Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1899-09-01
sURLY BLACK JACK.
The Leader OF the Bandit Gang and Nc
Ginnis at the Penltentiary.

All doubt, IS to the identity Of the
Folsom train robber. who was shot By
the conductor of the train which he
endeayored to hold up, has been dis
pelIed.
Tom Ketchum, the notorious "Black
Jack" lies In close cell at the peniten.
tiary, surly and determined to die, II
neglect in not allowing the penitentiary
physician to amputate his decomposing
arm, will accomplish that result.
He has been visited by his brother,
Berry Ketchum, and at the instance Of
the Wells Fargo Express company
Sheriff Shields, of Tom Green county,
Texas, where Ketchum was raised, and
Ketchum's brother-in-lsw, Duncan. Of
the same county. went to Santa Fe to
identify the prisoner, who they say is
the man wanted.
McGinnis, another member of Black
Jacks gang, who participated in the
fight at Cimarron. is In another cell
with his wounds healed. When the
two see each other not sign of recog-
milton is given by either.
Ketchum won't allow the doctor to
do thing for him, save to give him an
occasional hypodermic injection of
morphine to ease the pain. Although
suffering tortures with his mangled
arm, he does not utter groan or
evince the slightest evidence of suffer-
ing. When asked If he suffered he
replied that he was suffering the tor
lures of hell' His wounded arm is
black and his fingers are said to be about
to drop off. But he says he wants to
die, and 1t would seem to be only
matter of short time that his wishes
will be fulfilled though the New Mexi-
can of last evening reports his condi-
tion as improving.
His brother, Berry Ketchum, and his
sister, Mrs. Duncan. 1t is said, do not
care to see him get well as they both
feel that it would save the disgrace of
death on the scaffold, fate which Ket-
chum, should he come to trial, can hard
ly avoid, though should his case come
to trial his brother and sister will do all
they can to save his neck.
Those who are acquainted with the
man, however, say that he will never
hang-that he will either succeed in
killing himself or force the officers to
kill him. He jokes with his guards and
told the physician that when his arm
was buried, his body would be buried
with 1t. Medicine he will not touch.
District Attorney I,eahy Of Katon,
spent several honrs with Ketchum and
McGinnis at the penitentiary. endeav-
oring to get something out of them re
garding the Cimarron fight. Both will
tell all about their own crimes but not
word will they say to implicate any,
one else.
1t is thought to be impracticable to
attempt to convict McGinnis Of the kill
ing of the officers at Cimarron, by rea-
son of lack of sufficient positive evil
dence that he was there. so that he will
probably be tried for the wounding of
the officers at Eddy.
.McGinnis is supposed to be an all
round crook. When completely sur
prised and captured in Eddy county
after wounding three officers he made a
desperate fight. The two wounds
caused by bullets which passed through
his body, which he no doubt received at
the Cimarron fight, had healed up. He
is man about five feet eight or nine
inches high with very keen eye and
looks upon his capture in matter-of
fact, careless way.