The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-05-08

across the plains with an OK Ieaii VI
across the Isthmus in the tlfties or ear
ly sixties, and naturally all had inter-
esting recollections to tell of what they
had seen of wild, lawless and irrespon-
sible characters on the plains ana
among the mountains.
Colonel Dan Fillmore, who is one or
the principal cattlemen in Ventura
county, and came to California in the
40 days, told the most interesting rem
iniscence of the evening.
Il reached Sacramento" said he, in
the days of the widest and most DO
nanza- like days of gold washing along
the creeks and through the canons of
central California and in the forty-siX
years since then I have, as n mining
prospeetor and later as cattle man,
seen a good bit of the genuine frontier
life, and have had some dealings with
desperadoes and outlaws. First ana
last / have been a witness to the hang
ing of twenty-seven men, and the
shooting of several more. / think
have myself acted as an officer OF the
peace in the lynching OF eleven or
twelve of the most cruel, deliberate
and scheming bandits that ever figured
in flash literature. But, gentlemen
the calmest, coolest and most collected
man ! ever saw in the presence of an
appointed and memorable death, the
one who seemed most Indifferent to his
doom, was that famous little effemi
nate-looking outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez,
who was hanged in San Jose fourteen
years ago. l have seen many men go
upon scaffold or walk under the
hangman's moose with an affected
nerve and an apparent carelessness Oh
their fate, and have heard men call
that nerve, but it was all summoned
and exhibited for the last few mo-
ments only. Now Vasquez had the
genuine article, and while he apprecia-
ted fully that he had but day longer
to live, his constant effort was to make
those about him as cheerful as posi-
BILE.
"Tiburcio Vasquez was, as you re-
member, the son of prominent family
in Chihuahua, Mexico. His grandfath-
er was on intimate terms with Gene
rails Iturbide and Santa Anna and was
rich seventy years ago Young Vas
quez was given good education until
he was sixteen years old, and was to be
sent to Barcelona, Spain, for college
education, but he was born with too
| wild, desperate lawless and cruel a
| disposition. When he was scarcely
more than youth he broke through all
restraint at home and at school and
became an outlaw When he was
| twenty-five or twenty-three years old
he had developed into the boldest and
most ruthless brigand we cattlemen
and miners along the Rio Grande re-
gion ever knew. In the summer of 1878
/ am sure that the Vasquez gang of
Mexican cutthroats killed from eight to
twelve men. and got by robbing mining
camps and a United States army pay
master something over twenty-five
thousand dollars. AS he grew older he
became holder. and his field of opera
ton for ten or fifteen years was all the
way from Tucson, Ariz., up to Stock
ton, Cal The Vasquez band was
known all over the coast in 1876 and
1878. Part of the gang was lynched at
Maricopah, Ariz., in 1877, and two Of
the bandits then confessed that they
had taken the lives of over eight men
| 60" ~ - -, o''.LN. a.. 80.
No y a1,.e - ~ -. = iiee = u.
seais' ines Wv ny ~" ~ 80 ~,
o.iAei men ,',u 80 So
V"od ue@ 'h' i,' 80 -
oaii.e ~ h,iow 'ne oiiiei D'.e
~ iast yaSqueA was oausi -. anu
heio 80 securely ina. nc cuuiu no. es-
oape 'iaai sli,u se '.,, - ~
stond,rg the r,oray tba+ w,s snent and
tba lawyers who worked dav and night
n HE hahalf THAT was In 1881 He
Voc confned IN tbe ia;I at San Jose
and as knew sheriff Adams we'll
went 70 saa vasa,,az of whom had
n,anv times haen IN terror and whom
,ad .ra,t onr,os;ty ia meet AsT IN
.ha oo,,,nany ~ seyera, rapchmen
went info the iai, corridor fine after.
roor befora tho dav of the execution
vaso,,az wos lot ant of bis ca,, to cha,
,,,,th ,,s nc as l;tt1a donne,. fallo,p
,,.;th hr;eh+ ,ane,h,rc avas ! nIaa ca a
n,ontb ona thi,, c,ean.sbaven fare
10 Ala not rra,ob o,a, ono bundraf
ond twenty no,,nds and HE dress was
sor,,r,,o,,s1v naat r. was hard FL,
$500, 20 ~ ,.o,,e,,,,,.,, 4, +ha Ia 4 cor,i
49, - hoIia,,a +t,a+ ha voc reaIlv n.
Was,,,,a, oe whose wholesale robbarias
s,a.sf,,1 r,o,,;,,o, sc I,,,,,or life oni
,,.,,>roaa,o,,toa rooI,1aesnass r,a bol
haa,.a o1,,,,s+ d.ily for over a dacade
Wv ~ hsd o,,,,,,s,,,s who searoed ali,
| fNNSNN