The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-01
BANDITS WHO DIED A
sroRIBS or MEN or yERYE TOLD By
OLD R.tNCuM EN-.

GRno OF billiards rerore an Execution.
Los ASGELks. Cal. July 27.-A group Of white
haired ranChmrn sat chatting aud smoking at
the Natick House in los Angeles the other day.
Somebody mddo n reference to the unusual nerve
shown by Theodore Durrant, the San Francisco
murderer. who has been in tho shadow OF tho
gallows Mt the San Quentin State Prison for
weeks. and thon some "reminiscences OF tho nc
lions o. mon under sentence Of death wero no.
lated. All tho ranClmcn came TO tho Pacific
coast by OK teams and wagons across tho plains
and mountains moro than thirty years ago. All
have witnessed thrilling scenes on the frontier,
and have had strange experiences In raw mining
camps and among cowpunchcrs. Three men In
the party have participated In impromptu courts
Of Justice and expeditions executions of outlaws.
and one man in tho group served as Sheriff in
New Mexico about fifteen years ago.
snow, I don't believe there Is any nerve at aN
In Durrant," said William Topper, the oldest
man In the party. ~ hear lots Of folks say that
tho fellow was so cool and calm when he saw
tho carpenters building his gallows, but they
are all wrong. It's only torpid Indifference. A
man that lie shut in prison for more than two
years, who is fed on prison fare, and sees iron
bars ct bis little window constantly. and lives
among striped convicts and stonc walls Ia a very
different sort Of person from one who lives In
the free mir and sunshine out Of doors, and is
his own boss all the time. Any of us would look
at death differently II our mode Of life was
changed as a con vict's Is and II all our hopes
and plans wore slowly and surely rubbed out.
II you will stop and think. you'll SEQ that nearly
every person you ever knew that was prisoner
for n year or so before the execution was cool
and collected when he camo TO be hanged. It's
the fellows who are deprived OF liberty. and IRE
taken right out OF their daily pursuits. to III"
the same day or the next. that have claims to
nerviness.
1.-THE hest displays OF nerve and GOODNESS in
the face Of ignominious death that I hive ever
known-and I've seen over n dozen men lef out
to dic-were In Benson. Ariz., along in 1879. at
about the time the Tombstone mines were being
opened up by the Schetrelin crowd. ] was run.
ming an alfalfa ranch down In Cochise county,
near Tucson. then. and making money selling
alfalfa hay to tho United states troops that
were chasing Geronimo and the Apachcs over
the Territory There were no railro IDS in
Arizona then and we did all our business by
stages. Highway robbers were common. In
the spring OF 1878 the stages between Yuma and
Benson were hold up nearly every week by two
men who always wore m 'sSs mnde from white
-four sacking. One week the stage would be held
UP and the passengers made TO give over their
purses AMI watches at the trail through the
limestone foothills four miles from Mrricopa.
The next week that stage would prob ably he
held up and robbed sixty miles away. near BEN
son. Then there would be q lapse OF n month,
and people would come to believe that the flour
BACK robbers, as they came to be known from
their peculiar IN ,sks. had been frightened and
had skinned over tho line into Mexico. The
first any ono would know there would come an
other report that the Yuma stage was held up
hear Compson's ranch on Coyote Creek by the
dour-sn,k rohf crs.
"One day. just ut dusk, the four-s1ck high
waymen sprang out from behind n boulder near
where Caliente now is. The driver told the rob-
bcrs to go TO some warmer locality when he was
ordered to throw off the Wells Fargo box. At
that he was shot dead, and he rolled of behind
the horses; That murder c pped the climax.
posse of ranchmon and miners was organized.
They trailed the fleeing ROBBERS for three weeks,
S,,dins Pisss 4 -, The s:n]fi5s il ths ssn Ria
Ihsirp ursaers c me steslthily into their lei shSn,y.
They both leaped to their feet an trieii to fight
useless shots there was no excitement. and tho
two robbers were easily oyerpowered and taken
nished camps ever known in the Territory.
There were books. goo clothes. pictures. and all
from the ne1rest white mans ranch.
THE outlaws were both young men. and how
that the old.timers were still Nrguins about
when l came away. from the Territory years
shsy .ai HG ,S Sas swss F samu the M %Sn'' ma nsm Sso ess
E. Silver. Mann was about q. and Silver a
year or so older. Mann was well educated. He
said he was from Connecticut. and that his
family was a good one; He claimed to know
P. I; Barnum and his children well. He was a
his choice Of woris impressed his captors.
SILVER was an eX;cowpuncher and had led a
Mann at FL Paso. Tex, and that Mann was
cr aWt f Be % q Dick hS5 Tg q 1sr sort MsS %, p branv,t down
there and was made a Juror. at the sort OF lynch
trial Of the young bandits for murder and high
way robbery. or course it was n foregone con-
clusion how the trial would result. Mann and
made a speech in his and Silver's behalf. saying
that the shooting Of the stage driver was q
they had never robbed poor people. anyhow.
We were all affected by tho thought th.t SC
thrown his lie away. so when we Brought in a
verdict of guilty we asked that the execution
SeR RSssP0 to prepare sM% a' for Il th sfrS Gcs q : give the me"
They were the coolest men ! ever did see or
a sfsSr Ct 3Sei They "snt %srs P Sn, s, f0 W1'E 1bs,T % onEiet
manacled with wagon chains welded on by
local blacksmith. They chatted and smoked
6S%Snsins, took a fancy to yoanq
ing in early life took hold Of me, lie sid he
would like to have a private talk with a Method;
him or M! Silver I"S '%HhE lie tod his = f Ire IN conf SfS aS't tc
Bible Biz lie asked the u1iss'onary me" 20 c es'S I'M 'nf
be with him IL the last hour o, his Nc. Their
~ ehNt iIlhoCll oNCI W DtlllR AS tnPtTIWI HS MS
doom permitted. Ho never referred to his
crimes and his career in the Southwest. liz
chatted about the affairs Of the day, ami srokc
OF the hon0rs thar Gen. Grant was at that time
receiving in Europe.
V / have always wInton to 81 @ Grant said he
to me. but now ] guess I'll soon he over that
wish. They say folks, don't have much ambition
AT the suggestion Of Mann and silver we pot
up n g"nic o euchrc in tho saloon. About hal
the male population of the little Arizona cross
70 DIS Of those days slt in The windows and stoot
about looking at tho two man lcled men playing
cards willie tho san is OF their lifG ran quickly
ont. You may think there can be little intcrcsi
in n game for two men the hour o. whose dcntt
70 set IN tho next tIy'nty-tour hours. hui Silver
AMI Mann played cuclIro that day for all iher,
WAS in H., Once In II " bile there were drink
from the bar. What cut me the most was t.
have the men whom we were Goinr TO se
banged pay for the thinks once In n while.
"'Don't worry about us, pard. said Silver t.
some one. we've got some money with rs, ant
unless we spend it now it will never do US any
good. YOU know, and he made n twist about hi
neck ms he played. as II to Indicate n moose.
There was none OF your hrnvado and reck
lcssnoss about Mann. Ho realized what dealt
.-.,V I.N ha a.,Ft 10 r.-all 4