Latham Cole in 1869.
Latham Cole (1804 - 1869), born Latham Cavendish, was an American businessman and an executive of the Pacific Union Railroad.
Biography[]
Latham Cavendish was born in 1804 in Illinois. At the age of 19, his family moved to Texas. In 1843, Latham and his brother Butch Cavendish discovered a silver mine in Native American territory. As a result, they killed all the natives except a boy who helped them find the silver. Cole fought in the civil war, and gained a reputation for doing so. He suffered a great personal injury during battle, leaving him unable to father children. He was at the battle of Gettysburg and watched the 12,000 casualties before lunch. This left him with an understanding that sacrifice was necessary for change to occur.
In 1867, he had become an executive for the Pacific Union Railroad, working in the project of the First transcontinental railroad. In 1869, he worked giving speeches on the future of the transcontinental railroad and assuring the Comanche that as long as there is peace between the two, all treaties will be honored. He met John Reid, a lawyer (and future gunslinger known as The Lone Ranger) praising him and telling how good it was to see another educated man in town.
John Reid then discovered that it was him who hired the outlaw Butch Cavendish to start a war, by making it look like the Comanche had violated the treaty, so he could build a railroad through their land. He also used the new railroad to take all the silver that he and Butch discovered many years earlier, and which they murdered an entire village of Comanche He tried to kill the Lone Ranger and Tonto (the native boy who survived) so that they didn't interfere with his plan of taking over the railroad industry by force. He then met with Captain Jay Fuller (who had arrived leading the US Cavalry to fight the Comanche).
Following the Lone Ranger capturing Butch, he took him to Cole, so he could be tried. He also showed an attraction to Dan Reid's (The Lone Ranger's brother) widow, Rebecca and her son Danny, who he hoped to take as his family as he was unable to have one of his own. Over dinner with the Lone Ranger he starts off talking about how he hated Butch, however as the conversation went on he started to reveal his true colors, slowly he reached for a gun planning to kill the Ranger, but the Ranger managed to figure out his intentions based upon his comments and several clues around, including the sight of the adjusted railroad map. He turns to shoot him only to see the Ranger had vanished, confused the Ranger caught him by surprise and held him at gun point. However, Cole managed to regain the upper hand with help from Cavendish, and had the captain put the Ranger to death, by firing squad. Tonto managed to save him, but then the Comanche attack, forcing Cole to run. Believing them both to be dead, he left, taking Rebecca, Danny and all the silver with him.
At the grand opening of the railroad at Promontory Point, he first accepted his congratulation from the Railroad chairman, before leading him and the other officials away, where he revealed his evil plan to them and forced them at gun point to appoint him the new chairman, after shooting the old one in the back when he tried to stop him. However, his plan began to fall apart, when the Lone Ranger and Tonto stole the silver he was going to use to buy all the shares, making him the owner of the railroad. He and Butch gave chase in another train. While Captain Jay Fuller (who he corrupted earlier) fought on the other train. Following a lengthy chase, he managed to regain the silver and finally confronted Tonto at gun point, planning to kill him right there.
However, the Lone Ranger managed to shoot the gun out of his hand, saving his friend. Tonto knocked Cole down, holds him at gun point with his own gun and then threw back the cheap pocket watch which Cole had paid him 26 years earlier in return for showing him and Cavendish the location of the silver, telling him it was a "bad trade." Tonto jumped onto the other car and detached the carriage between them.
As the train was about to cross the railway bridge, Tonto and the Lone Ranger destroyed it with Cole's own explosives which he had used to illegally mine the silver, causing the train to plunge into the river below. Cole tried to swim to the surface, but ended up being crushed and buried by the very same silver that he greedily took and murdered for, causing him to drown. His body was never recovered.