The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1896-07-09

duIt-Ilht uhyS vi SOlu-N uSHii6 diIOiiS
the creeks and through the canyons of
Central California, and in the forty
six years since then l have, as q min
ing prospector, and later. as a cattle
man. seen u good bit of the genuine
frontier life. and have had some deal
ings with d~esperadoes and outlaws.
First and last, l have been Il witness
to the hanging of twenty-seyen mel
and the shooting of several more. i
think / have myself acted as an officer
of the peace in the lynching of eleven
or tw | of the most cruel, deliberate
and scheming bandits that ever figured
IN flash literature. But, gentlemen,
the calmest, coolest and most collected
"a | W saw in the presence OF an
appointed and memorable death. and
one which seemed most Indifferent to
his doom, was that famous little effem-
inate-looking outlaw, Tiburcio Vas
quez, who was hanged in San Jose
fourteen years ago | have seen many
men go upon q scatfold and under the
hanenan's moose with an apparent
carelessness of their fate, and have
heard men call that nerve but it was
all summoned and exhibited for the
last few moments only. Now. Nasurez
had the genuine article, and while he
| appreciated fully that he had but a
day longer to live, his constant effort
| was to make those about him as cheer
| full as possible.
''Tiburcio Vasquez was. as YOU re-
member, the son of II prominent family
in Chihuahua, Mex. His grandfather
was on intimate terms with Generals
1tuIbido and Santa Anna and was rich
seventy years g Young Nasquez
was given a good education until he
| was sixteen years old and he was to
be sent to Barcelona. Spain. for a col
lege education. But he was born with
a too wild, desperate. lawless and cruel
disposition. When he was scarcely
more than a youth he broke through
| all restraint at home and at school and
became an outlaw. When but twenty
two or twenty-three years of age he
had developed into h boldest and
most ruthless brigand we cattlemen
and miners along the Rio Grande re-
gion V knew. In the summer of 10
l am sure that the Vasquez gang of
Mexican cut-throats killed from eight
to twelve men. n got, by rODbing
mining camps and IA United States
army paymaster, something over ST.
600. AS he grew older he became bold
er, and his field of operations for ten
or fifteen yeals was all the way from
Tucson. Ariz.. up to Stockton. Cal. The
VasqueZ band was known all owe the
coast in 1876 and 1878. Part of the
gang was lynched ut Maricopah, Ariz..
in 1877. and two of the bandits then
confessed that they had taken the lives
of w eight men and boys on the
coast and along the Rio Grande in the
course of five or six years. They did
not know how many other mel had
been slaughtered by Vasquez and bis
followers before they came to know
the chief bandit.
"At last Vasquez was caught and
held so securely that he could not es-
cape trial and sentence of death. None
of his friends could save him. notwith-
standing the money that was spent on
the lawyers who worked day and night
in his behalf. That was in 1881. He
was confined in the Jail at San Jose.
and. as I knew Sheriff Adams well.
went to see Vasquez. of whom l had
many times been in terror. and whom
[ had great curiosity to meet. AS l,
in company with several r%anchnlen,
went into the Jail corridor the after
noon before the day of the execution,
Nasquez was let out of his cell to chat
with us. He was a little. dapper fel-
low, with bright, laughing eyes, a
pleasant mouth and thin, cl~ean-shaveu
face. He did not weigh owe 12C
pounds, and his dress was scrupulOuS-
ly neat. 1t was hard for many of us
ranchmen in the jail corridor to be
lieve that he was really the NaSQueZ OF
whose wholesale robberics, dreadful
slayings of human life and unprecc-
dented recklessness we had heard al
most daily for yer a decade. We had
had cowboys who seemed able to swal
low that little fellow. but who had held
even the name of NasqueZ in constant
dread.
The little Mexican was writing
farewell letters to his friends as We
came into the corridor. and as he came
out Of his cell he tucked his penholdel
behind his ear and smilingly extended
his hand to each in Il party. In
pleased to see you said he, but if
have not my wits at command please
remember that for several hours
have been putting my brain to severe
letter writing. When one comes t.
write the very last letters of all to hi.
dear ones, you know, it is quite brazil
taxing
I'VE offered him IA handful of cigars
and he said: Many thanks to you
gentlemen. l love to smoke. but
don't think | shall have time to smok,
all these. SO I'll leave some for til,
guards. Nasquez WAS put out tina
there were not enough seats for all o
us, and in whispers begged the guard
to go and get Il chair in another par
of the Jail, and he remained standin.
while we sat. He goss,ped about TIL
latest news from San Francisco, ant
asked a Mexican gentleman in on
party for further bits of political in
formation from the City of Mexico
He told a neat little story about
funny experience among the servant
In his fathers home in Chihuahui
when he was a boy, and when TIL
story drew forth a humorous tai
from II of our party he laughed a
merrily and genuinely jas you can i'm
, agine. All. you Americans said he
: in his smooth musical Spanish accent
[ you Americans have such a way O
. seeing funny things. l guess l hav
| missed a good deal of it by not bein.
, a Yankee, too
; Turning to me, NasqueZ asked If
I was not the Fillmore who once had
7 herd of cattle and IA ranch down il
the ella river country in Arizona
. Upon my answering yes, he said: 'Of
t now l know all about you, Mr.. Fill
more. Your cattle outfit and my gan
had some little disputes about proT
erty several years ago. | believe W
had to shoot one or two Of your mel
Well, / am sincerely sorry, Mr.. Fill