The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1884-07-11

|NMNH NV - Us w AEAeAH - ~
Jan ilain in Millshofo and imm-ii-
ately desrnhsd The horses - was afisT
giving hrauis and al other marks and
shuwin M . handbiu on which the stolen
stock vs. aiveuised. and 70 accurate
were the descriptions that nobody
doubts that he will -; the animals.
while Gfayson a Co will have 10 look
NO sume other security Cor their deht.
Mr. Hughes notices m the johnson
herd other horses, particularly a ~ 81
tweiv. branded n whose ownership be
knows and Il Is quite likely that when
De reports ~ home an II tins herd vii
b. claimed by the nghtful owners.
From Mr.. Hughes the RANGE gets
some information about those two
brothers which will be news 10 the PEG
pleof sierra county. The names with
which their parents launched them upon
the tide Of life were John and James
Craven. Before they came 10 New Mexi-
co they livedat Bagdad. IN W illiamson
county. Texas. where In 1870 John was
arrested for stealing a saddle. Pend
ding his trial he was released on $3.50
bail and he skipped the country. The
bows were not 6rst-class citizens and
the delight at having them leave was
! 50 great That the payment of the bond
was never required. His bondsman In
this case was ri Kirk who had q.
b ranch near Cisco. Stevens county, Tex
1 as. and when we next hearof John era
vens he was in partnership with Kirk
keeping the Marriage corral IN Silver
City. which place they managed for a
year or more. After they closed out
J. there Kirk went back 10 Cisco and
i John after a season during which he
2 did not acquire riches, borrowed ten
dollars Of a friend here in New Mexi-
G co and went down into Texas to "pur-
chase" stock. Regarding the ability of
Mr.. Cravens alias johnson to get the
value nf his money II is sufficient TO
say that he returned from that trip
with sixty head of horses and sixty
{ cents OF the ten dollars remaining.
The peculiar state of existing affairs
Is in Traverse. Williamson and adjoining
is counties makes that Il particularly ut
Il t~ractive field for men like the Cravens
II to depredate in. When the county was
I new many years since, the settlers all
had their herds OF cattle and horses.
IS but as the county grew up, land became
II more valuable, the settlement became
d dense ana stock raising as an oc-
" cupation was generally abandoned
" for the NOR quiet pursuit Of farming.
The cattle were butchered and sent TO
4. market and of the original herds only
:. a few bands of ponies remain
t running among the hills. These are
n given seant care and attention and are
'e an easy prey to the thief who is Judi
cious and limits his covetlousness to
A a few head from each band. Thus ne
makes il hardly worth the while of any
single owner TO chase hun and runs lIt-
O.. tie risk of capture. The Cravens from
their residence in that country under
stood the situation thoroughly and
nd took advantage of it and their error in
the case of the llugh's brothers was
: not of their own planning. They were
: sufficiently careful IN their selections
5 from the various brands but they had
a. no means of knowing that the Hughes
80 had been buying up these various
IA lunches of horses and that their pos
% sessions numbered many more than
10 bore their brand. Hence they got in
= their band sixteen OF the Hughes
brothers animals and set John Hughes
s. upon their track.
9S Hughes in his search for his property
40 hv a streak Of good fortune struck the
rs Kirk ranch at Cisco where from a hoy
10 % aud a darkey on the place he learned
90 that the Cravens had driven sixty
l.. horses to that place some months pre-
vious where they held them for somt
~ time and then went n0rthward. This
was last winter. Hughes returned
home with his clue. and after arrang
n ing his business, on the 18th day o.
MAY started out on the chase whicl
has brought him to Chloride at thi,
time. lie heard that the Cravens hat
changed their names to johnson an
he followed them to Silver City. Her,
ch he heard that the boy who was a
ii. Kinks ranch at Cisco when the stool
st was there was on the ella, and he wen
N. out to see him. The boy was off on
m roundup but us Hughes had come upol
two horses which he knew to be stplel
from his section, on the ranch of Lyon
of & Campbell he concluded that he wa
res in a good country to gain information
ar so he hired out to a farmer there an,
ms kept his ears open. In two weeks
time the boy sought returned and afte
.ty much persuasion told Hughes that tn
re Johnsons had the horses on u ranc
or twelve miles north of Fairview. Tn
as hoy himself was riding a contraban
N / NJ. - .I..l, ~. .,.t.a.. L. 80