The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-08-09
CAUGHT Ar LAST.
THE BANDIT In JAIL AND THE
PEOPLE BREATHE FREER.

THE BANDIT In JAIL AND THE
PEOPLE BREATHE FREER.
HIS Name is G. j. MakemsOn and He
Claims to be the Son of PrOmi-
nent LawYer-FuIl Particu-
lars of the Arrest, Etc,
The bold bandit who, for the past
two weeks, nearly, has created such
an excitement in this part of Texas,
has at last gone to his reward-the
county Jail. He was brought to this
city yesterday on the four O'Clock
train by the parties who captured him
at Kyle. His capture was not the
work of hard fought battle on the
the part of determined officers in
an open fair field fight, but
like his notorious prototype, Jesse
James, he was taken in the house of
his friends, by the give way of a
man whom he had made his conf
dant, for the sake of a $500 reward
which the supposed had been Of
fered for mis- capture. Not even the
excitement of the memorable night
when he made five or six of the lead
ing citizens of the capital stand and
deliver eXcelled that of last night
when it was known that the yerita-
BILE knight of the road was in the
county jail; and the whole peo-
pie seemed to breathe freer at the
thought. At first much doubt was
expressed about the prisoner. being
really the highwayman, but when
DIR. SWearingen was handed his
watch and the $40 bill taken from
him the doubt disappeared; then
when Mr.. Henkle received his watch
and the gold mounted hair chain
made from his daughters hair, it was
as certain as holy writ; afterwards
when the $40 bill taken from Mr..
Henkle that had been torn in two and
pasted together was brought out the
identity of the desperate man
was as certain as a demonstration
I'M algebra; but it was when
the many victims of his robberies
again looked into the muzzle of that
famous nickle-plated pistol that men
fairly danced with excitement, and for
once, any way, gazed upon this shin
ing companion of the mounted knight
as friend of justice and Il witness
against the man whose finger had
pulled its trigger in their faces during
the past two weeks. On Monday
night
MR.. GUNSON,
a farmer living in the vicinity of
KYLE, was stopped by the high
wayman and robbed OF small
sum of money and gold watch,
which, however, had the owners
name engraved on the inside of the
cover, and for that reason was handed
back. This robbery led to a suspicion
as to who the gang of men were that
had been creating such sensation in
this part of the state. A gentleman,
whose name we withhold, in the in
terests of justice and for good reasons
known to the officers, was led by this
last mentioned robbery to suspect the
man now under arrest. This gentle
man was in the confidence of the
young highwayman, or
GOT INTO HIS CONFIDENCE
and by a little sharp practice made
the robber believe that he was one of
the profession" and anything he
might tell him would be neld by him
in the strictest confidence. He was
fortunate enough to gain the robbers
confidence in this regard and so he
told him all about his daring deeds.
But for that the highwayman might
have gone on for years in his
bold career. 1t had been reported in
the vicinity that reward of $500 had
been offered for the capture of the
robber, and it was to secure this re-
ward that the man who had
gained the confidence of the high
wayman Informed on him and caused
his arrest. On Saturday the robber,
whose name is
G. j. MAKEMSON,
came to the house of Mr.. W. F.
ReaveS, who lives five miles below
Dripping Springs, and asked for the
man to whom he had given his conf
dence and whom we designate by
the fictitious name of Brown. Brown
and Makemson went to one side and
held a long talk. They were to-
gether for nearly three hours and it
was at this time he t Id Brown all
about the robberies and showed him
the stolen property. Then MakemSon
left and told Mr.. Reaves he was going
to Mr.. Vickers'. While he was gone
Sheriff Barbee, of Hays county, came
to Mr.. ReaveS' place and Brown told
the sheriff all about the matters he
had learned from Makemson. The
sheriff of Hays county specially depu-
tised w. j. Jones to make the arrest
of the desperado, when he returned
to Mr.. Reaves', if he did so
return. Jones engaged Asa
johnson to help him in
the hazardous undertaking. Tuesday
night Jones was at ReaveS', and soon
Makemson came and asked if some
parties, whose name the reporter
could not learn, had been there with
clothes for him. Mr.. Reaves was not
at home at the time, and Mr.. Jones
went to find him. He found him and
also obtained the assistance of H. L.
Burnes, and the three returned to
Reaves' place yesterday morning, be-
tween l and 2 o'clock. The man
whom we have called Brown re-
manned at Reaves'and invited Makem-
son to stay over night, and the high
wayman consented to do SO. He went
to bed in room on the ground
floor and in an 81" of Mr.. ReaveS'
house. Here
THE CAPTURE
was made. When the three men re-
turned about 2 o'clock yesterday
morning they found the robber sound
asleep, as he supposed in the house of
his friends. AS we said, the bed
where he was sleeping was in tbs IL
of the house and in a room in the eX-
IRENE west end. Jones went on the
east side and entered the house there
and found how the situation was. He
saw Mr.. johnson who was present
and from him learned the fact that
the robber was sound asleep. Jones
then went in the door and was fol-
lowed by the three other men, and
with cat-like tread arranged them
selves on three sides of the bed in
which MakemSon was asleep and stood
there with double-barrelled shot guns
aimed at the sleeping bandit. Jones
then awakened him. When he saw
Ne was betrayed he jumped up and
was
ABOUT TO FIGHT
his way clear, and Notwithstanding
there were four gus COY ering him,
he grabbed Mr.. Jones' gun and tried
to wrench it from his hand.
The others then gave him
to understand they were
deputised to arrest him and if he did