The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-27
In Wrappers, Ready For Mailing, at
the Herald Business Office. Price
Five Cents. Postage, Three Cents.
LYNCHED FOR LYING.
Russian Bill Told the Truth at Last,
But It Was Too Late.


umph on the little group, 81 never
heard or knew of d man lynched but
for crime, and crime of which any jury
would have found him guilty, and don't
you forget it,"
lynched down in my territory for ly-
ing" quietly 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 deputy under Harvey H. Whitehili.
1t happened in this wise. 1t was in
1882, an all the people in the south
western Dart of the territory were in
an ugly temper. The Lincoln county
war, that left hundreds of honest set
tiers without homes that they had law
fully taken up in the PecoS valley, had
ended IN the killing OF Billy the Kid
by Sheriff Pat Garrett, but the ruStierS
We're still in possession of the San ST.
mon valley, and were stealing the stock
of the people on both sides of the line
an reapin' d rich harvest They would
steal horses an mules an run EN- over
to the Mexican side into Chihuahua and
Sonora, ar then steal Mexican cattle
an run EN- over to our side. There was
a fine market for stock on our side
with the government contractors for
the San Carlos and MuScalero Indian
agencies, not to speak of the military
pests. On the other hand, the MeXicans
never looked the gift American horse
too close in the mouth, or were par
ticular in the matter of bill of SALE
The rustlerS had two powerful friends
in two Mexican states and two United
States territories, SO a man that didn't
want his hide filed too full of bullets
to skin, lowed that he had better lay
low
Curly BIZ was the leader of the
! San Simon gang, and his lieutenant
was Johnny Price, Johnny Over-the-
Fence Then there was Cactus Bill
an a kid of 16, Johnny Hughes, known
along the ella, valley as The Kid of
the San Simon There was about 20 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 was wiping
/ them, an then boosted that he had
! killed his man. They were these cow
ardly cayuses that want to be bad men,
! but don't know how, an there wasn't
a deputy sheriff in Grant county, from
little Billy McClennand up, that would
| be afraid to tackle the best of them if
he once had them away from the gang.
/ The leaders I've mentioned We're clear
! Srit, an would as soon fight as eat but
| the others were mean.
The town of -Shakespeare-why it
was ever called Shakespeare 1 never
could make out. except that it was a
! little Hamlet-is within easy reach of
! the San Simon, and it was 20 it the
! gang came at intervals to blow them
| selves in an paint the town red. They
raised hades an spent their stuff freely
enough round the saloons, but they
never left without paying visit to O..
r. Smyth's, or some of the other big
corrals, an runnin' off more stock than
they had left the value of behind
about this time Bill Tetterburn
turned I'D at Shakespeare. He was a
fine-looking fellow. He stood feet in
his socks, built in proportion, an with
I features clear-cut as a marble statue.
He wore his hair. that was jet black,
long an fallin' over his shoulders, in
the old frontier fashion. He was a
regular dude, too. Outside Charley
Utter, who was Wild Bills pard up in
Wyoming, l never saw a chap put on
more style. Five-dollar gold pieces for
buttons for his buckskins, Mexican
sombrero covered with silver work an
two silver-plated an ivory-handled
six-shooters an all that kind. He
hailed from Wyoming, too-leastwise
he said he did, an when it was found
out that he was a Russian born, the
7 boys gave him the name of Russian
Bills.
We'll, 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
books was a ranch location in the
Animas valley, vet he was always
flush. He used to go away for weeks
at time an always come back with
money to burn. When Curly or his
crowd was in town he would make q
point of goin around swaggerin with
them and in ROclsey's saloon he'd
drop hints. when half-loaded, of being
one Of the gang an talk of successful
raids among the Mexican ranches VI
Janos way. Then he was handy with
his six-shooter and used to show the
boys some trick shots. They'd give
him taffy to liquor at his expense, an
when he was iollied as bein' quick or
the draw, he'd give it to be under
stood that he had dropped his mar
more nor once.
, About this time things We're get.
ting worse than ever around Shakes
peare, an what Mr.. Seth Low would
call the better element was gettin
desperate. So one night when Sand.
King, suspected horse thief, came t.
town with a kid of Is. they were boil
arrested and lodged in the calahoos,
on a warrant from old Judge Graves.
An hour after a mob took them on
an up to Smyth's corral. On thei
way they met Russian Bill an tool
him also along. Judge Lynch lowed
that Sandy had lived long enough fo
the good of the comm unity, an that OF
, his own confession it was about tim
for Bill to stack his chips an quit, "a
he couldn't play a square game.
Sandy took his medicine like a lit
tie man. Only asked for a drink an
! Il cigarette When he had finished
smol1in' he threw away the end am
: was swung to a cross beam in tn
: corral. 1t wasn't so with poor Bill
eternal that he had never killed q MAJ
! in his life anywhere, an had neve
: stolen a horse nor a horse blanket H
: said that his money came from hi
5 home i'll Riga, Russia: that he was
: nobleman, an that his mother was
countess. He begged them for the low
of God not to string him up until h
could write to Porter & Crawford til
Silver City bankers, where his none
was. They didn't believe a word h
said. an spurned him for q white
livered cusS not fit to live, ANYWAY
y Judge Lynch couldn't wait, an kickir
/, and howln' for mercy, he was strun
/ UP after Sandy.
5 His story was all right. Tnre
$ months after the lynching a lette
came 10 Harvey Whitehill, sheriff Q
lsthe county, from some Russian coun
. tess. [ disremember her name. bat