Omaha daily bee., 1884-01-17
A SECOND CON
Hair-Breadth 'Scrapes of Dark Oar
rel, Who, as Albert q. Keuua,
Now Keeps n Saloon in
DEVILS Lake.

| wv" N'SlH "
Devils Lake.
st Paul Pioneer Press.
On the train bound for Devils Lake
last Tuesday evening was a young man
who has n story nearly as bright with
adventure as Con Cregan, Levers crea-
ton. He Is about thirty years of age,
five feet eight inches tall, and weighs
about ..130 pounds. SWiry more than
muscular, cool gray eyes and a dark mus.
tache, would aid in his description. The
| gentleman's name is Albert G.. Requa,
who spent a few days in st. Paul, pre-
paratory to resuming a residence in
Devils Lake. Mr.. Requa says of him
self that his home is in Missouri. In
1880 and 81 he was a smuggler, carrying
goods from Tuscon, Ariz., to the Mexi-
carried comprised dry goods, clothing,
canned goods and, in fact, almost all
sorts of merchandise and on which the
duty averages about 60 per cent. To fa.
ciliate this industry which he says net
ted him $500 a day, and on which he
made $4,000 a year, he used twenty
men and thirty pack animals. The ward
ers, or line riders, as the Sasabe custom
house officer. areecalled, gave him much
trouble, and he had several bouts with
them, succeeding, however, in standing
them off with Winchesters. He says
most of the Mexican have very little cour-
age. During this time he was known by
TIE name of O. G. Winset and Dark Oar.
rell. He was finally captured in August,
1881, and tried before Gov. Ortiz of
Sono,a. He got out of the scrape by the
Hutchinson plan, though it was custo-
mary for the line riders to kill the SNUG
| glers when they were captured. He then
went to the City of Mexico and secured a
patent for a mine, but soon resumed his
old business of smuggling. On one of
the trips of his men, but when he was
not present, had an encounter with the
line riders, in which four of the latter
were killed, and six had their ears cut off
close to their heads. This, he said, made
matters exceedingly warm for him, and
he was forced to leave the business. Six
were captured and received sentences
of twenty-five years, hard labor, each.
TRIES THE INDIA RACKET.
Requa then went to San Carlos and
| took the contract for supplying beef to
the Indians. This didn't last long, and
he next went to Devils Lake where he
| opened q saloon and remained until
September. Being anxious to look after
his mine and sell it, if possible, he took
another trip to Tuscon, and in company
with Il. j. Darkan, a mine expert, went
70 the mine near Altar. In returning
from. Altar, Requa was captured by
twenty-five line riders, October %, upon
information furnished'by a Mexican who
had followed him from Tuscon. He was
then taken to Hermosillo in shackles.
On the way he was bitten in the breast
by a centipede, and came very near dy.
ing. AT Hermosillo he was placed in a
large stone jail, attended however, by
only two guards. About $500 in money
and other property valued at 5000 more
was taken from him, and in exchange he
was given a blanket and o pair of san.
dals. He was in Jail one day, and dur
ing that time one prisoner and sixteen
citizens died of yellow fever in the city,
which has about 5000 inhabitants. At
night six s~mugglers, Americans, who had
followed him, overpowered the guard
and released him. When they forced
the Jail he supposed it was a mob bent on
l~ynching him. The smugglers cut the
wires on the railroad telegraph lines to
| prevent the authorities learning of the
| escape, and then took him TO Guaymas
on the Gulf of Mexico. He was placed
in a friends house and thence berthed in
the hold Of q Spanish man.of-war which
was going TO San Francisco to get arms.
He was found in the hold and put ashore
at Riverside, Cal, where the ship stop
ped for water. Here he found friends
and started for st. Louis. En- route he
fell in with a number of Mexican mer-
chants bound for the same city, and they
told him of his escape, and that $40, OOC
had been offered by the Mexican govern
ment for his head, but that the reward
had afterwards been reduced to so, 900.
He acted as interpreter for the mer-
chants, and when they reached st. Louis
he told them who he was. He says he is
in hard luck, but expects to get 800, 0OO
for his mine. A requisition, he AYERS,
was asked by the Mexicans, but refused
by the United States authorities.