In the early 1900s, American-born outlaw Ernest Cashel became a notorious figure in western Canada thanks to a string of daring escapes, forgery, theft, and a murder that gripped the prairies. After being arrested for using false checks and suspected involvement in the disappearance of rancher Isaac Rufus Belt, Cashel was charged with Belt’s murder when the body surfaced in a river. He was convicted and sentenced to hang—but his story was far from over. Cashel escaped custody from his own gallows-bound cell with the help of his brother, triggering one of the most intense manhunts in early Canadian Northwest history. Forty-five days later, he was cornered in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Calgary, where, surrounded by law enforcement and with time running out, he surrendered. Cashel was executed on February 2, 1904, his death marking the end of a legend built on audacity, elusion, and the blurred lines between outlaw folklore and hard law.