Gardner Gang

Gardner Gang (c. 1870 - c. 1885) was an outlaw gang in the Old West.

Legend

Legend has it that the notorious Gardner boys, a gang of gunmen had roamed the Southwest robbing Mexican bandits along the border. According to Herbert Cody Blake, a former Wild West performer, he had researched the Gardner boys through old newspapers and inhabitants who had long been in the Southwest. The Gardner boys had robbed a smuggler's pack train from Mexico and the outlaws buried the loot in the Guadalupe Mountains in one of the many caves of the New Mexico Territory. Blake also was associated with one of the Gardners' uncles who had a treasure map.

Leader of the gang

The leader of the gang was perhaps:

John Gardner, a cowboy, Texas Ranger, and an alleged member of the Sam Bass Gang. He was noted as a trail boss and cattle rustler in Texas folklore. Gardner had brothers and he lived close to the Rio Grande.

Jerry Gardner, a buffalo hunter who was known as a cold blooded killer. He was noted for [...] as many as forty - six buffalo in one stand. Gardner was also noted for [...] Mexicans who were scaring his prey.

Jim Gardner was a gunslinger who was buried at the infamous Boothill Cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona.

Zeb Gardner, a gunfighter in the Old West.

Sources

• Decatur Evening News 1928