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A Murder, A "Brainstorm," and A Prison Break

  • Writer: Justin Horn
    Justin Horn
  • May 11, 2023
  • 5 min read

Updated: May 12, 2023

“Allie Means Shot!” blared the front-page headline of The Gillette News. Understandably, the August 26, 1905 murder threw small town Gillette, Wyoming into “a great state of excitement.” In his early twenties, Sam Allison “Allie” Means’ murder sparked a chain of events impacting Wyoming for years to come. The cause of Means’ murder? A girl.

Sam Allison “Allie” Means. Believed to be take in 1904. Find A Grave.com

Allie Means and Noah T. Richardson both hailed from the San Antonio, Texas area. Work brought them both north. Means found work in April 1905 as a night wrangler for the Cross Ranch on the Little Powder River headquartered 55 miles north of Gillette. Richardson worked as a cowboy at the T7 Ranch 20 miles south of Gillette. At the time of his death in August 1905, newspapers reported that Means was well liked by everyone. Everyone except, perhaps, Noah Richardson.


Frontpage Headline from the September 1, 1905, The Gillette News.

On the fateful day of the shooting, the cowboys from the Cross Ranch owned by the Biddle Cattle Company were gathered just outside of Gillette. Richardson met up with the cowboys and brought along a girl named Frances Williams. Girls in the small cattle towns of northeast Wyoming were a rare commodity, and it is not surprising Frances found herself to be quite popular. While socializing, Frances hit it off with Means which caused tension. Means and Richardson quarreled throughout the day and the other cowboys had to break them up. When she was ready to leave, Frances asked Means, and not Richardson, to take her back to town. This infuriated Richardson, as he believed he had already “won” Frances. As Means took Frances back to Gillette, Richardson followed and caught up to them close to town.


Deputy Sheriff Lew Jenne and his wife at a 4th of July celebration in 1908. Jenne was the man who arrested Richardson and took him to Sundance. Rockpile Museum, 2009.045.0013.

The two men exchanged “sharp words.” Then, Richardson fired four shots at Means, three of which hit Means. What happened to Frances Williams at this point in the story is unclear. But being close to Gillette, Means was able to spur his horse onward and escape Richardson. Means made it to Montgomery’s Buffalo Hump Saloon in Gillette where he fell onto a table calling for a doctor. Richardson, following Means, made his way across the street and into the neighboring Dodd House and Saloon. There, Richardson “flourished his shooter and demanded of the barkeeper another gun,” but the bartender was able to grab the gun and subdue Richardson. Deputy Sheriff Lew Jenne arrested Richardson and transported him to the jail in Sundance, Wyoming.

Allie Means was taken to Dr. N. H. Baker’s office in Gillette where his wounds were dressed. Means’ injurers were severe, and he was transported by railroad to Sheridan, Wyoming for more advanced medical treatment. Residence of Gillette along with Means ranch co-workers raised $165 ($5,500 in 2023) for his medical treatment. Despite the generosity of Gillette and the best efforts of Sheridan doctors, Means succumbed to his wounds after two days and died on August 28, 1905, he was only 24 years old.

Daly Bros General Merchandise, Buffalo Hump Saloon, Restaurant, and Groceries, Flour & Feed Store are visible. Circa 1905-1910. Across the street from the Dodd House, it was at the Buffalo Hump (later The Montgomery Bar) where Richardson was subdued and arrested. Rockpile Museum, 1993.006.0010.

Word of Allie Means’ murder reached his family in Texas. According to the Gillette News, “B. B. Means, of San Antonio, Texas, brother of Allie means… is here looking after the prosecution of the defendant.” Another brother, Montie Means, traveled to Wyoming as well. Montie must have become smitten with northeast Wyoming because he remained in Gillette. During the Great War in 1917, Montie was drafted out of Gillette to serve in the Army. After the War, Montie returned to Gillette, married Mildred Sanburn in 1921, and lived in Gillette until his death in 1974.

East 100 block of Gillette Avenue showing the Dodd House (later the Goings Hotel) and Turf Saloon. Circa 1902-1905. It was here Allie Means fled after being shot by Noah Richardson. Rockpile Museum, 1993.041.0076.

In Sundance in late 1905, Richardson faced trial. The jury convicted him of first-degree premeditated murder, a sentence caring the death penalty by hanging. Naturally, Richardson attempted to appeal the case to the Wyoming Supreme Court, but it was “discovered that all of the records in the case were lost, having mysteriously disappeared.” Whether the records were genuinely lost, or whether Richardson had inside help remains unclear. The clerical error resulted in a new trial for Richardson. In his second trial, the court found Richardson had suffered from a “brainstorm,” presumably a bout of mental illness, at the time of the murder. His conviction was reduced to second-degree manslaughter and his sentence reduced to life in prison for which Richardson was “overjoyed.”

To serve out his life sentence, Richardson was shipped to the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins, Wyoming. While incarcerated, Richardson was part of a group of 27 prisoners who escaped in October 1912. During the escape, Richardson and seven other inmates overpowered the guard John M. Neale and took his keys. They were then able to acquire some of the prison’s firearms and made their escape. While running through Rawlins, resident Charles Stressner attempted to stop the convicts. As Stressner raised his gun at the inmates, Richardson fired his weapon. The shot hit Stressner in the head, killing him.

Wanted poster for Noah Richardson after his October 1912 escape from the Wyoming State Penitentiary, Wanted Outlaw Poster Collection, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collection, Princeton University Library.

Having now committed the second murder in his life, Richardson and two other convicts – Ernest Baxtrum and J. H. Burke – made their escape fleeing south from Rawlins. A posse of prison guards formed to hunt down the escaped convicts. The posse followed the trail of the three convicts for three days over snow-covered southern Wyoming. There must have been a falling out between the convicts because the deputies in pursuit discovered the body of Burke. The deputies believed Richardson and Baxtrum must have turned on Burke and murdered him. The posse of deputies continued in pursuit of Richardson and Baxtrum. They caught up to the convicts at Powder Wash outside Baggs, Wyoming. There, a “bloody battle” ensued in which both convicts were killed attempting to resist the deputies.

Allie Means' saddle on display at the Rockpile Museum. Rockpile Museum, 1978.006.0618.

The dispute between Allie Means and Noah Richardson over who had “won” Frances Williams in 1905 turned into quite the saga for Wyoming. The murder of Means by Richardson led to Means’ brother Montie Means moving to Gillette, serving in the Army in World War I, and then raising his family in Gillette after the War. The reduction in Richardson’s sentence to life in prison meant Richardson was at the State Penitentiary in October 1912 during the prison break, resulting in Richardson murdering Charles Stressner. Today, visitors to the Campbell County Rockpile Museum can see Allie Means’ saddle on display. The saddle he rode the day he attempted to carry Francis Williams home and was murdered by Richardson sparking this saga.

 

Notes:

  • Roy Montgomery purchased the Buffalo Hump Saloon in 1903 and it became known as The Montgomery. Sam Goings purchased the Dodd House from W.A. “Al” Dodd in late 1904 and turned it into the Goings Hotel.

  • In 1905, Gillette was in Crook County, with Sundance as the county seat. Campbell County was not established until 1911.

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