The times., 1898-12-04

four of his gang escaped. Barkley re-
covered the buried money, but he would
much rather have captured Rattlesnaae
Dick
'.Dick got together a new gang and
kept at his old tricks. Most Of his opera
tions were in or near Placer County, for
he seemed to take particular delight in
deviling the officers of the county where
he had been arrested and convicted.
There was a big price set on his head,
and every sheriff in northern California
tried to catch him. Jim Boggs lost his
place as sheriff of Placer, because he fail
ed to either kill or capture Rattlesnake
Dick. number of good men were killed
themselves in the attempt. and every
Wells-Fargo detective on the coast was
hot in the chase. But Dick laughed at
the whole lot of them. He and his gang
held up stages and gold trains and lone
travellers, stole what they wanted, killed
when II was necessary. and carried
things generally with high hand. Dick
himself was as bold as could be- and. op-
parently, went. wherever he wanted to
and whenever he pleased. He would go
to Auburn, or any other place he wished
to, in broad daylight, make purchases.
drink in the saloons, do whatever he
chose. and gallop away again with a
whole skin. OF course, he was cautious
enough to make his visits of this sort
when he knew the sheriff wasn't there,
and he felt sure that nobody but an Off
Ger would be likely to make move
against him.
He kept up this sort of thing for three
years, and then one day in the summer
of SO he went TO Auburn once too often.
With one companion he had come into
town and bought some shirts and whisky
for his gang and some clothes for him
self. Bill crutcher was sheriff then, and
he had gone out of town that morning on
some business. A messenger was sent
after him to tell him that Rattlesnake
Dick was in town, and Dick and his COM
panion were hardly ont of sight when
Crutcher came tearing back like a wild
man. He and George Martin and George
Z. Johnson at once started in pursuit and
overlook the two men about a mile from
town. Then followed a running fight OF
two against three. that was as determined
as any that an outlaw ever made. Dick
and his man galloped as hard as they
could go. turning in their saddles to
shoot, and crutcher and his two men put
spurs after them and peppered away a;
them as fast as they could empty a-d
load their guns. Dicks companion killed
Martin early in the fight. and later Dick
shot johnson through the left hand and
again in the right wrist. so that he was
useless for fighting purposes. Crutcher
pressed on alone after them and he and
DICK mutually perforated each others
bodies
"Crutcber was so badly wounded that
he gave up the chase and went back, sup
posing that Dick had once more escaped
But the outlaw was wounded worse than
the sheriff knew, for the Iowa Hill stage
found his dead body near Junction House
on its way into Auburn later in the day.
He had two balls through the body and
one through the head Apparently he had
been badly wotndel in the body and his
man had left him and gone on to save
his own skin. And Dick, fearing capture
In his disabled condition, had put the
ball through his head. Apparently, too,
he had mistaken Martin. who had been
/ killed, for jim sBeggs, against whom his
entire career as an outlaw had been di-
rected. for on his sperson was found this
note: VI -
" 'Rattlesnake Diofi dies. but never sur
renders. If Jim Boggs is dead l am salts
fed
The murder for which he was first ar
rested? Oh. it turned out that he was
not guilty of that after all. 1t was
! found out afterward that the murdered
mans partner. the man who insisted that
| Dick was the guilty one. was the actual
murderer. and he had managed to sad
die all the evidence upon Dick in order
to escape suspicion himself He was fin
/ ally hanged by the vlgilantes down il
| San Francisco"