1. William Brocius's name is likely an alias or nickname, and some evidence links him to another outlaw named William "Curly Bill" Bresnaham, who was convicted of an 1878 attempted robbery and murder in El Paso, Texas.
28 Facts About William Brocius
1. 2.
William Brocius arrived in Arizona Territory from either Texas or Missouri about 1878, and went briefly to the San Carlos Reservation with a herd of cattle, before arriving in the Arizona Territory.
3.
William Brocius was an Outlaw Cowboy and a rustler, and was for a time a tax collector for Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan, making other rustlers pay taxes on their stolen cattle.
4.
William Brocius was known for a mean sense of humor when drunk.
5.
William Brocius was reported to have perpetrated such "practical jokes" as using gunfire to make a preacher "dance" during a sermon, and making Mexicans at a community dance take off their clothes and dance naked.
6.
An unauthenticated photo of William Brocius is displayed in the Bird Cage Theatre Museum in Tombstone.
7.
Two other unauthenticated photos of William Brocius have been provided by descendants.
8.
Several writers who knew William Brocius reported that he was well-built with curly black hair and a freckled complexion.
9.
Tombstone's Town Marshal Fred White attempted to disarm William Brocius and grabbed his weapon by the barrel.
10.
William Brocius later claimed that his gun discharged accidentally and reportedly immediately regretted shooting White.
11.
William Brocius testified at his trial that he did not consider himself to have committed a crime.
12.
William Brocius waived his right to a preliminary hearing, apparently because he feared a lynching, as White was very popular as town marshal.
13.
William Brocius was described by contemporary author Billy Breakenridge in his book, Helldorado: Bringing the Law to the Mesquite, as being the most deadly pistol shot of the Cowboys: "able to hit running jackrabbits, shoot out candle flames without breaking the candles or lantern holders, and shoot quarters from between the fingers of volunteers".
14.
When drunk, William Brocius was known for a mean sense of humor and for such "practical jokes" as using gunfire to make a preacher "dance" during a sermon or forcing Mexicans at a community dance to take off their clothes and dance naked.
15.
On May 25,1881, William Brocius was drinking heavily in Galeyville with his friend of several months and Lincoln County War veteran Jim Wallace and eight or nine other cowboys.
16.
Breakenridge ignored him, but William Brocius took offense and insisted that Wallace accompany him and apologize to Breakenridge.
17.
Four months after William Brocius was shot, on October 6,1881, George Parsons rode through the McLaury brothers' ranch in Sulphur Springs Valley as part of an Indian scouting party, and noted that William Brocius had not yet fully recovered from his wound, but was well enough to ride.
18.
William Brocius was still recovering from being shot in the face by Wallace only six weeks earlier.
19.
William Brocius was named by Pete Spence's wife Marietta Duarte as a participant in the assassination of Morgan Earp.
20.
Now, William Brocius fired at Earp with his shotgun from about 50 feet, but missed.
21.
William Brocius killed Brocius with a load of buckshot to the stomach, nearly cutting him in half.
22.
William Brocius fell into the water at the edge of the spring.
23.
William Brocius was finally able to get on his horse and retreat.
24.
In newspapers of the time, William Brocius was known alternately as "Curly Bill" and "Curley Bill".
25.
William Brocius's surname has been spelled as "Brocious", although the former is the spelling used for his maildrop in Arizona Territory, according to one published letter of the time.
26.
Historical research into William Brocius' death turned up two possible earlier identities.
27.
William Brocius said Brocius rode for various Texas cattle outfits and was known in Kansas.
28.
The facts leaked out in this way: On the road to Tucson, William Brocius asked Earp where he could get a good lawyer.