In the autumn of 1889, Gila County Sheriff Glenn Reynolds, a 35-year-old White male, was tasked with the dangerous transport of nine prisoners from Globe, Arizona, to the Yuma Territorial Prison. The group of convicts included the infamous Apache Kid and seven other Apaches, along with a Mexican embezzler named Jesús Avota. The journey by stagecoach was considered so hazardous that the owner of the stage line, Eugene Middleton, had to drive the coach himself, accompanied by Deputy William A.
“Hunkydory” Holmes. Reynolds rode alongside on his horse.
The party set out on November 1, 1889, and after an overnight stop, continued their journey on the morning of November 2. Tragedy struck at a steep, sandy hill known as the Kelvin Grade. To lighten the load for the horses, Reynolds had seven of the prisoners, who were handcuffed but not in leg shackles, exit the stagecoach and walk up the incline. This provided the opportunity for the prisoners to execute a planned escape.
Suddenly, several of the Apache prisoners attacked the lawmen. Two of the inmates overpowered Reynolds, while another two attacked Deputy Holmes. In the struggle, the prisoners managed to seize the officers' weapons. One of the Apaches, identified as Pas-Lau-Tau, shot Sheriff Reynolds, killing him. Another account details that his own shotgun was turned on him. Deputy Holmes also lost his life in the ambush; some reports indicate he was shot, while others suggest he suffered a fatal heart attack during the melee. The driver, Eugene Middleton, was severely wounded by a gunshot to the face and neck but miraculously survived. The Mexican prisoner, Avota, reportedly hid in the bushes during the assault and later informed the authorities, an act that earned him a pardon.
In the aftermath of the bloody encounter, a widespread manhunt for the escaped Apache prisoners was launched by the United States Army. Within a year, all of the fugitives were captured or killed, with the notable exception of the Apache Kid, who evaded capture and whose fate remains a mystery. Sometime in 1890, Sheriff Reynolds' pistol and watch were recovered from a slain Apache in Mexico and returned to his widow.
