The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1897-01-15

z. A. GARRETT.
able jury verdict or an easy sentence is
not hold out to them when Put makes the
arrests. Somehow he avoids tho necessity
for trials, for when no gets through with
his charges the coroner is the only official
Interested i'll subsequent proceedings
There was n tiIne when Pat preferred Civ
ing tho courts Il chance, and he even re-
signed in favor of jurcs and judges But
that style seems not to be effective in New
Mexico, and now Pat goes about the bust
ness in II way moro satisfactory to the lead
Ing citizens of tho territory
Cattle rustling has not been wholly sus.
pended since the days OF tho famous lin
coin county war but with tho decline OF
the range business and the disasters that
ovcrcame the cattlemen Of the west there
has been no wholesale stealing of cattle as
was known in the booming days Of the
range. and what petty thievcry was COM
mittcd was not thought serious enough to
be noticed. In recent years however, the
cattle business has been gradually picking
up, and with it has como n more notice
able increase in cattle stealing. Tho big
cattle companies of eastern New Mexico
last year banded together to run these
thieves down, and through the courts thcy
succeeded in sending Il half dozen or more
cowboys to the pententary.
Since Juno u band of men has been
| robbing pOstoilices, stagccoaches, ranches
and occasionally passenger train. For ii
| time their identity was unknown but it
| has developed that these men arc of tho
| band of cattle rustlcrs which moved out of
Donna Ann county when Pat Garrett
moved in Two of them have since died
with bullets in their bodies, ono is report
ed dangerously wounded, and it is hoped
that the remainder of the band has left
the country permanently.
The most famous capture that Garrett
ever made was the arrest of II noted out
law who llourishcd i'll New Mexico from
1876 To 1881. Billy tho Kid was II despera-
do Of fierce and ungovernablo temper, pos
scsScd of IL reckless daring, "A magnificent
horseman and an uncrring Shot with either
rifle or revolver His whole life was so full
of incident and his record for fighting ana
never Surrcndcring was so well known that
the entire country seemed in abicrt fear of
him. lie could swaggcr about without be-
ing disturbed hy tho settlers whose ranges
he raidcl ut will, stealing horses and cat
tie which he readily found !. market for in
Texas or elsewhere. In open warfare and
i'll secret he had killed 20 whito men, ho-
sides an unknown number OF Indians
His career from tho time he was IL years
of age when he stabbed IL man in IL saloon
in Silver City until his death at the ago of
II was an unbrol;en successior Of crimes
from petty thefts to cold bloodod murder
At the time OF his lator dcpredations,
when his carccr us salaried cowboy had
been ended by his numerous cscapndes and
deliberate murders committed ns an out
come of tho fclId between rival cattle own
ers, Pat Garrett was living upon a ranch
| near Roswell, on the Peccs river Billy
and his follower, were stealins, horecs and
cattle and selling them to people who did
| not make close INQUIRY ms 10 how ho came
in possession OF the stock and spcnding
his morry luyishlyH: salnuns in tho settle
mcnts, where no officer Of tho law dared to
disturb him. Whom some olicial. full of
zeal and taurtcd by lis nasnciat.s did or
ganizo Il strong posse add start .l oxpcGi-
ton To "rouud up' the Kid. De iad innu-
merablo friends vino al,avs .ye him
timely warming ana WHO assisted lin to
escape until the pursnit was ;Daudonod.
"a ono cared To have tho i'll Viii of tho
| outlaw, and many cultivated III. friend
ship as a matter OF policy