Griggs courier., 1891-10-23
HUNTING 4 pespERAoo.

HUNTING A pESPERADo.
Narino Leyba's Daring Li1s and saddens
G Death. -
Marino Leyba was convict brick
molder at the New Mexico penitentiary,
sentenced to seven years at hard labor
for stealing horse and attempting to
kill the officer who arrested him. He
was Mexican, giant in stature, and
a tiger in disposition, and when in the
mood would tight anything. He would
kill man as quick as he would q RABBIT
He was notorious as 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 a 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 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 a
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
ranchman quarreled with Leyba over
the price of stolen horse and was
shrewd enough 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
a 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
a strong seven by five cell at night,
Leyba changed his tactics and became
a model of good behavior and industry.
He was the best brickmolder in the
yard, and whenever u row occurred
among the convicts he always helped
the officers to quell it. One day Carlos
Jacome, a belligerent young Mexican
convict, who wore shackles most of the
time for bad conduct, started fight,
and with blow from his fist Leyba
knocked him into a helpless heap At
an opportune 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 wakening thoughts were bitterness
itself Leyba was innocent and he
pleaded for a 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 q
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 we'll 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 we'll armed, fearless, an uner-
ring shot, and his back never turned
towards anybody who might be likely
to take it for a mark. He had his
friends among ex-convicts and other
hard characters. And there were 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. It hurt these
flourishing 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 we'll 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
Ley ba's fist, who had finished his term
in the penitentiary.
They were well mounted and each
armed with brace of forty .aves. The
middle of the afternoon of the second