Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1899-03-30

\ BILLY THE KID
q A Tale of the Border
< CTritten for this paper
By w. w. Williams |
atSafsiaaaaa

/ w.
mitted more desperate deeds than
BILLY the Kidd" He was a young, boy
ish-lookIng fellow, with retreating
chin and hooked nose-not of the Ro-
man order, but more like the beak of u
parrot. A stranger would never pick
him out for desperate man, but he was
all that the name implies. For reckless
dare-devil+ry, hardness with gun and
bravery almost supernatural, he never
had an equal among the many of his
class who made things lively on the
border in New Mexico and helped 10 fill
the grapeyards. Hundreds of times he
looked death in the face with that steel
blue, cold eye of his, which. did not
seem to know how to finch. When &C.
casion seemed to demand it he shot his
enemy dead in his tracks and turned
upon his heel with cool indifference,
or fled to one of his strongholds, as &C.
casion seemed to require. The shots
that were fired at him by good marks
men were without number, but for
years he appeared to have charmed
life, which no bullet, be it never so well
aimed, could cut short. The chances
which he took to escape punishment
for his crimes are almost incredible
when related. No Jail could hold him
nor could any number of guards keep
him in their charge, He always found
some way to escape, and in doing so
usually left a trail of blood behind him.
The incident in the career OF Billy
the Kid, which am about to relate, was
given to me by Mr.. w. H. Summons, of
Lake City, Col. Mr.. Sammons' part in
the affair will appear in the narrative.
He said:
"In the spring of 1881 the COM
mander of the government post at Fort
Craig, N. NJ, received word from Fort
Cummings, near Cooks Peak, that a
gang of White Mountain Apaches were
off the reservation, and that they were
plundering and killing the settlers by
way of diversion; that they were sup
posed to have crossed the Rio Grande
and to be making their way towards
the Organ or San Andree mountains,
in New Mexico. A call for troops was
made to go out and intercept them.
Dispatches were to be carried to Fort
Stanton, near the Pecos river, to this
effect Capt. Jack Crawford, the "poet
scout" was then in the employ of the
post as dispatch carrier. He was mott
fled to leave at day break with the word
that would alarm and warn the settlers
in the Pecos valley and enable the Off
GERS at Fort Stanton to put cavalry in
the field and drive the Indians back to
their reservation west of the Rio
Grande, beyond the Black Range noun
tains. 1 was stopping at the post for
few days On visit to Capt. Jack, being
an old friend and acquaintance Of his
years before in the Black Hills. I vol
unteered to accompany him upon his
hard and perilous trip. We left Fort
Craig shortly after daybreak, carrying
our saddles and blankets across the Rio
Grande in a boat and swimming our
animals, which consisted of two saddle
horses and a government pack mule, a
very nimble-footed animal that was
trained to follow and could be depended
upon to- be at our heels whenever camp
was made. We were soon in our sad
dies after the river was crossed, and
made for the Tucson ranch, the only
place where water was to be had for a
distance of rs miles, having to cross
what was known as this Dry Hornado,'
a desert, sand and alkai waste, being
about 125 miles long and from 60 to so
wide. 1t lies just east of the Rio
Grande river. We arrived at the ranch
about nine o'clock that evening, very
much fatigued from the hot and dusty
ride. Remaining there until daybreak,
we once more hit the trail for what is
known as Dripping Springs where the
last water was to be had until we
reached some of the tributaries of the
Pecos river to the east Of the noun
tains, which we must cross that day
and which lay between the Pecos val
ley and the Rio Grande.
1--WE arrived at the springs about
noon, having covered about 30 miles
since day break. Capt. Jack advised TAX
ing siesta of two hours. Our course
from Fort Craig had been in a south
easterly direction to the Tucson ranch,
where we intercepted the old trail run
ming from Fort Stanton to Silver City,
our course to the springs having been
about due east. After loosening our
cinches and watering and feeding our
horses, we partook of our scanty din
ner of bareback and canned horse and
lay down 10 rest. We had finished our
siesta, and had started to get ready to
renew our journey when cast my eyes
to the southeast and beheld what we
supposed to be band of Indians about
a mile away coming toward US. LOS
Indos,' was my only remark, as by
wave of the hand 1 called the attention
of Capt. Jack to them. There was
mighty quick work, tightening our
cinches and a hurried departure from
the spot. The Indians, apparently, did
not see US until we were in the saddle,
they then being about half mile away
and coming along on our trail. Weput
spurs to our horses and started for the
pass, touching the ground only in high
Places as Capt. Jack afterwards ex-
pressed it. A series of loud and de-
moniacal yells told US that we were
discovered, and a few stray shots were
heard as we rode rapidly away. The
trail we were on was well worn and
fairly good, so that we soon proved
that distance lends enchantment to
the yiew.' After two hours of hard rid
ing we passed the crest of the range
and beheld the valley of the Pecos in
the distance. We saw nothing more of
our pursuers.
".As we descended into the valley
Capt. Jack saw solitary horseman ap-
preaching us from 3 distance. AS he
5,e,y ,,ear we nerceived that he was q