Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-11-19
story of the Crime.


owns and operates an extensive cattle
and horse ranch at Ole de la Baca Cow
Springs) in the southeastern part of this
county, and last January his sons, Tomas
and Maximiliano, were there looking after
their fathers interests. On Thursday
morning, January II, Tomas, the Oldest
of the two young men, started away from
the ranch on horseback in quest of miss
ing cattle. He was mounted on good
horse, had first-class saddle and bride,
was well armed and had an excellent
equipment of blankets and warm cloth
ing. A faithful and favorite dog of the
bulldog species, accustomed to such
trips, eagerly followed his master. As
the young man rode away he told Maxi
miliano that he would be back on Sunday
afternoon. But he never returned.
THE NOBLE AND sAaAoIoUs DOG.
About 10 o'clock on Tuesday morning,
however, the noble and sagacious dog
returned to the ranch in most pitiable
condition. He was completely exhausted
from exposure, hunger and loss of blood
from a CHASTITY gun-shot wound in the
head, but, after being fed, the poor dog
showed by unmistakable signs that some
thing serious had happened and that &C
tion must be taken at once. After ex-
aiming the dogs injury and rejecting
that the loyal animal never would have
deserted his master except under most
extraordinary circumstances, Maximili-
ano instantly concluded that the evident
anxiety of the animal to be moving
meant something and should not be dis
regarded. So he quickly saddled horse
and started to ride south, the direction
in which he supposed his brother to be.
but the dog obstinately refused 20 go that
way, whining mournfully and running
almost due east. Finally Maximiliano
decided to follow the dog, and, after rid
ing about eight or nine miles, he reached
his fathers roundup corral at La
Muralla. The dog ran in ahead, went
straight to the remains of what had evil
IDENTIFY been an unusually large campfire
and began barking and digging in the
! ashes with his paws. Maximiliano was
soon on the ground and in the corral.
There he saw the tracks of number OF
horses, the fresh footprints of a number
of men and noticed part of the carcass OF
one of his fathers steers.
FOUND HIS BROTHERS. FOOT.
AS the dog persisted in barking around
the spot where the fire had been and indi-
eating in many other ways that that was
the place to explore, the young man be-
gan raking in the heap of ashes and life
less embers, and almost Immediately dis
covered human foot still encased in a
heavy shoe and overshoe, which, although
partly charred, he recognized as belong
ing to his brother. He also found par!
of the large pelvis bones. The rest Of
the body had been consumed by an in
tensely fierce fire. Having made
this discovery he at once realized that his
brother had been murdered and he there
fore, as soon as he could find one, sent {
runner to Santa Fe to apprise the sheriff
of what had happened.
Sheriff Cunningham was engaged ii
eating supper at the Palace hotel wher
the runner got to Santa Fe and saw him
The sheriff and Deputy Sheriff Juar
Delgado immediately started for the
scene of the tragedy, forty miles distant
riding nearly all night. When it was
sufficiently light next morning te
make an examination, they found that thu
snow, which had fallen since the occurrence
of the tragedy, had SO far obliterated the
tracks in and leading from the corral al
to leave them practically indistinguish
able. The sheriff followed the faint signs
which the snow had spared, however, to
ward Las Vegas, finally reaching a village
called Gusano, which he knew to be in
habited by some very tough characters
Here he could not discover anything, as
the inhabitants refused to sell him fooo
either for himself or his horse, so he rode
to way station on the railroad for the
purpose of remaining over night with ar
acquaintance. While there
oNE-ARMED ARAB PEDDLER
came in and said that he had been rob
bed short time previously and fur
ther stated that he could identify the
parties that had robbed him. Sheriff
Cunningham accompanied the peddlel
and succeeded in arresting four men
whom the Arab identified. The sheriff
also found the goods which had beer
taken from the peddler. Mr.. Cunning
ham took his prisoners before a loca
justice of the peace in San Miguel county
and by representing the territory himself
succeeded in having them bound over
without bonds on charge of highway
robbery. He then gave the Justice re-
ceipt for the prisoners, to be given te
the sheriff of San Miguel county, and
brought them to Santa Fe, where he
lodged them in jail.
Sheriff Cunningham, while not thor
oughly satisfied that the men he had were
the murderers of Martinez, felt confident
that they could, if they would, put him or
the track of the real murderers. The Sc
quel shows that he was right in his con
lecture and that he never got on wrong
scent, or followed misleading cue from
the time he left the corral on the morning
of the 22d of January, until he had al
four who were implicated in the murder
behind the bars of the Santa Fe county
Jail, the whole time elapsing between tn,
date of the murder and the arrest, con
fession and failing of the murderers, be
ing but fifteen days.
IMPORTANT ADMISSIONS.
By working on the prisoners whom h,
had in custody, the chief of whom Wal
Crecensio Martinez, at whose father
house in Gusano Vialpando made head
quarters, the sheriff finally secured ad
missions from them that, on Sunday
night, January 20, Jesus Vlalpando, Fell
ciano Chavez and two other men with fiv,
horses passed through Gusano and thai
Vialpando had told the elder Martinez
not to tell anyone that they had beer
there. The latter soon after came to San
ia Fe to help his son out of trouble and
he confirmed this story. The sheriff Their
gave the prisoners sou!e money and
turned them loose, they promising 10 To-
cate one or all Of the parties implicated
in the murder and telegraph him an ar.
ranged signal. After several days, and
when he was about to give up the hope
of any assistance from his prisoner ns
sistants, the sheriff received a telegram
as agreed on. He took the first train for
the point from whence the telegram had
been sent, which was in San Miguel coun.
/ tv sonth of Las VeDas There he mat m 9