The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-29


fear him, declare that this same old Sol
| Brakeman has fought more desperate
| battles and been engaged in more hand
| to hand encounters than any other man
| on earth. 1t is not known how manv
| bullets have been shot into his Wiry IT.
| tie body. The Rurales, who have been
| chasing and raining lead after him for
| years, call him a running lead mine
| His skin literally is covered with scars.
| lie says that he has been shot twenty
| seven times and that moro than half OF
the balls that have hit him are still
| lodged somewhere under his skin or in
| his bones"
That one little man could successfully
defy and evade the Well armed. officers
| of two nations and smuggle long trains
! of burros packed with mescale and other
| contraband goods across the Rio Grande
every few months year after year for
| more than a quarter of a century and
frequently visit the border towns in open
| daylight, when his scalp, as he says.
was worth $2,0g0,' is an incident of
| frontier life that is strangely interesting,
The MeXicans believed that the man
was in league with Satan. They said that
| he could not be killed. Rurales can be
| found in the free zone who are ready to
! swear that they have seen bullets Iained
| into his body, while he galloped away as
|
United States officers recognized sew
eral factors that prolonged the desperate
mans career. He was as brave as lion
| agile, watchful as an Indian, and liberal
| in disposing of his fll-gotten wealth. Con-
federates he had by the score and friends
| by the hundreds among the poor. His
| most potential assistance, however, an
| allay with irresistible charms of person
| and a long purse, who always appeared
whenever he was in extreme peril, mover
ing between him and the avenging hand
of justice, was a beautiful woman, whose
| affection or friendship for the veteran
lawbreaker was & mystery beyond all
solution.
The woman herself was mystery. In
Monterey she is known as "the girl with
eyes that kill" In San Antonio they
called her The Devils Deuce"
Three times during the last few years
has this mysterious young woman put in
an appearance at a time when Old Sol
was in dire distress, and saved him from
going to the penitentiary. Rumor has 1t
that the fearless man. upon one occasion
saved the girls life. 1t has been writ
ten and printed that she is his daughter.
Those who are not satisfied with either
of these stories affecting to account for
the strange affinity between the two peo-
pie may have their choice and credit
another which makes THE Devils
Deuce" the wife of the terror of the
border. 1t is certain that she would
spend her last dollar TO save him from
the scaffOld or from prison, and she is
extremely rich. She owns fine hacien-
da in the state of NueVo Leon, several
valuable buildings, in Monterey, and 1t is
said that her check for $4,000 would not
be turned down by any bank In the
city
About five years ago Old Sol was cap
tured after a long chase and hard
battle near Carizze, the Rio Grande.
n
string of fourteen horses packed with
mescale, which he had already sold to
an American dealer at Randado. The
smugglers profits in this venture would
have amounted to more than a thousand
dollars Revenue officers on both sides
of the river had been watching him, and
when they received notice that he mad
started with his train they laid trap
For once the veteran smuggler was out
witted; but he fought with fury OF de-
spair; killing two of the Rurales ana
| wounding Texan during the pattle,
Finally he was shot from his horse In
| the middle of the Rio Grande river, and
almost succeeded in drowning one OF the
| Mexicans who attempted to seize mn It.
| A vaquero finally threw a rope over ms .
| neck and dragged him ashore, more deao
.%Tbe Devils Deuce" came to his assist
ance In the course OF Few 1ay = ba ,.it ~
| did not take her long to rescue lne otu
| man from iafl. She induced the Jaller 70
| drink a bottle of wine with net anu
| while she chucked him under the cnlh
with one hand she stole his keys with the
otber He fell asleep, and when ne
awoke the Jail doors were securely loCA-
ed. as usual. but the prison was en a1,i
woman came to the assistance OF the ola
snnuggler she encountered a conlplliat ~
1bat REQUIRED the exercise OF all heI lal,
ents The old man had been cap I 1eu
in MnpVN Laredo, anu Witch
di erood angel appeared on the scene the
n ia recognized her, and, peSiGeS
watching her closely they inIe i~on oeu ~
,n cell and loaded him with irons. 49,.
- He had been indicted for killing 5Lae
pi1raIe Guards and the Mexicans had , ue7
terrnined to give him a trial anu H. sor
shoot him. The opt iSThe W Deyi i Deuce"
ule 0tG that she would have to take
deenerate chances if she was TO suc0ee"
in saving his life 1,o.o,o+ i,to the
sol POSSIBLY she cajoled the Jaller my my
Sgrantine her permission TO take the Eio
5re11 something to eat. While IN there snS
quickly unlocked Lines, me eip With WITH him He
walked out in silk skirts. with ven o ;,SeI
his face and the desperate glri feH i. r
in the cell. She was Afterwards a.! ~ az" t ~
assisting prisoner 10 escape jail, ~ ~
che was able to employ the best legal tdi-
ont in the country and the prosecution
failed to convict ner3 o4 TITO
6n Y1nX
troiIh,e he was locked Hp in TeXas Jan
~ EapIe Pass The officers got timely
warning about the mysterious woman,
and when she put In an appearance lneg
hardly would allow her to look toWar9
the iaii Her mettle was aroused anu
| she paid firm of San antonio la Ntggric,,a
Thousand dollars to defend tne lloi9 ~ t ~
em1Igel r and 1t was afterwards sald mat
She suborned an army of witnesses ny
whom She might easily prove that old
| Sol was engaged in preaching the s ospeii
| in sonora Whenn theta crime charged
| apainst him was committed. A strong
| alibi however, was all that was requ nil
| ed and when this was proved the iuCAy
| man was acquitted. ,i,o,
| The mysterious woman Is AGAIN coIii ~ 3
| TO the old mans rescue, perhaps LOT me
| last time, for it is hardly probable tn E1
| he ever will sufficiently recover from Us
| wounds TO continue the career OIL d pOiuSA
outlaw, if he should escape conVlctloh.
| IF he had succeeded In his last VeAt ~. :
| he would have made little fortune ms
| rain Of thirty-four burros, which had
| nearly succeeded in getting across me me
| Rio Grande was packed with the Inost
| costly contrabrand goods. Inc oliIc9 t
| Estimate that the whole cargo IS worm
! about $4,000. 1t is said that WedIit dI
firm in Hamburg will sustain the lCss
rasulting from the confiscation OF the
entire pack train. .z.,oi,o
No officer has yet succeeded IN INDUCING
the old man to do any taking. Oh 80. ",
his confederateS, who was snot hoe loil5
executed. He said that old Sol had puriee
thousands Of dollars in silver ana golu
and other thousands in costly mefCn5in-
disc in the mountains OF Mexico, ne
Devils Deuce" might be able 10 IHu IneSS
buried treasures, but if the old man wa
living he would not. give another mortal
the slightest hint concerning his Wealtn
II has been tried at a time when Il