The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-07-06
THE LONE BANDIT.


Dead shot-seven Heavily Armed
Men No Match for Him-His Brother
Jack.
Yuma Letter to St. Louis Globe Democrat.)
The death of Jack Keeler, at his
shanty away up in the Harqua Hala
Mountains recently. has set the old
timers in the territory to recounting
stories of the days of the Keeler boys
careers of crime, and especially of the
truly wonderful method that the elder
brother-Bill-bad in conducting high
way robberies in south Arizona twelve
and fifteen years ago. While the
names of both Jack and Bill Keller
We're on the lips of every one in the
territory for four or five years, as the
most ubiquitous of robbers, and people
seldom took a long journey by stage
anywhere in Arizona without fear that
they might come upon one of the Kee-
lers, very little of the fellows has been
known or published outside the terrific
ry concerning them.
The Keelers came from the locality of
Sag Harbor, l.. l., in the summer Of
1873, when Jack was twenty and Bill
about twenty-three years old. They
were great strapping fellows, good-na-
tured and companionahle among the
cowboys. They soon became among
the best cowpunchers in Arizona, and
Bill was a champion shot. The broth
ers had a row and separated, Jack go
ing on west to Yuma, and Bill remain
ing with his bunch of cattle near Tue
Taplx ernt ~ with
of the toughest and most cussed high
way robbers ever confined in Yuma
penitentiary, and became infatuated
with the career of a professional high
wayman that the convicts pictured to
him. Onernight two of the convicts es-
capped, and Jack Keller turned up
missing. The Indian runners and
hounds at the prison were sent out,
and a reward was offered for the cap
ture of the convicts and Keeler, but
they would not be caught,
These were the days of the opening
of the Tombstone mines, and men had
begun to flock into the territory from
California and Nevada in wagons and
on horse and mule back. In less than
a week after the prisoners had escaped,
and Jack Keeler had disappeared from
Yuma, a series of highway robberies
began. They We're sometimes week,
and sometimes several months apart,
but in each of them there were always
two or three masked men who did the
business. There was strong suspicion
that Keeler and his associates were the
robbers. They got together in less
than year something like fifteen
thousand dollars from men on the way
to the new mines, and committed seve-
raj murders in connection with the
robberies. Bill Keller heard that there
younger brother had become an outlaw,
and he wept at the disgrace that had
been brought upon him. He agreed to
give UP all his cattle in defense of his
erring brother if the latter would only
give UP his criminal ways and return
for trial, but all to no avail The high
way robberies continued right along at
intervals Three years later Jack Kee-
Ter and an associate were shot while
holding up the Wells-Fargo stage one
night near Maricopa. While the asso-
ciate was left dying, Jack and two 9TH
ers managed to get away to the noun
tains and to secrete themselves from
their pursuers. Jack lay in a howell in
a mountain canyon between life and
death for weeks, and when the United
States marshal and his deputies came
that way he gladly surrendered.
When he had SO far recovered from his
wounds In his neck and shoulder as to
stand trial he was sent to prison for
thirty years. 1t was thought that he
would not live out three months of his
term, and he proved that he had not
shot or killed any one in his robberies.
He told where several thousand dollars
of the stolen money had been hidden,
and made as full retribution as posi-
ble.s Jack Keeler served about seven
teen years in prison and was the model
prisoner, He suffered much with his
gun-shot wounds, and his repentance
seemed sincere. When he was par
doned he went Immediately out to the
mountains, resolved to live a secluded
life. His physicians had told him he
would live but a short time, and that
any excitement or exertion might
cause instant death. He was found
stiff and cold in bed by party of
hunters, and had evidently been dead
for several days.
But the strangest part Of the story
OF the Keelers is that when Bill Keller
himself was about thirty years old he
suddenly turned a professional stage
robber. There have been all manner of
theories as to what caused the elder
brother to change from path of rccti
tude to one of villainous robbery, to be-
come hunted and heartless outlaw,
but no theory is satisfactory. All that
is really known is that Bill was cheat
ed out of his cattle and grazing
grounds by the big cattle ranchmen,
and he became soured on the whole hui
man race. He became the most ia
nous bandit ever known in Arizona,
and that is saying quite bit too,
when 1t was whispered about Tucson
and Tombstone that Bill Keeler, who
had disappeared months before, was
the lone highwayman who was so sue
cessfully holding up the stage and get
ting several hundred dollars week,
the information could hardly be cred
tied by Bills old cowboy companions.
But there were soon tell-tale circum-
stances about some of the "hold-ups'
that made it certain they were the
work of the ex-cowpuncher.
People in the southern part of Arizo-
ma will never get through talking
about Bill Keeler's manner of stage
robbing Indeed, it may be said that
he reflected credit upon his profession.
His robberies were perpetrated in the
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