Jack Dunlap (or Dunlop), aka Three-Fingered Jack, robbed banks and trains in Arizona in the closing days of the Old West. Born in Texas in 1872, he was also known as John Dunlap, Jess Dunlop, and John Patterson.

Growing up, he spent most of his mid- to late teens as a cowboy. However, at some point, he turned to a life of crime and was arrested after several bank robberies in 1893. Following his release in 1895, he joined Black Jack Christian’s gang, the High Fives, who rustled cattle and robbed stores, banks, trains, and stagecoaches in New Mexico and Arizona.

By 1898, he was riding with the Alvord-Stiles Gang, holding up trains along with Burton Alvord, Billy Stiles, George and Louis Owens, Bravo Juan Yoas, and Bob Brown.

At midnight on September 9, 1899, the gang robbed a Southern Pacific Express of just over $10,000. After detaching the car containing the money and opening the safe with dynamite, they escaped into the Chiricahua Mountains, where they eluded a posse led by Sheriff Scott White that included George Scarborough.

A few months later, they struck again on February 15, 1900, when the gang attempted to rob a Wells Fargo Express car at the Southern Pacific Railroad depot in Fairbank, the closest rail station to the bustling boom town of Tombstone. However, this train was guarded by former Texas Ranger and well-known lawman Jeff Davis Milton, who was riding as a messenger for Wells Fargo.

Posing as drunken cowboys, the bandits opened fire on Milton as he stood in the open door of the mail car as it pulled into the station. Shot in the arm, Milton fell back inside the car behind a trunk. Thinking mistakenly that Milton was dead, the bandits raced towards the open door as Milton grabbed a Wells Fargo shotgun. Three-Finger Jack was in the lead, and he caught a full shotgun blast in his midsection. Bravo, Juan, saw it coming and just had enough time to turn around. He took a blast from some distance in the seat of his pants. The gang then made their escape without ever opening the safe.

Dunlap’s wound was severe, and he fell from his horse only a few miles from the robbery. Leaving Dunlap where he lay, the rest of the bandits soon split up, planning to meet outside of Contention City, Arizona.

In the meantime, a posse was organized in Fairbank. After 14 hours of lying on the trail dying, the posse found Dunlap and took him to Tombstone. He gave the posse enough information to arrest the other gang members, including gang leader Burt Alvord. He also gave an interview to Tombstone newspaper, The Prospector, before dying on February 24, 1900.

Dunlap is buried in Tombstone’s Boot Hill cemetery in Row 7, Lot 5, near the graves of Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, and Billy Clanton.

From The Tombstone Prospector:

“Bandit Dies From the Effect of His Wounds.

Yesterday morning, about 7 o’clock, Jesse Dunlap, known as Three-Fingered Jack, died at the hospital from the wounds he received while in the holdup at Fairbank last week from the gun in the hands of Messenger Milton.”