Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-05-05
WAR ON THE RED RIVER.
Particulars Of the. Murder Of the -Four
Officers by Cattle Thieves in
the Nation,
The Outlaws Surrounded by Posse of
Two Hundred Men--Further
Bloodshed Imminent.
Special.

GAINESVILLE, TEX, May Am.
other courier has arrived In this city
from the scene OF the bloody trag.
edy In the nation and corroborates
the killing of Andy and Tim Rolf,
Francis Mathis and Officer Guy, which
was done In q most fiendfsh and
treacheroue manner.
The fight occurred where Mud creek
enters Caddo creek, about forty miles
from this city. The thieves had
sought shelter In block house from
which they dealt their deadly fire.
Sergeant Guy was treacherousiy in
duced to believe that the thieves would
NOT resist the service of papers on them
and with that understanding he
placed himself in position where he
might talk with them when the fug.-
tives opened murderous fire on him
from six Winchesters, riddling him
with bullets.
One bullet killed Andy Rolf. Five
bullets were fred into Jim Rolf and
several pierced the body Of Mathis.
Reports as to the number of wounded
are conflicting, our IL formant stating
that five were wounded, while another
says that only one man was wounded.
The following are the names of the
outlaws, all OF whom escaped unin-
jured: Jim Green, Doc Lee, Ed Stein,
Jim Lee and negro. Jim Lee lie the
leader of the gang, and boasts that he
did the principal part of
the killing. Their place of
rendezvous is the Lee ranch, where
they have constructed block house
for shelter, with loop holes all around.
After the killing the murderers
emerged from this place Of shelter and
started In the direction of Delaware
Bend, this county, notifying parties on
the way that they had left several
corpses at the ranch which the friends
of the dead had better get, or the hogs
would eat them up. They sald they
had done coed job, and were on
their way to Delaware Bend to see
what they could do there.
The news of the killing
spread like wildfire. Many
people from near the scene of
the tragedy, in conjunction with a
posse organized by the sheriff of this
city have assembled at Delaware Bend
togive pursuit and capture, If possible,
these desperate characters.
The Lee boys are well known in
this and Grsyson counties. They are
related to some OF the respectable citi.
zens of both counties. Only recently
the mother of Jim Lee, the leader of
the gang, an estimRble Christian
woman, pleaded with her son to re-
form his life. The people living
in Delaware Bend are becom-
ing greatly concerned for the safety
Of their lives and property. They are
absolutely powerless to suppress the
lswlessness prevailing in and around
there, and IL seems that the officers
have been unable to afford any prolec-
ton. 1t is a dark corner and IL con-
venlently located for the operations oil
the outlaws. The recent Wholesale
stealing of cattle, cut Of which grew
this bloodshed, is only one instance OF
the many outrages visited upon the
people thore. The band OF outlaw.
which operates around there numbers
about twenty, and for the past two
years it has been engagedia stock steal
ing and numbering indlscriminately'
These men are banded together TO re-
sist arrest TO the death.
1t is stated that no less than forty
five men have met their death at the
hands of these desperadoes within the
last two or three years. Delaware
Bend is situated in the extreme north
east of the county, about thirty-fivs
miles from here, on the banks Of the
Red river.
LATER. The latest information IL
that the outlaws are surrounded In 8
house by a posse Of 200 men. They
will die rather than surrender. a
messenger has been dispatched to
sherman for cannon.