The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-01-10
1yNCHED FOR LYING.
.,os,.N BILL TOLD THE TRUTH AT
LAST, BUT TOO LATE.

,,,don 4 caro- what you say, gentlemen,
~ Young Texan locked around In
a anu on the little group ~ never
triuinpn snew of man lynched but for
healu and crime of which any jury would
GRIM s,nnd him guilty, and don't you for
Bou Ia0oo knew of man who was lynohed
a., INV territory for lyin, quietly
eo% ,.o In the ex-sheriff from New Mexico,
D'oN. .tot,s not much of crime anyway.
o, sn o rn tic party came of In Grant coun-
NV was a deputy under Harvey IL.
Whitehil. T. 4,
1000 an ali the people in tho southwestern
To-. 90 the territory were in an ugly tenn
Tbo Lincoln county war, that LETT
..,ls nj honest settlers without the
t nunse that they had lawfully taken up In
~ pocos valley. had ended in the KILN
w .puIv the Kid by Sheriff Pat Garrett,
unt Tho rustlers were still In possession of
~ Son Simon valley all were stealth the
I'll, Of tbe people on both sides OF the line
o reanin a rich harvest. They would
"tooI horses an mules an run 'em over TO
~ Mexican side into chihuahua an So
.ora am then steal Mexican cattle an run
,on, over 10 our side. There was a fine
o,orket for stock on our side with the gov
arnrent contractors for the San Carlos an
Muscalero Indian agencies, not to speak
81 tbo military posts. On the other hand,
.hs Mexicans never looked the gift Amer
ican horse too close in the mouth or were
particular in the matter of bill of sale.
The ustlers had powerful friends in two
Magician states an two United States ter
hide filled too full of bullets to skin lowed
that he had better lay low.
"'Curly' Bill was the leader of the San
Simon gang all his lieutenant was Johnny
price. Johnny Over the Fence Then
there was Cactus Bill an kid of 10,
Johnny Hughes, known along the ella
valley as tho 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,
: 1.-The town of Subsequently, 1t was
ever called Shakespeare / never could
make out except that it was little Ham
Let's within easy reach Of the San Simon,
an it was to il the gang came at intervals
TO blow themselves in an paint the town
red They raised hades an spent their
stuff freely enough round the saloons, but
they never left without payin visit To
o. r. Smyth's or some of the other big
corrals All runnin off more stock than they
had left the value of behind.
"About this time Bill Tetterburn
turned up at Shakespeare. He was a fine
lookin fellow. He stood 6 feet in his socks,
built in proportion an with features clear
cut as q marble statue He wore his hair,
that was Jet black long an fallin over his
shoulders in the old frontier fashion. He
was regular dude too. Outside Charley
Utter, who was Wild Bills pard up in
Wyoming, / never saw a chap put on
more Styles goldpieces for buttons for
his buckskins, Mexican sombrero COW
cred with silver work an two silver plated
an ivory handled six shooters an all that
kind He hailed from Wyoming, too
leastwise no said he did--an when 1t was
found out that he was Russian born the
boys gave him the name of Russian Bill
TO distinguish him from the other Bills.
well, 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 minin claims to sell or
bond, an all that stood to his name on the
recorders books was a ranch location in
the Animas valley, yet he was always
flush He used to so away for weeks at
time an always come back with money to
burn. When Curly or his crowd was in
town, he would make point of goin
around swaggerin with them, an in Rock
sey's saloon he'd drop hints when half
loaded Of bein ono of tho gang an talk of
successful raids among the Mexican
ranches up Janos way. Then he was
handy with his six shooter, al used 10
show the boys some trick shots. They ID
give him tat1y TO liquor at his expense, an
when he was jollied as bein quick on the
draw he'd give it to DO understood that he
had dropped his man more nor once.
About this time things were gettin
worse than ever around Shakespeare, an
what Mr.. Seth Low would call the better
element was gettin desperate. So one
night when Sandy King, suspected horse
thief, came to town with kid of Is, they
were both arrested an lodged in the Gala
boose on warrant from old Judge Graves.
An hour after mob took them out an
up to Smyth's corral On their way they
met Russian Bill an took him also along
Judge Lynch lowed that Sandy had lived
long enough for the good Of the commu-
hlty, an that on his own confession il was
ABOUT time for Bill to stack his chips an
quit, as he couldn't play square game
sandy took his medicine like little
man Only asked for drink an ciga-
feltc. When no had finished smokin, he
thfew away the end an was swung up to
Cross beam in the corral 1t wasn't so
WIN poor Bill. He fell on his knees an
SWore by the eternal that he had never
hiiled man in his life anywhere an had
never stolen horse nor q horse blanket.
no SAID that his money came from his
nome IN Riga, Russia; that he was no
pleihan, an that his mother was countess.
ne begged them for the love of God not to
sVrlng him up until no could write to Por-
ler an Crawford, the Silver City bankers,
, mhero his money was They didn't be-
move word no said an spurned him for
WHITE liverod cuss not fit to live anyway
Suuge Lynch couldn't walt, an kickin an
eowiln Tor mercy no was strung up after
Sandy.
Ills story was true oil right. Three
months after the lynchin letter came to
harvey Whitehill, sheriff of tho county,
from some Russian countess. disremem-
ovr ner name, but 1t ended In 'osfsky, like
III Oh them, inqnirin about her son, last
neara OF In Grant county, N. M
And tho kidY"
:, Ihey let him off with n sound whip-