Alleged bank robber Clarence L. "Gunplay" Maxwell experienced at least one major vexation during his stay in the Utah County Jail.

While Maxwell cultivated his creative temperament in what locals waggishly referred to as the "Hotel de Storrs, " the distribution of the reward money the state offered for his capture created an interesting subplot to his story. The manner in which authorities apportioned the reward offended the outlaw's self-proclaimed sense of social justice.

A short time after Sheriff Storrs placed Maxwell in jail for robbing the Springville Bank, Governor Heber M. Wells sent the sheriff a congratulatory letter verifying a $500 reward for Maxwell's capture. After receiving the letter, Storrs told the Tribune how he thought the reward should be divided: "So far as I, myself am concerned, I am in favor of having Allan ... receive the greater part if not all, and I think almost every man in the posse will feel the same way." Most of them did.

On May 31, posse members held a preliminary meeting to decide what to do with the reward money. Attendees at the gathering chose Matt Crandall, William M. Roylance and H.T. Reynolds to act as a committee to collect the names of all posse members entitled to part of the reward. The prevailing hope expressed in the gathering was that all men would sign waivers turning their share of the money over to Allan.

However, George Packard, James Whitmore, William Clyde and James Whitehead claimed the whole reward, since they were the men who were present when Gunplay was captured. The committee did not completely resolve the problem, and the leaders selected the night of August 9 for a second meeting.

Maxwell read a summary of the first meeting in the newspapers, and he objected to the four men claiming the whole reward. Gunplay wasted little time making his feelings known to the press. The robber told a Tribune reporter the four men did not do anything extraordinarily brave in capturing him. Therefore, they did not deserve the reward more than other members of the posse.

In a letter meant to be read at the second meeting of the reward claimants, Gunplay expressed a particularly derisive opinion of James Whitmore, who had visited him in the county jail. The outlaw wrote concerning Whitmore and his claim to part of the reward: "Say, Whitmore, you and your three friends should give your portion of the reward to the man who lost a limb... . People will think then, you have a little principle, even if you haven't."

Much to Maxwell's dismay, committee officials did not read to the assembled posse his classic example of the pot calling the kettle tarnished.

During the second meeting, the four men who claimed the whole reward -- Packard, Whitmore, Clyde and Whitehead -- agreed to accept $150 as their total share. Most of the other men were not happy about this arrangement, and the committee called for another meeting to be held a week later.

At the appointed time, the final gathering of the reward committee convened in Springville's city building with Mayor Hall presiding. The leaders voted to give the four men who were present at the time of Gunplay's capture $150, which amounted to $37.50 each. Joseph Allan, Springville's maimed blacksmith, received $350. In his Brief History of Springville, Don Carlos Johnson writes that Allan also received another $1,000 from the state.

The Salt Lake Herald summarized the decision made during this final meeting by stating:

"There was much feeling on the part of citizens present against granting to the four ... any more than their pro rata share. However, as the question had already dragged along and the people at large had become thoroughly disgusted and were ready to agree to most anything, and as the committee had recommended the acceptance of the proportioning, the same was ratified."

Several private and business organizations also contributed money to help relieve Allan's financial problems. Two of the generous groups were from Sanpete County. The Mt. Pleasant Band and the Manti Saving Bank each contributed $50 to Allan.

About a month after the committee settled the reward problem, Maxwell's trial began at 10 a.m. September 19, 1898, in the Utah County Courthouse. M.M. Warner and D.D. Houtz defended the accused bank robber. County Attorney Samuel A. King prosecuted the case. Eight county men -- A.W. Miller, C.D. Glazier, Daniel Williams, J.H. Newman, James G. Haws, Samuel Ashby, W.C. Brown and Alfred Dunkley -- served as the jury.

Knowing that the posse had caught Gunplay red-handed with the bank's greenbacks in his pocket, many people waited with intent interest to see how the outlaw's lawyers would justify his plea of not guilty. Maxwell seemed as amused by the trial as the spectators.

The answer came at the beginning of the trial. Attorney Warner objected to any evidence against Maxwell being presented. He contended that any man charged with a serious crime was constitutionally entitled to a trial before a jury composed of twelve, not eight members. He argued that the state statute providing for an eight-member jury was unconstitutional.

Fourth District Court Judge Warren N. Dusenberry overruled Warner's objection. The defense attorney then refused to present any evidence on the strength of his objection, but the trial proceeded anyway.

Judge Dusenberry called the first witness, Springville Bank's bookkeeper, A.O. Packard. He testified that Maxwell and Pearson stole $2,370 and the posse recovered $1,825.

Maxwell likely had a wry smile on his face when he asked Packard two questions. The defendant asked if the draft he had written to pay Mapleton resident T.J. Kerswell for lodging had been paid yet and inquired whether there was any additional money in the safe the day of the robbery. Packard replied in the negative to both questions.

Dusenberry called two more witnesses, James Whitmore and Utah County Sheriff George A. Storrs. Whitmore explained how he helped capture Maxwell, and Storrs testified about what Maxwell had told him concerning the robbery. After Storrs testified, the judge turned the case over to the jury.

The panel deliberated less than an hour before returning to the courtroom. Court records show that Alfred Dunkley, the group's foreman, announced the decision: "We the Jury empaneled in the above entitled cause find the defendant C.L. Maxwell, guilty as charged in the information."

Maxwell waived statutory time for sentencing, and that afternoon he appeared before Judge Dusenberry once more. Before pronouncing Maxwell's sentence, the judge denied defense attorney Warner's motion for a new trial, but Dusenberry listened to one last plea from the attorney. In an effort to shorten his client's sentence, Warner told the judge that Maxwell had thrown away his gun just before he was captured. Warner claimed Maxwell and Pearson had previously agreed not to hurt anyone.

This revelation had little effect on Dusenberry. Public sentiment against bank robbers ran high in Utah. In an effort to deter other robbers from committing crimes in Utah Valley, the judge sentenced Maxwell to 18 years in prison. Dusenberry could have given Gunplay a maximum of 20 years. A sentence of eight years would have been near normal.

Provo's Daily Enquirer took an even harder stance against bank robbers than Judge Dusenberry had. The newspaper succinctly expressed its opinion with these harsh words:

"We only regret that the State has not a statute making such offenses capital punishment. A bank robber is a murderer at heart, and would be better dead than a burden for life on the public. We are glad that one received his just reward through resistance."

The stiff sentence surprised Gunplay. He recovered after a moment, shook hands with the men from the sheriff's office and "bid them a cheerful good-bye." The outlaw managed a smile as officers handcuffed him before leading him away. Later that afternoon, Maxwell's attorney filed an appeal.

At 4 p.m. on the day of his trial and sentencing, Gunplay Maxwell, flanked by Sheriff Storrs and Deputy Henry, boarded a Rio Grande train for Salt Lake City. The outlaw left his recently written book in the hands of attorney M.M. Warner.

The trio reached the capital city at about 5:25 p.m. and went directly to the city's police station. They perused the pictures in the department's Rogue's Gallery for about an hour before starting for the old Sugar House Prison at about 7 p.m.

The penitentiary's list of Prisoners states that Gunplay was officially admitted on September 19, 1898. Maxwell listed his occupation as "stockraiser." He did not bother to mention that it was generally somebody else's stock that he was raising.

Not long afterward, a photographer added Gunplay's picture to the prison's Rogue's Gallery. The Enquirer printed the following flattering sentence concerning this photograph, "It is the best yet seen of him." To many of his victims, Maxwell must have looked very good wearing stripes.

In the spring of 1899, the Utah Supreme Court rejected Maxwell's appeal, saying an eight man jury could legally be used in non-capital cases. Gunplay's attorneys appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Near the end of the year, Provo attorney, J.W.N. Whitecotton, argued Maxwell's case before the United States Supreme Court. Early in 1900, Supreme Court Justices upheld the state court's decision.

After Maxwell had served several years behind bars, some of his friends in Price expressed the opinion that he could not stand much more imprisonment. In order to put an end to his misery, they thought he would likely find some way to terminate his life or provoke prison guards to shoot and kill him. Author Charles Kelly claimed that in exchange for his freedom, Maxwell even offered to lead a posse into Robbers' Roost in pursuit of his outlaw friends. Ungrateful officials rejected his proposition.

Gunplay had another option for reducing the length of his sentence -- practicing good behavior. If he observed prison rules, he could likely leave after serving about ten years behind bars.

During the first four years of his confinement, Maxwell did not take advantage of this opportunity for early release. Gunplay's behavior prompted Warden Dow to state in an October 1902 letter to the State Board of Pardons, "I beg to report that prisoner James Otis Bliss, alias C.L. Maxwell has not been an exemplary prisoner."

What was likely Gunplay's most troubling prison misdeed occurred during the summer of 1900 when his creativity ran the restive jail bird afoul of prison authorities. Again, as it had in Provo, the problem centered on a "homemade" gun. The pistol Gunplay created in prison ranked as a far more dangerous weapon than the soap and matchbox handgun he manufactured in jail.

Prison guards customarily searched prisoners' cells at random. As guards rifled though Gunplay's quarters one day, they found what they first thought to be a club hidden in the prisoner's bed. Upon closer inspection, however, guards found the item to be a partially completed pistol.

The ingenious inmate had removed an eight-inch-long section of iron pipe from the front of his bed frame. He bent this pipe to form a handle which he filled with lead. Somehow, Maxwell reamed out the barrel and drilled a touch hole in the top of it just above the handle.

The searchers found scraps of lead and iron that Maxwell must have planned to use for ammunition. They also discovered simulated gunpowder in the form of about a pint of parlor match heads ground to a fine powder. Out of curiosity, guards tried the makeshift powder in a rifle and it worked.

Maxwell was scheduled to testify in a court case in Salt Lake City two weeks later. Prison authorities speculated that he planned to use his bed-rail blunderbuss to escape on this occasion.

In October 1901, Gunplay finally decided on a course of fair play, if it offered him a chance to exit early. His good conduct eventually earned him a place in the first grade -- the group of best behaved prisoners. In August 1902, Maxwell applied for commutation of his sentence.

A number of prominent men wrote letters to the Board of Pardons on Maxwell's behalf. Utah County Sheriff George Storrs wrote: "I just want to say I have no spoke to put in the wheel. From the looks of him, I don't think he would make a very successful bank robber again if he desired; and I would be glad to see him get what leniency your honorable body think he deserves."

Attorneys William H. King and Max Braffett represented Maxwell, whose health truly had declined during the nearly five years he had spent in jail and prison. They wrote to the Board of Pardons concerning Maxwell's health: "He is now in a very bad condition physically and if he is required to serve the full time of his sentence ... he would be a complete physical wreck, if he should be alive at that time."

Even Judge Warren N. Dusenberry, who levied Gunplay's heavy sentence, had a good word to say for the prisoner. Dusenberry stated at the time of Gunplay's sentence "that if conditions changed, and the defendant showed a disposition to reform ... That I would then cheerfully recommend a pardon." That is just what the judge did.

In addition to these and other recommendations, over 100 people from Carbon County signed a petition asking for Maxwell's release. All these endorsements went for naught. In February 1903, the Board of Pardons turned down Maxwell's application for commutation.

Fortunately for Maxwell, an event that occurred eight months later convinced the Board of Pardons to reverse its decision. Shortly after 6 p.m. on October 9, 1903, a group of prisoners made an escape attempt at the state prison. Some prisoners, including Maxwell, aided the guards.

The attempted outbreak started when a guard, Zebulon Jacobs, entered the south cell house, and a prisoner hit him over the head with a blunt instrument. Jacobs managed to get up, but a half dozen convicts rushed him and beat him to the floor again.

Maxwell ran to assist the guard and dragged him away from the prisoners, possibly saving his life. Maxwell's action caused the escapees to turn on him, and they beat him into submission. Jacobs and Maxwell were too badly injured to sound a general alarm.

The escaping convicts took Jacobs' keys, ran toward the block of cells and started unlocking the doors of their fellow prisoners. In their headlong rush, the convicts dropped the keys. Ed Shuckers, a prisoner unsympathetic to the escapees' cause, threw a switch that locked all convicts in their cells, picked up the keys, put them in his pocket, entered an empty cell and locked himself inside. Not being able to locate the keys, the fugitives quickly ended their efforts to release more prisoners, and they rushed toward the courtyard.

On their way outside, the potential escapees encountered another guard, Dave Wilkins. He sounded two alarm bells signaling the south cell guard, F.C. Naylor, to come on watch. The convicts overpowered Wilkins and took his weapon. They used him as a shield in the courtyard. Finding something amiss when he arrived at the scene, Naylor sounded a general alarm.

Because the prisoners met with immediate resistance, their attempt at escape failed, and guards managed to subdue most of them. Only two convicts left the prison grounds and remained at large for a short time.

As a reward for the service rendered by Maxwell, prison officials made him a trustee. He was even allowed to go outside the prison during the daytime. Maxwell's good deed also led to a review of his application for pardon. The State Board of Corrections wrote a letter to the State Board of Pardons and recommended clemency for Gunplay.

In his letter to the Board of Pardons, Gunplay Maxwell, seemingly modest and reformed, stated:

"While I do not claim I did any thing more than a good citizen should do in such an emergency, still I refer to that simply for the purpose of showing that I am capable of making, and would make, a good citizen and would stand for law and order if I were released.

In November, the State Board of Pardons commuted Maxwell's sentence and made him a free man.

To be continued

Material for Captions

Old State Penitentiary

In 1898, Clarence L. "Gunplay" Maxwell entered Utah's old State Penitentiary which was once located where Sugar House Park lies today. In 1903, a group of prisoners attempted an escape from the prison. Gunplay helped guards thwart the attempt. His exemplary action helped him earn a commutation of his sentence, and he left prison in November 1903.

BYU Photo Archives

Old County Courthouse

In September 1898, Utah County authorities held "Gunplay" Maxwell's robbery trial in the old Utah County Courthouse. This stately brick building was once located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Center Street and 100 East.

BYU Photo Archives

Commutation Application

"Gunplay" Maxwell's handwriting on his application for the commutation of his sentence in the Utah State Prison indicates that he was well schooled before becoming an outlaw. In section seven near the bottom of the page, Maxwell neglected to state that he had also served time in the Wyoming State Penitentiary.

Utah State Archives

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B2.