The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-27
BILL HAYS, BANDIT TAKER.
DEEDS OF A MAN WITHOUT FEAR
REChLLED By mrs DEATH.

For Forty Years n Eawous Peace omcer In
Tough Rerder Towss, "a TEXAS Ranger, and
an Iudinn FiEhter-Exhibitions OF Enis Cecil.
meas and CouraGe-Fnccd Death Many Times.
SAN BxRNARDrNo, Cal, Feb. ia thrilling
chapter of the history of the Western border
OF civilization is being talked over these days
by ole. time plainsmen and former rangers
throughout the Southwest in consequence OF
the sudden death of William B. Hays at his
sons home in this county. lart Sunday.
Hays belonged in q class by himself. For al
most forty years he led q career Of adventure
and was In constant risk Of his life. As one
looks back It seems marvellous that any one
should have faced death 30 often IA he and yet
have lived to die naturally at nearly tho
| Biblical span OF three score years and ten. He
was one of the most daring and successful
catchers Of hardened and desperate criminals
the West uf not the worldl has ever known.
I He laid no claim to detective skill, shrewdness.
and wise Judgment of human nature. He did
his duty MS a peace officer where human lie
was valued least, and the most desperate
| chances were taken, no matter what the conse-
quences. He had literally no personal fear.
From the Rio Grande to tho Ration spur of tho
| Rocky Mountains his was the most dreaded
name known to outlaws and bad mon Of all de-
greos of recklessness and depravity. Go any
where in Arizona and New Mexico. through the
Panhandle Of Texas and along the plains from
Dodge City to Denver, and you will find that
every one who has lived for twenty years in tho
West knows all about Bill Hays and his phe-
nomenal record as a peace officer along the bor-
der, while nearly all the newcomers have
heard people tell Of episodes In Hays's career.
Buffalo Bill told q Chicago reporter a few years
ago that In his thirty years on the plains he had
known no more intrepid and vigilant police
officer than Bill Hays Of Benson, Ariz.
Hays was very different from the commonly
accepted idea OF O bandit catcher and bad man
pursuer on the plains. He was rather short
about 8 feet 2 inches tall-and light in weight.
He had a quiet way about him and o mild voice.
He had steel gray eyes and light. thin hair.
His hands were small and delicately moulded.
and his feet were the size Of q big boys. He
seldom became excited. and he was generally
t~aciturn. But he had the hardest muscles. and
could endure moro hard riding and exposure
than any Of his associates. He was built to
last at least ninety years, but q wound in the
back, received in an encounter with the notori.
Gus stage robber jose Chavez, twelve years
ago, never healed. and finally caused his death
ut the age of 81 years.
He was born in Northampton, Mass, in 1881,
and ran away from homo to join an expedition
to Mexico. He first became known in what is
now waco, lex, In 1871. FROM tnat Time
until 1885 he was constantly employed in some
capacity as q peace officer on the plains, wher-
ever the toughest men on the border congre.
gated. He was shot eleven times and was twice
laid up with broken bones caused by falls from
his horse while performing his duties. He could
speak seven Indian tongues and he knew thor
ouRhly the geography of thousands of square
miles from the Colorado River to Santa Fe.
Twenty years ago he knew the names and faces
and associates of all the prominent 6esperadoes
of tho Western Territories. He has many
times ridden alone several hundred miles along
lonely mountain trails, across trackless deserts
and through wild cations, where he might havc
been assassinated in secret, to arrest q man.
First and last he must have ridden tens of
thousands of miles in the saddle. How he ever
endured it was a common topic OF discussion
among those who knew him. At last tho bullet
wound In the back compelled him to Civ up
riding and life on the plains. He came to Cali.
fornia in 1888 and lived quietly in his sons
home until he died.
Hays made a name for himself by his bravery
and power of endurance before he was 25 years
old. He was one of the several hundred range,
that the.State of Texas employed to protect tn
settlers from Indian raids and to arrest anu
drive criminals from the State. The original
rangers were organized by Sam Houston in the
WIZ u htAlCO U l6AHn lnuepGuuGnCS III
1aae Tbev xvere c,osen for thar al;l with
1901. ihey were CHOSEN o their sAn with
firearms and their ability to endure hunger. ex.
posture and the very hardest OF riding for days
A. n time Tbev hon ted that their home wa
~ a 'ins ihoy ooas'ou 'na. tneir nono "hs
their saddle and the sky their roof. Young
Hays showed an aptitude for the vo-
cation and he yvns nromoted IN serxcant IN n
o"'ion All ho "as onio' W soisoah' III d
few months. In the winter OF 1858 Texas was
harassed by a band of Mexican outlaws hat
,coasionally crossed the Rio Grnnee and robbed
'ooaeionohS oioes'u ~ i'o onu oooou
and murdered among the settlers along the
southern edge of the State. The rangers tray
Ill ua "a down 81. r., - ., ~ nj
eleu up II uo"h n ie.HS JAIN . | II VI
Grande for weeks. All kinds or schemes were
employed to entrap or shoot tho Mexican out
laws. hit for n long time IN vain. Uav. being
ia"e' ouo " iohs Nno VI nays oeihB
a tenderfoot, he was assigned to a minor part In
the pursuit. When at last the homo of a
,-ao,thr oo,to, oroyor nm tho pjo cr.nao ,roa
"eai'h5 oot'on kfo"ef oh Ii fio nr"hue was
robbed and burned anu one or the servants
there shot to death, the Governor of Texas sent
-.a....o =. ~. ~, a.
nesSabes " INC oniei rangers " prosecute inc
ard. But there was no clue to the bandits, so
w.ri,v did thew steal forth from their secret