The St. Johns herald., 1890-04-17
Pat DeSmOnd'S Career.

During the summer of 1869 Kit Carson was the terminus of the Kansas Pacific Railway. It was To- cated in newly organized county, then known as Greenwood, just within the borders of the State, and 150 miles east of Denver. It was a typical frontier railroad town, and was peopled by as lawless a gang of ruffians as was ever congregated at one spot on the plains. All the "bad men" who had followed up the line of the Kansas Pacific were there, and their numbers were rein forced by many of the tougEs who escaped the bullets of their adver- saries, or failed to fall into the hands of a vigilance committee on the line of the Union Pacific, which had then been completed. It was also the starting point for wagon-trains for New Mexico and Arizona, whose "bull-whackers" and "mule-skin- ners" could hold their own in al- most any kind of a crowd and in. any kind of a row.
 To control this cosmopolitan col lection of hard characters, says a Denver special to the New York World, Gov. Ed. McCook had ap-, pointed Charlie Jennison, a short, stout, jovial fellow, without any ex- perience as an officer, but of known courage, as Sheriff of Greenwood county. Jennison chose as his dep. uty an army wagon master some. what similar to himself in personah appearance, an active, wiry, nervy fellow, who had earned a reputation for coolness and courage.
 The toughs who had concentrated at Kit Carson sized up the two Col orado officials and remarked that If Gov. McCook could not send two better men than those little chaps they would run the town" 1
 A few days passed without inci-t dent, but at last a row started in one of the many dives which lined the main street of the town. A tall, heavy brute from Kansas was beat ing the life out of a man when the little Deputy Sheriff rushed in and facing the fellow said he would take him to the lookup. The big man, who had two or three murders to his credit, reached for hls revolver. The deputy was too quick for him, for drawing a Colts army pistol he hit the fellow a blow on the top of his head which felled him to the floor. Just at that moment Sheriff Jennison arrived, and the two off, cers dragged off their man ard lock ed him up. That was Desmond's first arrest in Colorado.
 During that summer no town com posed of such a population was ever more quiet or orderly. Pat Desmond's first arrest had settled all dispute as to who was master of the place. He was q genial, pleas ant fellow, whose many qualities of courage and manhood promised him an honorable name among those who, as representatives of the majesty of the law, made them selves terror to evil-doers. But such was not to be Desmond's des- tiny, and on Saturday night last his career ended in blood in an Og- den dive, a victim of the revolver, which weapon had played so impor- tant a part in his eventful career
 Patrick J. Desmond was born in Ireland in 1S41. In 1864 he emi- grated to America and lived in east ern cities for two years. He was mixed up in the Fenian troubles of 1866 and was in the fight at Ridge way. He then came west and was employed as wagon-master by the Quartermaster's Department on the plains, until his Colorado career began at Kit Carson, as already mar