On a cold December day in 1883, five men robbed the Goldwater & Casteneda Store on Main Street that substituted for Bisbee’s only bank. They did so believing that the mining company’s payroll was locked inside the store’s safe. What started as a quick and easy robbery ended in the death of almost a dozen people.

The robbers quickly discovered a problem. The mine’s payroll had not yet arrived. Foolishly, the five robbers stuck around to steal what they could from the store, its owners, and customers. This took time. Time they did not have.