The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-05
LYNCHED JUST FOR LYING.
RUSSIfN BILL TOLD THE RUTH Ar
LAST, EET IT HAS o LATE.

with His SwnERCr ana IlIun He Had Cone
WINGED Grant County 5lat iIe Was One or
tho Rusilers-Ne Was u Russian NobIeman
All Is,Ehi. but Had Lied To, Long FOR Belief.
II don't care whit you say, gentlemen" and
the young Texan looked around in triumph on
the little groun. 81 never heard or knew OF o
man lynchcd tut icy crime, and crime oil which
any jury would have found him guilty, and don't
you forget IT,"
Il once knew of IL man who was lynched
down in my Territory for lying. quietly broke
in:the cx.Sheriff from Now Mexico, AN that's
not much OF a crime, anyway. The necktia
party came OF in Grant county when I was q
deputy under Harvey IL. Whitchill.
at happened in this wise. 1t was in 80, an
all the people in the Southwestern part Of tho
Territory were in an ugly temper. The Lin.
coin county war, that left hundreds of honest
settlers without the homes that they had law.
fully taken up in the Pccos Valley. had ended
in the killing of Billy the Kid by Sheriff Pat
Garrett, but the rustlers were still in posses
sion Of the San Simon Valley and we're stealing
tho stock Of the people Oh 10th sides Of tho line
an renpin' n rich harvest. They would steal
horses an MUGS an run 'em over to the Mexi-
can side into chihuahua and Sonora, an then
steal Mexican cattlo an run EN- over to our
side. There was u fine market for stock on our
side with tho Government cont FACTORS for the
tho MSxicans never looked tho gift American
in the matter OF a bill Of sale, The rnstera
had powerful friends IN two Mexican states
that didn't want his hide hlled too full OF bull.
lets Z, ssiEin lived mat he had better lsy low:
Simon nur Fsnf s'a and MI his the iisut lenaSs % St the Jobs snH
Price, ..'Johnny. ver-the-tnence. Then .uere
was Cactus, Bin, an a I'D Of IS, Johnny
Kid OF tho San Simon There WAS about TWEEN
ty IN all In tho gang, but tho others didn't have
n rnanrI m HWY n ~ "a fhas IA InR.
roll had when 10 threw Shiskoy in Jack Franz
bo's eyes, knitted him while the pour deyil was
wiping Them an thcn boosted that he had killed
that want 70 b bad mcn bn. dont Know how.
ty from .lttio billy NtcCienn.nI 40 !nnt would
be afraid 10 tackle the best u. tAsul r no once
had them away from tho gam. rae Iuaders
I've mentioned wcrc clear eri. an would :as
soon fight as cat, bur the Other, W.. mean.
Tho town Of Shakespeare why u WAS ever
called Shakespeare ! never could ma kc out OK.
cept that Il was u little liamlct-is within ePty
gang c "a .nG 1T 'I ihte atinHnii to al Blow W t Ttsn &c .t IN IN
an paint Tho town red. They raisod hudrs an
spent thcit stun freely enough round me
visit TO o. X. Slnyth's or some oi tho otlur big
,%otrHin An running or more stoc'' tnnn they had
About this line Iii Tet crhurn. turned up
at Shakespeare. He was II hnc looking follow.
lie stood SIX feet in mis- socks, built IN proportion.
mn with features clear-cut rs a marble statue,
lie wore his hair. that was jet black; long an
fallin' uver his shoultcrG In Inc old frontier
side Charley Utter. who was W!!d Bills pard
style. .Five,dollar gold piece for buttons for his
buckskins. Mexican sombrc'0 covered with, sil;;
six.shooters an ali that Kind. lIe hailed from
when il was found ont that he was a Russian
born tho boys gave him mo name of Russian
bill To- dis'tngu,sh hin frP,a the other Bills;
money nMS'l an. R sp"a. it h lrelly "'~f re S 1taS RlSndty 81
where he, got it. He dIin't prospect an had no
ming claims TO sell or bond. an all that stood
tn his mama on fhp RPrnrder'S hooks WAS n
ranch location in the Animas Valley, yet he
was always flush. lio used to &c, away for
money to burn. When Curly or His crowd was
in town he would make Ii point OF 1nin' around
he'd crop hints. when half-loadcd, OF being one
II tn: gang an, talk of successful raids among
was handy with his siy,shoo,sr and used to
s~llcw-the boys. some trick shots. They'd give
was joiiied MS boIn' quick on The draw, he'd give
u 10 be understood that he had dropped his man
About this tine things were getting worse
than ever around Shakespeare an what MIR.
eth Low would call tho better element was
King. a suspected horse thief, camo TO town
with q Kid OF -, they were both arrested and
lodged in tho calaboose Oh a warrant from old
"Xn hour'after a mob took them out an up to
! Snyt,h's corral. On their way they ,net, Nrs.
lowed that Sandy had lived long enough for tho
confession 1t was about time Tor Bill 10 stack
his chips an quit, as he couldn't play u square
| game.
! SANDY took his medicine ike a IIttln man.
Only asked for n drink an Il cigarette. Wien ho
Lad finished smOkin' he threw away thc end and
was swung M 10 a cross be,ln IN, nc ,4rral. IL
wasn't so with poor Nill. lie fc,l on his knceS
an swOrc by the Eternal that ne had never
killed n man in his lifo anywhere, an tnd never
stoien,a horse nor a horse blaukct, lie aid that
his money Cume from his home in ligH, Russia,
that he was u nUbloman, an that his m"lh'r wns
a Countess. lie begged them for the love Of
GOD, not to strins hinl up until lac coq.d wr.'e
10 Porter an Crawford the silver Guy banker,
whore his money was. They didn't believe II
word he snid. an spurncd HIM for n whltc'Iiy'
cred cuss not III to live, anyway. judge Lynch
couldn't wait. an, kickin' an hOwlin' Tor mcrCS,
no was strung up after Sandy.
His story was true all right. Three months
after t;hG, I!nrhtgs a %Ict'cr cane 10 Harvey
Whitehi0, sheriff Of tie county from sOnlc Rus
sian Counties. | disTcmember her name, bur II
ended in 'otsky,' ike all Of them, inquiring
about her son last heard OF in Grant county.
New Mexico"
And the kidd"
They let him on with . sound whipping
with q Mexican 9uirt He disd . few months
after over 70 Tombstone Of SmAlpox."