The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-12-13
From Desperate to Tamale Man.

IF'rOm the Sonora Union Democrat
Years ago nobody rode better horses,
could ride harder, dance longer, or
shoot faster than Ramon Ruis He was
, the beau ideal of a fandango dandy.
and Travelled a pace so fast with such
an utter reckless disregard for the pro-
prietics. even life, that not even his
best Tr1enQS-numerOuS, tOO-pFediOte ed
for him an ending more tranquil than
one with his boots on or possibly the
closing forever Of his eyes in the cell
of a penitentiary. Instead, however he
passed quietly away recently in Gala
VeraS county, the result of a cold co..
. tracted while selling tamales on the
street at night. The powerful consti-
tuition which had laughed at bullets
and Knife wounds. had permitted cold
to develop into consumption and in just
thirty days Ramon was a dead man
He was born in this state sixty years
ago, and in his teens developed remark
able ability as a bronco rider and dex-
terity in the use Of a six-ShOOter. Thus
it soon became known to the officers of
the law that one of the most DANGEROUS
combinations they had to deal with
consisted of Ramon, a good mustang
and a pair of skies" He confined his
operations almost exclusively to Gala
VeraS, san Joaquin, StauislauS and Mer-
ced counties, though occasionally he
was known to do a trick in other sec
tons TuOlumne he claimed as a home
and frequently returned, though gen
orally on the run, with sheriffs, detec-
tives, or posses in hot pursuit. Once in
the hills of home" he managed to es-
cape. He did one term in San Quentin
for stage robbery, and is known to have
been the lone highwayman Of several
other hOld-ups in which the sufferer
was Wells Fargo company.
These operations, together with ac-
curing some of the best horses the
state could produce without going
through the fOrmality of consulting the
owners, kept Ramon very busy-keep-
ing out of Jail. But as his ill-gotten
gains thew WPnf-n1GV
spent his money like prince, and gave
great deal to people who harbored or
showed him any kindness. He never
forgot a friend nor fOrgaVe an enemy.
That was his religion. He gave his
promise to the officers of this county
that he would commit crime within
its boundaries and lived up to it. Some
fifteen years ago or so the state got
too small to hold him, and as his old
enemies, the officers of the law, were
closing in on him from all sides, he
crossed the mountains, but had hardly
reached Hot Springs, Mono county,
when he got into trouble with a Piute
Indian and killed him Ten years ago
he worked his way to Lower California
and opened a butcher business. He did
a brisk business from the start, and,
though he trusted indiscriminately,
never tried to make his army of debt
orS settle uD. The reason Of this was
that he got cattle cheaper than any
body else could. At length the stock
raisers got tired of RamOn's mode of
getting beef cattle, organized a mob
and started to hang him. In the fight
that ensued Ramon was shot twice. but
succeeded in killing one man and
wounding three others. He staggered
to his horse amid a rain of bullets
mounted and fed.
He came direct to this county and
settled down. The old spirit of braVadO
had died and the man who loved ad-
venture for the sake of danger that
went with it, settled down to the IN
romantic life Of a tamale vender, and
as such he passed away.