Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1871-10-11
THE CAPTURE OF BURKE AND
COCKERRLL AND THEIR RE.
TURN To CARSON.


John Burke, murderer, from Es-
meralda, and Tilton Cockerell, Verdi
car robber, from Washoe, two of the
convicts who escaped in the recent
State Prison break, arrived at Carson
yesterday afternoon and are now In
the County Jail at that place: They
were captured on a peak OF the Red
Mountains, at the head Of a canyon
leading up from Fish Lake Valley
toward Silver Peak, by John B. Helm,
Sheriff of Esmeralda county, John ID.
Ludwig, John J. Wheeler and another
man, and were brought back by Helm,
Ludwig and G.. r. A. Brown. Soon
after the party left Cradlebaugh's
bridge, a few miles the other Side OF
Carson, they were met by United
States Deputy Marshals Gus Ash and
James S. Slingerland, who demanded
the prisoners on a warrant from the
United States District Court, charging
them with robbing the mail by force
of arms and the murder OF an United
States mail carrier-both Of which are
capital offenses. The prisoners were
surrendered to the Marshals. They
wers taken before Judge Hillyer, Of
the u S. District Court and committed
to Jail, and will have a hearing on
Tuesday next.
How They woro Captured.
The Carson Register of this morning
gives an interesting detailed account
Of the pursuit and capture of these
convicts, from which We condense the
following /: After about a weeks search
in the White Mountains the pursuers
finally descended into Fish Lake Val
ley, where they got on the track Of the
fugitives, and rightly concluded that
they had gone In the direction OF Sill
YER Peak. Leaving Fish Lake Valley,
Ludwig led the party up a canyon
where stands an old Ice house. They
struck fresh tracks at the mouth Of the
canyon, and before reaching the ice
house came upon a camp which had
evidently just been abandoned by the
fugitives. At the camp were q few po-
tatoes, some old sacks, and a blanket.
Near this place a high red peak rises,
and thither the tracks pointed. Here
the party divided, Helm and another
man going on one side Of the peak and
Ludwig and Wheeler on the other.
Some distance from the top Of the peak
Ludwig espied the head and shoulders
Of Cockerell peeping over a ledge OF
rocks. Instantly he covered the head
with a Spencer rifle. Cockerell threw
up one hand. Ludwig kept his eye OH
the gun and told Wheeler to demanda
surrender. This was done, when sud-
denly Cockerell disappeared. Ludwig
dashed around the point and sang out
to Helm to look out for them, rs they
were going toward him. At this Cock
erell again appeared, threw up both
hands and walked toward his captors,
Burke following close after him.
Neither of them showed any arms, and
the officers, having what they were
seeking for, did not go up to the rocks
to see if they had lett any. They de-
MED having been with the Jones party,
and asserted that they knew nothing OF
the murder OF the mail rider.
Aurora Hospitalities.
At Aurora, Sunday night, two or
three strategetical efforts were made
by the citizens to get hold of the pris-
oners, aud the captors had to stand at
a "ready" all night. During the night
a man approached Ludwig ut the Jail
and offered him $500 in gold coin If he
and his fellow sentinel would leave
the Jail for ten minutes.
Desperate Prospects.
Tho Register thus sums up the situa-
ton: The prospect before Burke and
Cockerell may be summed up thus:
First, they will be tried by the United
States for robbing the mail by force OF
arms, and If found guilty, will be
hanged. Second, they will be tried by
the same authority for killing a mail
agent or carrier, and If found guilty,
will be hanged again. Then they Will
be turned over and tried by the state
for tho murder of Poor, and If found
guilty will be hanged a third time.
Then again they will be tried as &C.
c~essories to the murder Of Plxley, and
if found guilty they will be hanged
the fourth time. And last and least,
they will be tried for State Prison
breaking, and sentenced to prison for
from one to ten years. As they were
probably not present at the killing Of
Morrison and Mono Jim, they may get
out Of that scrape.