The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-10-17
HUNTlNe a pEsPERAoo.
marino Lcyba's Daring Life and sudder
DaaNh.

lOT SbcdlluR nOTSc anu dbJeAhpbihB w
kill the officer who arrested him. He
was Mexican, a giant in stature, and
tiger in disposition, and when in the
mood would fight anything. He would
kill man as quick as he would n rabit
He was notorious as a horse thief long
before the law gripped him. But back
of his artistic method of taking the
| horses and cattle of the ranchers was
dark background of more serious crimes.
Col. Potter, an eastern capitalist with
large investments in New Mexico, trav-
eled lonely trail in the Sandia noun
tains once too often. His body was
found, or rather the charred remains,
for an attempt had been made to Gre
mate it, with bullet hole in the head.
The murder was charged to a band of
robbers which at that time infested the
Sandals, and Leyba was known to be
one of their number-probably the
leader This was within thirty miles of
Santa Fe and Albuquerque, where Col.
Potter had many friends. People de-
termined to break up the gang, whose
operations were around the mining
camps of San Pedro, Dolores, and Gold
en-, and organized posse for that pur-
pose. They cornered the gang in
| little Mexican town and swung every
one of them from the projecting vegas
by lariats-all except Leyba, who was
not there.
He organized another band of stock
thieves, who carried on their business
for two years, with certain pretended
ranchman to "handle the goods" The
| 1ol L
the price of stolen horse and was
shrewd en- ough to land him in the peni-
tentiary for seven years. The murder
of Col. Potter had not been forgotten,
but time and the summary execution of
all but one of the gang had lessened
| public indignation; besides all who
might have been witnesses against
Leyba were dead, and seven years was
long sentence. During the trial the
desperate threatened to kill the prose-
cutting attorney, William Breeden; but
once within the stone walls, covered by
shotguns during the day, and locked in
strong seven by five cell at night,
Leyba changed his tactics and became
model of good behavior and industry.
He was the best brickmolder in the
yard, and whenever row occurred
among the convicts he always helped
the officers to quell it. One day Carlos
Jacome, belligerent young Mexican
convict, who wore shackles most of the
time for bad conduct started a fight
and with blow from his fist Leyba
knocked him into helpless heap. At
an opportunc time the ranchman who
had sent Leyba to the penitentiary ap-
peared before the governor seemingly
much cast down and conscience-trou-
bled. He apologized for his hand in the
affair. His dreams were haunted and
his Weakening thoughts were bitterness
itself. Leyba was innocent and he
pleaded for pardon. The fact was
that the business of stealing horses and
cattle was languishing in the absence
of the alert and daring manager. In the
course of time the governor was per-
suaded and the prisoner got his pardon.
Once more in the wilds of Sandals
Leyba lost no time in making himself a
terror to the people there. He knew
every trail, every rocky canon, the al
most impenetrable and silent forest
which shielded only the mountain lion
and the bear-safe retreats after excur-
sions to the mining camps and ranches.
There were murders and robberies by
somebody well posted on the comings
and goings along the mountain roads.
At first the desperate was seldom seen.
Afterwards he grew bolder and ap-
peared in San Pedro, Golden and Ger
rillas, where he drank and caroused
with men who did not care to fight so
long as they were unmolested. He was
always well armed, fearless, an uner-
ring shot, and his back never turned
towards anybody who might be likely
to take it for mark. He had his
friends among eX-convicts and other
hard characters. And there We're men,
too, who would have been willing to
put the finishing touch on his career,
only that there were so many pistols
about and skilled hands to manipulate
them that there would have been a
wholesale killing.
But this could not last. 1t hurt these
fiourishing mining camps, kept investi-
, gators out and capital away, and made
life too exciting and uncertain. A
, strong protest went up to the sheriff of
Santa Fe county, and he at once COM
missioned two men as deputies, who
were well fitted to carry out their di-
rections to take Leyba alive or dead.
These deputy sheriffs were Joaquin
, Montoya, an ex-guard at the peniten-
, tiary, handy in the use of the knife and
pistol, and Carlos Jacome, the victim OF
, Leyba's fist, who had finished his term
! in the penitentiary.
They were well mounted and each
! armed with brace of forty .fves. The
middle of the afternoon of the second
day they were up in the mountains on q
$ very faint trail running in the direction
S from which Leyba had been seen to en-
1 ter Golden. 1t was twilight under the
! dense spruce and pine trees, and the
, bottom of the great canon above which
l the trail wound was as black as night
' They slowly turned the corner of bis
I lava bowlder and stopped-face to fac,
c with the outlaw, who sat on his horst
+ not twenty yards away with a cooked
S pistol in each hand. Their pistols wer,
in their belts and the slightest motion
o of a hand in that direction would hav,
:, sealed their doom. But in thinking
d over the dangerous and highly dramati
e situations liable to occur in hunting
n desperate man in the mountains the,
v had not overlooked this one.
c "How are you, my friend?" Montoy
It said in Spanish I'VE are hunting cal
g tie and are lost. Put up your pistols
It We are not here to fight Where is tn