Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-11-24
STORY or AN OLD FRONTIER FEuD.


n yang OF Rustier8 wiped Ont TO Avengo
Range Riders Murder.
f. F. Beckwith, of Ula, Colo. has sought
entertainment at the Great Northern. AS
he stalked through the lobby to the desk
the attention of every man in the place
was conferred upon him. There was that
rolling something about his gait that at
once proclaims the sailor or the man who
has spent his life in the saddle. Mr. Beck
with, who is a superbly proportioned man
of feet inches, wore a natty gray frock
suit, dun colored sombrero and pair of
patent leather shoes with high heels--heels
such as cowboys wear 1t might be Incl
dentally stated that Ed Beckwith, as he
is known throughout the west, is partner
in the firm of Beckwith Bros, cattlemen,
and among the wealthiest in that line in
the world.
About three miles from Ula is his ranch
house, bungalow painted white, with six
teen foot verandas ON all sides. The bun
galow is fitted as no other house in exist
ence, the only thing American being a
range and a bathroom. For the last dec
ade Mr.. Beckwith has employed his win
tiers travelling in farOff lands and picking
up curios and articles of vertu These
have been shipped home, and as result
his house looks more like a museum than
anything else. Although bachelor, Mr.
Beckwith is a sybarite, and the incongruity
of an Egyptian mummy leering under an
electric light rather amuses him. Be it
known that no woman save his sister-in-
law has ever set foot in the charming place
he calls "the ranch"
Several years ago there was "a gang of
Tustlers known as the Mccoy gang in cen
trail Colorado that robbed the cattlemen
right and left. So bold did they become
that tenderloin steaks were sold in Coropai
for a cent pound. II was through the ef-
forts of Beckwith that the gang was prac-
tically annihilated, and that Dick Mccoy,
one Of the worst desperadoes ever unhung,
is now doing life" at Canyon City.
But for Beckwith's story. 1T was in
October of 1888, " began he, that found
Fred Arnold dead on Texas creek. Arnold
was one of our riders, you know. There
was big hole in his breast, and his legs
were riddled with Winchester bullets.
Both of his guns were in his belt. knew
that Arnold was quick man with a gun
and that he must have been ambushed As
a matter of fact he rode the western range
because we knew him to be a fighter and
able TO take care Of himself in any trouble
be might have with the Mccoy gang.
"A quick search showed tracks of a
| couple of men and horses behind the will
lows on the other side Of the creek. The
trail of one of the men revealed that he
had dragged his left leg trihe. That
meant Dick Mccoy sure. After following
the trail of the horses for five miles, and
seeing that il pointed to the Mccoy ranch,
| turned back and picked poor Arnold up
and took him to the ranch. The verdict of
the coroner's jury was, Murdered by per
sons unknown It's the regulation FORM
but it didn't suit us. So we called meet
ing of the cattlsmen and talked it over. 1t
didn't take long to come TO the conclusion
that if we wanted to protect our interests
and save the lives of our riders and our
selves the Mccoy gang had TO be wiped out
I'm the early morning two days later
| sixteen men rode through the gulch that
ended at McCoy's place. There wasn't
any shelter, and we had to ride for il. In
the corral were seven men killing rustled
cattle On the fence were half a dozen
hides with the brands cut out. The sight
made us crazy, and with "A yell we dashed
| forward. The rustlers cut loose first and
two of our men dropped out of their sad
dies One was killed, the other shot
through the shoulder We got six Of the
seven. The seventh was old Dick Mccoy,
whom | winged rs he was trying TO hide
behind a COW. The rustlers in the ranch
skipped out when they saw how il was 20
ing. Peg Leg Smith and a couple of others
who got away are now doing time at Can
yon City for robbing Denver and Rio
Grande express train.
I'VE didn't kill Mccoy and put him out
of his misery, but thought he'd suffer more
II he was patched up and sentenced for life
for half a dozen murders. He's enjoying
himself in tennis suit in the pen in Can
yon City now."-Chicago Inter Ocean.