Years ago in what is now Joshua Tree National Park, the Wild West was alive and well. Stories of cattle rustling, claim jumpers and gunslingers were commonly heard. Many of these were just that – stories with little merit. In this historical highlight, Managing editor Tami Roleff says one deadly shoot-out actually did happen…
The story begins with a long-standing boundary dispute between rancher and miner Bill Keys and his neighbor Worth Bagley. Bagley maintained that Keys was trespassing on his land when Keys drove to the Wall Street Mill to mine ore (Keys owned the mill). On May 11, 1943, there was a shoot-out between Keys and Bagley. The story Keys told in court is that Bagley ambushed him with a revolver on the dirt road on his way to the mill. Keys said Bagley missed, but he returned fire and killed Bagley. Keys was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in San Quentin prison. Author Earl Stanley Gardner—of Perry Mason fame—took up Bill Keys’ cause as self-defense, and Keys was released after five years and later pardoned. Keys erected a marker to note the spot where “Worth Bagley bit the dust.” After the marker was vandalized in 2014, Joshua Tree National Park staff removed it and put a replica in its place.
