,
Not knowing how little pity
It holds for a country girl.
There I fell for "the line" of a "henchman,"
A "professional killer" from "Chi;"
I couldn't help loving him madly;
For him even now I would die.
One year we were desperately happy;
Our "ill gotten gains" we spent free;
I was taught the ways of the "underworld;"
Jack was just like a "god" to me.
I got on the "F.B.A." payroll
To get the "inside lay" of the "job;"
The bank was "turning big money!"
It looked like a "cinch" for the "mob."
Eighty grand without even a "rumble"-
Jack was the last with the "loot" in the door,
When the"teller" dead-aimed a revolver
From where they forced him to the floor.
I knew I had only a moment -
He would surely get Jack as he ran;
So I "staged a ""big fade out" beside him
And knocked the forty-five out of his hand.
They "rapped me down big" at the station,
And informed me that I'd get the blame
For the "dramatic stunt" pulled on the "teller"
Looked to them too much like a "game."
The "police" called it a "frame-up,"
Said it was an "inside job,"
But I steadily denied any knowledge
Or dealings with "underworld mobs,"
The "gang" hired a couple of lawyers,
The best "fixers" in any man's town,
But it takes more than lawyers and money
When Uncle Sam starts "shaking you down."
I was charged as a "scion of gangland"
And tried for my wages of sin;
The "dirty dozen" found me guilty -
From five to fifty years in the pen.
I took the "rap" like good people,
And never one "squawk" did I make.
Jack "dropped himself"on the promise
That we make a "sensational break."
Well, to shorten a sad lengthy story,
Five years have gone over my head
Without even so much as a letter -
At first I thought he was dead.
But not long ago I discovered
From a gal in the joint named Lyle,
That Jack and he "moll" had "got over"
And were living in true "gangster style."
If he had returned to me sometime,
Though he hadn't a cent to give,
I'd forget all this hell that he's caused me,
And love him as long as I live.
But there's no chance of his ever coming,
For he and his moll have no fears
But that I will die in prison,
Or "flatten" this fifty years.
Tomorrow I'll be on the "outside"
And I'll "drop myself" on it today:
I'll "bump 'em" if they give me the "hotsquat"
On this island out here in the bay %u2026
The iron doors swung wide next morning
For a gruesome woman of waste,
Who at last had a chance to "fix it."
Murder showed in her cynical face.
Not long ago I read in the paper
That a gal on the East Side got "hot,"
And when the smoke finally retreated,
Two of gangdom were found "on the spot."
It related the colorful story
Of a "jilted gangster gal."
Two days later, a "sub-gun" ended
The story of "Suicide Sal."

Love Never Dies

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The Turning Point

While Bonnie sat in jail, Clyde robbed the Sims Oil Company in Dallas and then a jewelry store. The owner of the jewelry store, John Bucher, died that day. Clyde denied responsibility for the death, claiming that his partner, Raymond Hamilton, was one responsible. But the protestations of innocence didn't matter. From that point on Clyde was branded a killer.

The jewelry store heist was followed up with a series of gas station robberies. Clyde and Hamilton were identified on more than one occasion. Clyde's career as a criminal had begun in earnest.

Upon her release from jail, Bonnie was once again at Clyde's side. On August 5, 1932, while in Atoka, Oklahoma, Clyde and Hamilton gunned down C.G. Maxwell and Eugene Moore, two Atoka police officers. Whether it was a twist of fate or planned, no one knows, but Bonnie was not with them that day.

Public sentiment shifted. Bonnie and Clyde where no longer seen as a couple of kids bucking the system, but cold blooded killers.

Life on the Run

Bonnie and Clyde's world was starting to unravel. What started out as a carefree joyride across the Midwest and back again, was turning into a desperate flight for freedom. Their hideouts and safe havens were no longer safe.

Hamilton was captured and sent back to Texas. He was sentenced to 263 years in prison. The cops were done playing games but then so was Clyde. Another police officer died.

Buck and Blanch join the Gang.

In March of 1933, Buck, Clyde's brother, was released from the Texas Penitentiary. A short time later Buck and his wife Blanch joined Bonnie and Clyde. They set up housekeeping in Joplin, Missouri. They lived in peace for a time, but the cops thinking they found a gang of moon-shiners, moved in. In the battle that followed two more cops died.

The body count was climbing.

When the abandoned apartment was searched, a camera with a roll of undeveloped film was confiscated. The famous picture of Bonnie smoking a cigar was among the photos recovered.

Their luck had soured. While driving yet another stolen car, they drove off a bridge still under construction. Pinned beneath the car, Bonnie sustained third degree burns on her leg.

Needing a place to go to ground, the gang rented a cabin in Platte City, Missouri. But Bonnie was injured and the treatment for burns distinct. The druggist notified the sheriff and once again the Barrow Gang was in the middle of another shootout.

Joplin, Missouri

The Beginning of the End

The Barrow Gang was no longer coming out of confrontations unscathed. Both Clyde and Buck were hit, and Blanch was hit in the face with flying glass. The damage to one of her eyes was permanent. In spite of the injuries, they managed to escape, but were tracked down 3 days later. They were hiding in the woods outside of Dexter, Iowa.

Once again the gang was on the run, but in his haste, Clyde ran the car into a stump. The police opened fire. Clyde took some hits, but managed to get Bonnie out and escape through the corn fields.

Buck and Blanch were not so lucky. They were both taken into custody, but Buck was mortally wounded and died a few days later. Blanch was sent to the Missouri State Penitentiary.

The next few months were rough. W.D. Jones, another gang member, defected. He later claimed that he was held captive by the couple. Clyde was convinced he would sell them out. Jones escaped. He figured his odds were better alone, or even with the police. If he stayed with Bonnie and Clyde he would be dead for sure.

While trying to visit their parents a few months later, Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed once again. The police opened fire on the car. Luck was with them. They were both hit in the legs, but they managed to escape again.

With both Bonnie and Clyde wounded, they needed backup. They busted Raymond Hamilton, their original partner, and another inmate from the Eastham Prison Farm in Huntsville, Texas.

Another police officer died that day.

Over the next few months several banks were robbed. Right or wrong, the blame was pinned on the Barrow Gang. In March of that year, Hamilton split with the gang. The reason for the split will never be known. Hamilton was later captured and sent to the electric chair for killing one of the guards the night he escaped from Huntsville.

The gang was back down to three.

The Death Count kept Climbing

Clyde was not about to go down without a fight. On Easter Sunday, 1934, Clyde and Methyin, the other Huntsville escapee, killed two police officers when they stopped by Clyde's parked car. Their only thought was to offer assistance. Five days later they killed Officer Cal Campbell and kidnapped Commerce, Oklahoma's chief of police. They eventually let Chief Boyd go. Bonnie, no longer thinking clearly, made the chief promise to let the public know that she DOES NOT SMOKE CIGARS. The picture bothered her more than their death which by that time Bonnie considered inevitable.

The Story of Bonnie and Clyde

You've read the story of Jesse James--
Of how he lived and died;
If you're still in need
Of something to read
Here's the story of Bonnie and Clyde.
Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang.
I'm sure you all have read
How they rob and steal
And those who squeal
Are usually found dying or dead.
There's lots of untruths to these write-ups;
They're not so ruthless as that;
Their nature is raw;
They hate the law--
The stool pigeons, spotters, and rats.
They call them cold-blooded killers;
They say they are heartless and mean;
But I say this with pride,
That I once knew Clyde
When he was honest and upright and clean.
But the laws fooled around,
Kept taking him down
And locking him up in a cell,
Till he said to me,
"I'll never be free,
So I'll meet a few of them in hell."
The road was so dimly lighted;
There were no highway signs to guide;
But they made up their minds
If all roads were blind,
They wouldn't give up till they died.
The road gets dimmer and dimmer;
Sometimes you can hardly see;
But it's fight, man to man,
And do all you can,
For they know they can never be free.
From heart-break some people have suffered;
From weariness some people have died;
But take it all in all,
Our troubles are small
Till we get like Bonnie and Clyde.
If a policeman is killed in Dallas,
And they have no clue or guide;
If they can't find a fiend,
They just wipe their slate clean
And hang it on Bonnie and Clyde.
There's two crimes committed in America
Not accredited to the Barrow mob;
They had no hand
In the kidnap demand,
Nor the Kansas City Depot job.
A newsboy once said to his buddy:
"I wish old Clyde would get jumped;
In these awful hard times
We'd make a few dimes
If five or six cops would get bumped."
The police haven't got the report yet,
But Clyde called me up today;
He said, "Don't start any fights--
We aren't working nights--
We're joining the NRA."
From Irving to West Dallas viaduct
Is known as the Great Divide,
Where the women are kin,
And the men are men,
And they won't "stool" on Bonnie and Clyde.
If they try to act like citizens
And rent them a nice little flat,
About the third night
They're invited to fight
By a sub-gun's rat-tat-tat.
They don't think they're too smart or desperate,
They know that the law always wins;
They've been shot at before,
But they do not ignore
That death is the wages of sin.
Some day they'll go down together;
They'll bury them side by side;
To few it'll be grief--
To the law a relief--
But it's death for Bonnie and Clyde.

The Final Showdown

The police turned up the heat. They started harassing Bonnie and Clyde's friends and relatives. They even tried seeking indictments on anyone withholding information or caught helping the pair. Lee Simmons, the head of the Texas Prison System was outraged by the Huntsville Prison break. He sought and finally received permission from the governor to hire a special agent. Simmons hired retired Texas Ranger Frank Hamer.

Hamer had to be part bloodhound. He picked up Clyde's trail and never deviated from the path. Bonnie and Clyde's movements had become predictable. He was rarely more than a day behind them. The ensuing chase cost three more policemen their lives.

In the past Bonnie and Clyde used Ivan Methyin's place to hide out and rest. Ivan was Henry Methyin's father. Henry was the only gang member still traveling with the couple. Hamer knew they would have to go to ground somewhere. Odds were they would return to a place deemed safe in the past. Ivan, fearing for his son's safety, admitted that Bonnie and Clyde were on their way. Fearing for his son's safety may have factored in but a full pardon for Henry sealed the deal.

At least that's one version of the story. Other accounts claim that Ivan did not willingly give up the couple. Fearing that he would tip Bonnie and Clyde off, Ivan spent the night of the ambush tied to a tree.

Willing or not, Ivan told Hamer about the "post office." The "post office" was simply a board on the ground near a particular stump. It was a means of communicating with family members and with fellow gang members. If Bonnie and Clyde were in the area, at some point they would try to collect and send messages via the "post office."

Humer called in several friends for help. With night for cover, blinds were built. Spaced ten feet apart, the hit squad settled in to wait. At 9:10 the following morning Bonnie and Clyde drove into the ambush. It is unclear who actually stepped onto the road and challenged them, but they were told to give it up. When Clyde reached for his gun, the posse opened fire.

One-hundred and sixty-seven rounds were pumped into the car before the firing finally stopped and silence descended.

Ambushed!

Aftermath

Bonnie and Clyde were gunned down on May 23, 1934, on a road near Bienville Parish, Louisiana. The posse responsible was composed of four Texas and three Louisiana police officers. Many questions have been raised regarding the procedures followed and not followed that morning. Were Bonnie and Clyde given the opportunity to give up, or did the police open fire with nary a warning?

Clyde was buried in Western Heights Cemetery next to his brother Buck. According to some stories, Bonnie's mother refused to honor Bonnie's wish to be buried next to Clyde. Other stories claim that the crowds made it impossible. Bonnie was put to rest two days after Clyde's funeral at Crown Hill Memorial Park.

Henry Methvin received his pardon from the state of Texas, but not Okalahoma. He was charged with murder and sentenced to death. It was later commuted to life. He served twelve years before being released.

Many claim that Bonnie was guilty of loving the wrong man, but not of murder. She was a faithful companion. The lives of the police officers didn't matter. She was with Clyde all the way.

Love is truly blind.

Robin Hood?

For a time the hype and drama surrounding Bonnie and Clyde's exploits skewed the public's perception of the couple. With the country caught in the clutch of the Depression, Bonnie and Clyde were viewed as a modern-day version of Robin Hood. When the bodies started dropping, the image faded and the truth settled in. Clyde was a cold blooded killer. The Barrow Gang was responsible for thirteen homicides with Clyde responsible for ten of them. They were wanted for murder, kidnapping, bank robberies, burglaries, and so much more.

Robin Hood? Clyde wasn't even close.

Road Without End: On the Run With Bonnie and Clyde

by John Gilmore

Road Without End: On the Run with Bonnie & Clyde
A stunning, slash-of-life reportage laying bare the nitty-gritty lives of Bonnie and Clyde; a bullet-riddled, dangerous, two-year rush over Depression highways and dusty byways that pits the reader face-to-face with these desperate lovers.

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Comments Please!

Were Bonnie and Clyde as you imagined, or did you come away with a totally different picture?

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Pastiche Pastiche Sep 23, 2009 @ 9:52 am

Congratulations on the new purple star - fine lens!

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Joan4 Joan4 Sep 18, 2009 @ 7:58 pm

Congratulations on your purple star! Yippee!

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Joan4 Joan4 Sep 18, 2009 @ 7:58 pm

Congratulations on your purple star! Yippee!

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_Joan_ _Joan_ Aug 27, 2009 @ 5:14 pm

What a story! And very well told. Including the poems was a wonderful idea.

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manmade76 manmade76 Aug 1, 2009 @ 10:09 am

really a wonderful lense u created
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Lensmaster ElizabethJeanAllen has been a member since March 16 2008, has rated 3,989 lenses, favorited 445, and has created 200 lenses from scratch. Lizzy Jean donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund. This member's top-ranked page is "The Mallard Duck". See all my lenses

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Resources used to construct this page.

Milner, E.R. 2003. The Life & Times of Bonnie and Clyde. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, Il.

The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, HistoryBuff.com
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Famous Cases
Internet Accuracy Project