Sam Carey, also known as “Laughing” Sam Carey, was a famous gunslinger of the Old West.
Famous is an ironic word to use for Sam Carey, as he is famous for being one of the least-known outlaws in the Wild West.
He was loosely connected to the Hole in the Wall Gang during the late 19th century. However, being least known does not mean that he did not have any outlaw accomplishments.
Outlaws such as Billy the Kid or Jesse James thrived on notoriety. However, Sam Casey did the opposite.
He is often recorded in the exploits of the Hole-in-the-wall gang, but little is known about him. What is known about him is that his gang respected him and the most celebrated of them.
He is also described as Wyoming’s most dangerous desperado.
Outlaw Life
While little is known about his life as a young boy, he served as a camp servant to Butch Cassidy and his gang.
As a teenager, he rode with a gang led by the outlaw Otto Chenoworth. The only mention of the Chenoworth gang was a book about the History of Natrona County, Wyoming.
Otto Chenoworth ended up in a sanitorium in South Dakota.
Carey then rode, off and on, with a number of the gangs considered part of the Hole in the Wall Gang, including Cassidy's Wild Bunch and Black Jack Ketchum’s gang.
Carey was well known in his own time and often associated with stories of the outlaw exploits originating from the Hole-in-the-Wall.
However, by 1903, almost all of the gang members best known to operate from there were either dead or in prison, with Carey never being captured to anyone's knowledge.
Eventually, beginning after 1903, he simply faded from history. His whereabouts after the downfall of the Hole in the Wall Gang are not known, nor is the date or year of his death.