Matt Warner

Matt Warner (April 12, 1864 – December 21, 1938) was a notable figure from the American Old West who was a farmer, cowboy, rancher, ferryman, cattle rustler, bank robber, justice of the peace, lawman, and bootlegger. Born Erastus Christiansen, he changed his name in his teens when he became an outlaw. (In public records, such as census and marriage records, he was known as Erastus Christiansen, and some sources use Willard Erastus Christiansen.) Both of his parents, Christian and Christina Christiansen, were from Denmark. (Kelly states that his mother was the youngest wife and from Germany.) Christian's obituary said that he had two wives.

Teeny, Warner's sister, married Tom McCarty, the leader of the Blue Mountain Gang. The Christiansens lived on the frontier, where their neighbors included cattle rustlers and horse thieves.

Browns Park William Henry Jackson, A bluff of quartzite, near the mouth of Red Creek, in Brown's Hole. Daggett County, Utah, 1870, Collection National Archives at College Park He shot a Mexican horse thief during a gunfight; he was 15.

Along with other outlaws and "colorful figures" that worked for him as a freighter or ferry operator, Warner occasionally worked on John Jarvie's ferry that crossed the Green River in Browns Park (also called Brown's Hole). Warner had 124 horses by October 16, 1886, when he mortgaged them. He agreed to receive $847.90 and repay the balance with 12% annual interest by April 16, 1887.

Warner was one of the "Last of the Bandit Riders", whose initiation to crime began with John Jarvie. Hearing from his pal Elza Lay that a Jewish merchant was evading the sheriff who intended to attach the goods he was transporting through Browns Park, Warner decided to hold up the merchant and take the goods. They were mostly clothes.

Justice of the peace and lawman In his later years, Warner ran for public office as Willard Erastus Christiansen, and lost because he was unknown by this name. He was a particularly good sheriff because he was a good shot and knew how to catch outlaws.

Legacy and popular culture Matt Warner Reservoir, Uintah County, Utah Stone monument in his name in front of the Carbon County Courthouse. Warner was portrayed in Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground (1943 American Western film) and Thunder Town (1946 American Western film) Arthur Franz appeared as Warner on the TV western Death Valley Days on the 1960 episode titled "The Devil's Due."

Books The Last of the Bandit Riders. By Matt Warner as told to Murray E. King. Caldwell, ID: Caxton, 1940. Reprint. New York: Bonanza Books, 1946. . The Last of the Bandit Riders ... Revisited. By Matt Warner as told to Murray E. King; revisited by Joyce Warner, Steve Lacy. Salt Lake City, UT: Big Moon Traders, 2000. .