The San Francisco call., 1899-07-29
To ROUND UP A
DESPERATE BANDIT
Posse Searching for Tom
ketChun.
LEADER OF A FAMOUS BAND
HAS ENGINEERED MANY TRAIN
ROBBERIES.
He Is in Hiding in Tom Green County
and the Officers Are Determined
to Take Him Dead or
Alive.
OF A FAMOUS BAND
HAS ENGINEERED MANY TRAIN
ROBBERIES.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

AUSTIN July 28.-Tom Ketchum, the
most notorious train robber, murderer and
bandit leader known in Texas, is about to
be rounded up in Tom Green County by
a posse of State Rangers and Deputy
United States Marshals, according to re-
liable official information received here
to-day from that section.
Tom ketchum and his band have plotted
and carried out successfully more train
robberies than any other brigands who
ever operated in the Southwest. In addi-
ton to holding up and robbing the Fort
Worth and Denver City passenger train
near Folsom, n. NJ recently they have
committed dozen other equally as des-
perate robberies in Texas, New Mexico
and Arizona during the last four years.
Tom Ketchum is brother of Sam Ketch-
um, who was shot and fatally wounded
in the fight with officers in New Mexico
a few days ago. Tom was in that fight
and the officers say that it was his rapid
firing and unerring aim that did so much
deadly work in their own ranks on that
occasion. After that fight the band sep
arated and Tom and two of his men made
their way to their old rendezvous in Tom
Green County.
Their presence in the vicinity Of San
Angelo became known to the officers of
that county four days ago, and steps were
Four rangers who were ordered there
from San Saba County and several deputy
united states MarShaiS are close on their
trail. and it is expected that the final
roundup will occur tomorrow.
Tom ketchum was raised in San Saba
County, near here. He has wealthy and
highly respected relatives living in South
west Texas. He entered his career as a
leader of train robbers gang about four
years ago. One of their first notable rob-
berries was a LoZier, Texas, when they
held up the California passenger train on
the Southern Pacific road and secured
about $4,000 from the through safe OF
Wells, Fargo & Co. State Rangers and
deputy United States Marshals were soon
on the scene and purued the band through
the toughest part of West Texas for a
distance of four hundred miles. At the
New Mexico line the band separated and
Tom Ketchum returned to Tom Green
County, but the exact location of his
rendezvous there could never be found.
A short time afterward the band got
together again and robbed an Interna-
tional and Great Northern passenger train
near Austin. A few months later they
committed the robbery of the Texas and
Pacific passenger train near Coleman,
Texas. They secured a large amount Of
money from the express company in the
latter robbery. KetChum participated in
this latter robbery, but it is thought that
few Of the remaining members of his des-
perate gang were connected with it. Tom
Ketchum then fed to New Mexico, where
he committed other successful train rob-
berries. Texas officers who are acquainted
with Ketchums record claim that he
never belonged to the BLACK Jack" gang.
He has the reputation of being a dead
conservatively estimated that Ketchum
and his band have secured over 800 900
from the express companies within the
past four years