The St. Johns herald., 1889-04-25
The Notorious McNail in a New Role.

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 R. ". McNail, the notorious horse thief, burglar, mail and train robber makes things lively for small posse who attempted his capture few days since, at one of his camps in one of the many deep and almost inaccessible can yons in the Mogollon mountains. It ap- pears that Pete Jacoby, of Winslow, who has recently been making hunt for the hiding place of McNail, the willy and desperate road agent, finally succeeded in locating his camp about forty miles south of Winslow. Jacoby immediately returned and reported the fact of his discovery to the local authorities, and proposed that if purse and posse could be raised, he would go out and bring McNail in. Within twenty-four hours the citizens of Winslow, headed by Col. J. H. Breed, raIsed a purse of $1 ,OOO and posse of three men who, in com mand and under the guidance of Jacoby started for the stronghold of the daring outlaw.
 They arrived in the vicinity of his camp late in the afternoon, and found him located in deep, narrow and pre- cipitous, canyon to which there were but two approaches, one from the east and the other from the west. After making a cautious reconnaissance, the posse, in- stead of dividing up and advancing from both sides upon McNail's cabin, tkey approached, in body, very stealthily from the east, and when they were near ing the rendezvous of the noted robber, one of the posse happened to look across to the opposite side of the canyon, and To and behold, we'll up among the rocks on the opposite side, stood McNail, with his Winchester in hand, quietly watch ing their movements. When he saw that he had been discovered, he sprang behind d large rock the posse quickly initiating his movement, when the ball opened. After duel, which lasted for an hour or more, the posse concluded to make flank movement, and come in on McNail from the opposite side. They accordingly worked their way to the head of the canyon, and made detour which consumed considerable time. Finally they again approached the cabin from the west side, only to find that the bird had flown.
 McNail left his regrets at his inability to remain and extend them further hos pitality. We give below his written apology, which is all of the cunning highwayman, the posse took back to Winslow, with the exception that one of them had bullet hole through the crown of his hat. the bullet leaving a red streak across the top of his scalp.
 DEAR FRIENDs-I hope you will not be insulted at the reception I gave you, for you see that it was my birthday, and I thought would celebrate it with py- rotechnical exhibition on small scale. I have so few visitors here, that am glad to have some one come around, no matter what his business is, am al- ways ready to welcome him by firing a few shots from my Winchester as sa lute. Some people do not admire this style of greeting-but they cannot see a joke. I hope you, my cunning friends, will appreciate it at its full value. Peo- pie say the train has been robbed. That is terrible. Who robbed it? do hope and trust that you, gentlemen, will do all in your power to capture the guilty parties. Run them to their rendezvous; l; give them no quarter. Such depreda