Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1896-05-23
LEM TWEEDY'S FATAL KICK.
He Hit a Tomcat, and the Act Cost Hir
His Life.

He Hill u lOmcat, ana the Act Cost H1IA
His Life.
They was a hard lot, them Tweedy
boys" said the man from the southwest
"They all killed now but one, an they
say he's reformed. l guess that's tn
reason. Say, did ever tell you how tn
tomeat got Lem Iweedy hung down in
Tucson? I guess he'd been hung sooner
or later anyhow but tn tomcat, sure, was
at the bottom of it as it happened.
'They belonged over in Globe. tn
Tweedys did, but Lem Tweedy he drifted
over to Phenix. That was before tn rail
road come in there an after they got right
we'll acquainted with him in Phenix they
jugged him. No. he hadn't done nothin.
That was the trouble. If he had, they'd
a-hung him, but he wouldn't give 'em no
provocation. You can't hang u man for
dom nothin, an they got tired of him
livin OH tn town. so they jagged him Us Il
moral example to tn community, along
with the greasers an chinks an the rest
of tn trash out in tn county Jail.
"Well that didn't do no good. They
sent him out OH tn road with tn chain
gang to work, but Lem he just went over
shade an went to sleep. He said tn coun-
try had took it ON itself to lock him up, an
now they could took 1t on themselves to
feed i'm. Well, they took i'm out'n tn
chain gang for fear of demoralizin tn
greasers an hoboes an put i'm on bread all
water at tn Jail. Lem he got hold of
some old shippin tags an blue an red
pencil somewhere an painted him up lot
of monte cards, so between whites he won
all tn tobacco an everything else tn greas-
ers an TIL Cinnamon had, THROWN tn
three cards for 'em.
"'Rout that time two greasers killed
man out on TIL edge of town, an he boin u
right popular follow tho word was give for
tn crowd to go up that eyenin an lynch
'em. Course tn warden he heard of it, an
he figured it nd be good time to get rid
of Lem. TIL warden didn't care particular
about havin i'm hung, but ho told Lem
tn boys was thinkin about all fired serious
that they had calculated it was Il pretty
good time to git rid of an circumference
on tn community along with tn greasers.
1t come SO near soundin plausible that
Lem he believed it, an when tn warden
said he'd better take advantage Of tn ex.
element to pull his freight out of town
Lem thanked i'm an said he guessed he
would a.
9TH warden give i'm q small canteen
to carry i'm acrost tn desert, for there
weren't no place for i'm to strike nearer
N Tucson. When he pulled his stakes, he
managed to steal tn day keepers gun, but
even that an tn canteen wasn't much OF
an outfit for tn Gila desert in summer, an
when Lem got out to tn last water on tn
edge Of town he just lays down in, an al.
falia field to think it over. He knowed II
he got out on tn sand in tn daytime he'd
dry up like raisin, an he weren't much
given to walkin anyhow, an he told Jerry
kellam afterward he was thinkin serious
whether he'd go out and risk gettin dessi'
Gated on TIL desert or go back to town and
chance gettin up in tn world in company
with two deceased greasers.
"Well, about tn time he'd made up his
mind to go back long comes Jerry with
load of freight ho was haulin to Tucson,
an Lem struck him for ride. Jerry
lowed he wasn't runnin no Pullman pas.
senger train an he didn't know as his team
ud hold out that hot weather to git him
an tn freight through. But Lem said it
was a grounding case, an tn upshot of ii
was he was goin to be a passenger anyhow.
Jerry knowed him pretty well by reperta'
ton an seed he had gun, SO they arbi-
trated, an it were finally agreed that Lem
was to act white an not do no dirt by tn
outfit an Jerry would low him to work
his way down to Tucson, rustlin stock an
cookin.
''Well, they did it all right. Lem, bein a
man of his word after his own particular
sort, lived up to his end Of tn contract, an
him an Jerry parted at tn end of tn trip
best of friends, Jerry, too, havin satisfac-
ton in KNOWN he'd done his town good
turn by haulin off ono Of it's worst encum.
berances.
"That was all there was to that, but
when no landed in Tucson, where he
wasn't SO we'll known, Lem he started in
to turn trick. He prospected round
some an seed how tn bank in town was
located, an he figured that bank was just
about duo to git robbed So ho writes to
his brothor-that was Tom, that's reform
cd now--to come down an help him with
tn job. Tom he come all NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
he started out from Yuma-but before he
got there some old Hassayampa up in tn
Catalinas struck a big pocket in a prospect
hole he was runnin, an bein moro con-
servative than tn most Of them old moss
backs, he comes down to town to bank 1t,
stead of cach'n it In his cabin.
"Well, of course everybody heared about
tn big strike tn old man had made, an
how he'd salted in nigh on to burro load
of pure dust in tn bank, an LON he thinks
it's too good a chance to lose so he figures
to hold up tn bank single handed, 'thout
waitin for Tom. Meantime he'd gone out
an picked up pretty fair horse on tn
road, an mighty fine saddle But bein,
as say, tn town hadn't had chance to
git on to i'm yet an as tn man what owned
tn horse was stranger, there weren't nc
questions asked when they see Lem ridin
him.
"Bein summer, business was mighty
slack bout tn middle of tn day, an there
was suro not to be moren two clerks In
tn bank, an maybe not more'n one. II
was roulette chances there wouldn't be nc
customers inside, an probably not many
people on tn streets, everybody koepin II
TIL shade at that hour. So Lem he figured
to ride his horse up to tn bank, 60 in oil
hold up tn house for oil TIL chips there
was on tn table, lock tn clerks up in tn
vault an canter out'n town with all tn
dust he could pack in his saddle pockets.
''Things couldn't have come more hi
way If he had hired ON. There WASN'T
but one clerk in tn bank, an nobody else
It was hot enough In tn street to make .
sun lizard hang his tongue out, SO there
weren't nobody In sight on tn street
Everything might gone off pleasant ar
accordin to schedule If 1t hadn't been fol
LENS natural disposition.
when he starts in tn door, there vert
big tomcat belonged to th'bank layi1
In TIL shade guess tn cat suspioioned
there was somethin wrong, for he put W
hir hanIk NJ, rnik sort Of cnitafI,l M Txuaady