Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1892-10-24
TOO MUCH CRIME.
Several More Killings in Various Parts
Of the Territory-An Epidemic
of Murder.

Murder seems to go in the shape of an
epidemic in New Mexico. When there is
one, it is quickly followed by another
and ANOTHER, so on, ad infnitum.
Over at Las Vegas there was mob VIC
lence and a hanging on Friday night.
Ten days ago mail carrier named
Montoya was killed in Lincoln county
and a few days later Francisco, the La
Mesa mail carrier, died from the effect of
the brutal assault made upon him at Las
Cruces. No arrests have been made in
either case.
In Grant county one day last week Mr..
Burleson and the Miller boys were work
ing in a field at Pine Cienega, when
Thomas Hall, ST., and Will Witt, came
along looking for calf, Bureson adj
dressed Hall, saying: This is good
time to settle that matter between u.s.
He said thtE Hall made a motion to reach
for his gun and that he, BurIeson, then
began shooting and that Witt and Hall
both returned the fire. Halls horse be-
came unmanageable and ran away. Hall
was shot through the shoulder and badly
wounded. 1t is claimed by Hall and Witt
that the shot which struck Hall wac fired
by an outsider from barn 800 hundred
yards from where the first interview took
place, Hall will have preliminary hear
ing at Silver City to-day
In Colfax county, on the upper Yer
meio, Abran Padilla killed a neighbor
named Gallegos over cattle breaking
into Padilla's field. The slayer gave
himself up and alleges self-defense
Frank Zeiger, the ranchman in west
ern Valencia county who killed young
Candelario for driving sheep over his
pasture land, was caught in western
Bernalillo county on Friday. He was on
his way to Colorado in a wagon when
Deputy Sheriff Hubbell came upon him
and effected his capture. He was given a
preliminary hearing by the justice at
Cubero and is now in the Los Lunas
Jail to await the action of the grand
jury.
News also reaches here that Charles
Wood, boy of Is years, and man
named Diaz had been murdered in camp
on the trail above the Gila Hot Springs
on the night of the 10th or the morning
of the 18th. The dead bodies were found
on the morning of the 18th. Young Wood
and the Mexican were on their return
from Silver City, where they had been
purchasing some supplies, to the ranch of
Woods father, Thomas j. Wood, on the
upper ella. Diaz had been shot through the
head, and killed instantly. The boy had been
struck over the head two or three times
and shot through the hand and head.
There is not the slightest clue to the per-
petrators of the crime. Nothing was dis
turbed about the camp, nor were any ar
ticles missing. The guns and ammunition
were there, and also the supplies and
burros, upon which they were making
their journey, indicating that the murders
were not the work of Indians or maraud-
ing Mexicans. The general opinion is
the crime was committed by some one
who had grudge against Diaz, and killed
the boy to conceal the crime. All signs
and trails were obliterated by rain
which fell the night of the tragedy. The
coroner's jury returned verdict of death
from the hands of parties unknown"
Gila Hot Springs are about eighty miles
north of Deming, in Grant county.
In the U. S. district court at Albu-
querque, U. S. Attorney Fiske reports
that five persons entered pleas of
guilty and were fined for violation of
the Edmunds act, and Rufino Baca was
convicted of a similar crime. He has
not yet been sentenced James Staples,
arrested year ago for passing counter
felt money, and who escaped from the
Albuquerque jail and fled to California,
was recaptured, brought back and goes
to the pen. for une months.