, 1897-12-27
LYNCHED JUST FOR LYING.
Russian Bill Told the Truth at Last,
But 1t Was Too Late.

any jury would have found him
and don't you forget it."
Il knew of a man who was ~lynched
down in my territory for lying" quiet
ly broke in the eX-sheriff from New
Mexico, AN that's not much of a crime
anyway. The necktie party came in
from Grant county when l was a dep
uty under Harvey Fl. Whitehiii.
1T happened in this wise. 1t was
in 1882, an all the people in the south
western Fart of the territory were in
an ugly temper. The Lincoln county
war. that left hundreds of honest set
tiers without the homes that they had
lawfully taken up in the Pacos va
ley, had ended in the killing of Billy
the Kid by Sheriff Pat Garrett, but the
rustlers were still in possession of the
San Simon valley. and were stealing
the stock of the people on both sides of
the line an repin' a rich harvest. They
would steal horses an mules an run
EN- over to the Mexican side into Chi
huahua and Sonora. an then steal
Mexican cattle an run 'em over to our
side. There was a fine market for
stock on our side with the govern
ment contractors for the San Carlos
and M~uscalero Indian agencies, not to
other hand, the Mexicans never looked
the gift American horse too close in the
mouth or were particular in the mat
ter of a bill of sale. The ~rustlers had
powerful friends in two Mexican states
and two United States territories. 50 a
man that didn't want his hide filled too
full of bullets to skin lowed that he
had better lay low.
Curly Bill was the leader of the
San Simon gang, and his lieutenan,
was Johnny Price. 'Johnny-over-the-
fence Then there was Cactus Bill.
an a kid Of sixteen, Johnny Hughs,
known along the ella valley as The
Kid of the San Simon There was
about twenty in all in the gang, but
the others didn't have any record to
blow on any more than Jim Carroll
had when he threw whisky in Jack
Frambo's eyes, knitted him while the
poor devil vas wiping them an her
boosted thai he killed his man. They
were these mean cusses that wan to
be bad men an don't know how, an
there wasn't a deputy sheriff in Grant
county, from little Billy McClennand
up, hat would be afraid to tackle the
best of them if he once had them away
from the gang. The leaders I've men,
toned were clear grit, an would as
soon fight as eat. but the others were
mean
"The town of Shakespear, why it was
ever called S~hakespear l could never
make out except that it was a little
Hamlet, is within easy reach OF San
Simon, an it was to it the gang came
at intervals to blow themselves in an
paint the town red They raised hades
an spent their stuff freely enough
round the saloons, but they never left
without paying a visit to o. R. Smyth's
or some other big corral an running
off more stock than they had left the
value of behind.
about this time Bill Tetterburn
turned up at Shakespear. He was a
fine looking fellow. He stood six feet
in his socks, built in proportion, an
with features clear-cut as a marble
statue. He wore his hair, that was Jet
black, long an fallin' over his should
ers, in the old frontier fashion. He
was a regular dude, too. Outside Char
ley Utter, who was Wild Bills pard up
in Wyoming, l never saw a chap put
on more style. F~ive-dollar gold
pieces for buttons on his buckskins,
Mexican sombrero covered with silver
work an two silver plated an ivory,
handled six-shooters an all that kinc.
He hailed from Wyoming, too least
wise he said he did, an when it was
found out that he was a Russian born,
the boys gave him the name of Rus
sian Bill, to distinguish him from the
other Bills.
well, Russian Bill always had
plenty of money an spent it freely.
The boys wondered where he got it.
He didn't prospect an had no mining
claims to sell or bond, an all that
stood to his name on the recorders book
was a ranch located in the Animas
valley, yet he was always flush. He
used to go away for weeks at a time
an always come back with none to
burn. When Curly or his crowd was
in town he would always make it a
point of goin' around swaggerin' with
them and in Rocksey's saloon he'd
drop hints, when half loaded, of bein
one of the gang an talk OF successful
raids among the Mexican ranches up
Janos way. Then he was handy with
his six-shooter and used to show the
boys some trick shots. They'd give him
tafy to liquor at his expense, an when
he was jollied as bein' quick on the
draw. he'd give it to be understood
that he had dropped his man more non
once.
About this time things were getting
worse than ever around S~hakespear, an.
what Mr.. Seth Low would call the bet
ter element was gettin' desperate. So
one night when Sandy King, a suepec-