Blount and Beyond Online Magazine - Magazine - Page 20
Public Domain Photos of Laura Bullion
Around 1900 Bullion was again romantically involved with Carver, she also had an occasional romantic fling with other
members of the gang. After Carver was killed by lawmen. Bullion and Kilpatrick rekindled their romance. After
committing a robbery, Bullion and Kilpatrick, needed a place to hide out, they fled to Knoxville, Tennessee where they
assumed the aliases "Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Arnold.= Over her lifetime Bullion used a lot of aliases. This helped to keep
her a bit of a mystery. As a member of the Wild Bunch she was a well-known outlaw, and she became a wanted woman.
Kid Curry was involved with Della Moore at the time, and they met up with Bullion and Kilpatrick in Knoxville. The
four of them spent several months together in Knoxville. In October 1901 Della Moore was arrested for passing money
from one of the gang9s robberies. In December of 1901 the Knoxville police arrested Kid Curry after he was in a fight.
The jail could not hold him. Curry escaped, leaving two dead police officers in his path.
In November 1901 Bullion and Kilpatrick made their way to St. Louis, Missouri. They checked into the Laclede Hotel
under the alias Mr. & Mrs. J.W. Rose. A few days later Ben Kilpatrick, while at Josie Blakey's resort, was arrested by the
Pinkerton Detective Agency and while he was being searched a key to a room at the Laclede Hotel was found. The
Pinkerton Detectives went to the hotel and found Laura checking out with her luggage. They recognized her as Laura
Bullion. They searched her luggage and found no clothing but they found $8,500 in unsigned banknotes taken in the
Great Northern train robbery. She was arrested on federal charges. In the arrest report Bullion's name was filed as "Della
Rose," and her aliases were stated to be "Clara Hays", and "Laura Casey and [Laura] Bullion". The arrest report listed her
profession as a prostitute. The few days they spent at the hotel Bullion was going under the name Mrs. Nellie Rose.
Bullion and Kilpatrick were both convicted of robbery. Bullion was sentenced to five years in prison and Kilpatrick
received a 20-year sentence. During the trial it was stated that Bullion never fired a single shot during any of the
robberies she was involved with. Bullion served three and a half years of her sentence and was released in 1905. Laura
and Ben wrote letters to each other as a means to stay in touch. Bullion petitioned hard for Kilpatrick9s early release. She
moved to Atlanta Georgia and rented a room, under the name Freda Arnold, across from the prison where Kilpatrick was
serving time. She was not allowed to visit him in prison. In 1911 Kilpatrick was released early but the couple9s happiness