Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-03-04
A "REMINISCENCES.
How A Convict Was In
duced to Surrender.
THE POWER OF PERsU ASTON.

A Story of the Time When r. E.
Rowan was Under
Sheriff.
EDITORS HERAID.~-As your journ al
is read by all the old.timers, and by
most OF the new ones, the subjoined
little narration of facts may be accept
able. 1t was during last August,
while enjoying a vacation at that
most charming OF places. San Juan
Capistrano, that / came in possession
of them. Sitting under the shade of
a broad piazza in front of the hospita-
BILE mansion of Judge Richard Egan,
with that gentleman, Don Marco For
ster and others, it was but natural
that those gentlemen should grow
reminiscent and delight a tenderfoot
with incidents that occurred before
his time on the Golden Coast. One
of those little incidents as illustrating
the power of eloquent pursuasion and
the ascendency OF mind over matter,
was SO interesting that 1 have always
considered it too good to be lost, and
with your permission will perpetuate
it. Away back when Don David Alex
ander was sheriff Of this county, Mr..
I. E. Rowan, or as his old friends love
to call him, Tommy" was his faith
full under sheriff. (Since that time
Mr.. Rowan has been called by the
people to fill several positions of
honor and profit, and has had
many experiences, but will venture
to say that none of them afforded him
the amusement and satisfaction which
the one am about to relate did,
Well, to my tale: A Mexican
named Ballesteros, a good-hearted
fellow at bottom, but a perfect devil
when aroused by either rage or drink,
and a man calculated to defy all the
laws, religious, civil and military,
when the spirit moved him, became
engaged in a row, and with knife
cut brother Mexican nearly to
pieces. Ballesteros was pretty drunk
at the time, and his arrest was made
with much less difficulty than if he
had acted in rage and not in liquor.
He was arrested, tried, found guilty
of assault with intent to murder, and
sentenced to five years in the peniten-
tiary. In due time the prisoner, in
charge Of deputy sheriff, was started
on his way to his place Of retirement.
In those days Los Angeles had no
transcontinental railroads, and the
steamship was the easiest mode of
communication with the Northern
Citrus Belt. Accordingly Ballesteros
was sent by way of San Pedro. On
arriving at that port the prisoner,
who was 1.-The as panther, willy as
fox and bold as a lion, made dash
for liberty and escaped from the
deputy sheriff.
Pursuit was in vain. as he was sup
posed to have gained the hills, and
having many relations and friends his
recapture was despaired of. The case
had attracted considerable attention,
and Don David, the sheriff, was much
worried over the escape. 1t was we'll
known that he would have given
almost anything to have Ballesteros
back again, and, in fact, he brooded
over the escape and refused to be
comforted.
Shortly after the break for liberty
Mr.. Rowan drove in light buggy to
San Juan Capistrano to serve some
papers in an important civil suit. AT
ter performing his official duty the
genial gentlemen concluded to spend
few days with his friends in that To-
cality, and about every man, woman
and child down there was accounted
his friends. OF course he stopped with
Judge Egan. who was Judge then, is
a Judge now and will always be
Judge.
The second day of Mr.. Rowan's
stay he was informed that Ballesteros
with number of adherents was
strongly entrenched in a little cafion
up on the Santa Margarita rancho,
and thinking how his chief, Don
David, was mourning the absence of
Ballesteros, he conceived the idea OF
bringing the escape back to Los An
geles. He impaired this thought to
his friends and they hooted at him.
Why, said they: "You will offer your
self up to slaughter. 1t would take
an army to dislodge this man from
his entrenched position" Neverthe-
less Mr. Rowan did not falter. He
wanted to crafty Don David and was
determined to do it. He finally asked
if Ballesteros had friend in San
Juan who would carry message to
him. He was answered that he had
score who would readily go. Ac-
cordingly Mr.. Rowan selected young
Mexican and sent the following mes
sage to the escaped prisoner: ri am
here after you and don't care to take
the touble to come up the canon to
get you. Please come down and save
trouble"
The Mexican messenger came back
the next day with broad grin on his
face and delivered the following re-
turn message: "I am in the cation,
and any friend of mine in San Juan
Capistrano will conduct you to the
place, but if you come will get you,
and not you me. Depart in peace"
Mr.. Rowan's friends all said: eve
told you so;" and INDUCED in much
hilarity at his expense. Their merri-
ment got Mr.. Rowan's Irish up, and
he said: "Now I will take Ballesteros
back to Los Angeles with me, and
there will be no blood shed and
no handouts used" This was re-
ceived with a roar of laughter also.
Mr.. Rowan then wrote in Spanish
the following message to Ballesteros:
sI have no evil designs on you, but
what do is for your own good. l
want you to come to San Juan to-
morrow evening and let me have lust