The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-12-08
Early Kansas DAYS.
fF'rom the Los Angeles Times


hairbreadth escapes and adventures of
the wild west sort as a human being
could banker for. is ]. v. Brighton of 459
Avenue 81, East Los Angeles
At the age of 10 he ran away from
home and Joined the 115th Illinois vol
unteer infantry. serving two years and
nine months in the civil war. the last
nine months being spent in Anderson
Vile prison. At the close OF the war ne
was ordered from Tennessee to Texas,
and was discharged there at San An=
tonic in the winter of 1865.
During the next nine years, said Mr..
Brighton, i was a cowboy in Texas,
driving cattle from San Antonio to Abb
lene, Kas.
IN 1S67-'6S my brother and / were liv-
ing in Elk City, Kas. There was a big
gang of cattle rustlers there who We're
called the Countryman and Gum gang,
which we helped to dispense. Several of
them were killed and others We're given
long terms in the penitentiary. served
later as a state detective in Junction
City, Kas., looking up cases of illegal
whisky selling and cattle stealing, ana
little while after was appointed to in
vestigate the Talbot murder case, and
within ten days after i took it / had
captured the murderers, two of whom
We're hanged.
1T was during the palmy days of Arf-
IONA that saw exciting times, however.
Those We're the days when every man
carried a gun in lieu of a buttoHhole
bouquet, and gave a bullet in place OF
a good morning. / was sent there by
the Continental Cattle company, of Hi
nois, to do what I could toward break
ing up a gang of desperadOes and cattle
rustlerS, known as the Clanton gang.
My wife and I drove from Pecos sta
ton, Texas, to Arizona in a wagon, and
went direct to Springerville, which was
the gangs headquarters They were a
tough set, who would rather shoot a
man than stop to argue question-in-
deed, twas customary in those days to
have man for breakfast about six
times a week
steal from the stock people, who were
mostly Mormons, and then run the cat
tie down into Mexico, where they would
be disposed Of
knowing who was, and assisted in all
their work, keeping in touch all the
time with the proper authorities, but
they finally got suspicious and laid
plans to do me up They held me up
one day at the muzzle of several guns.
and asked me very emphatcally II l
was one of those -- detectives, Of
course I told them I was not, and they
came to the conclusion that they had
been a little hasty.
.sAll this time I was forming my
plans to kill or capture the whole out
fit and an opportunity to partly carry
out my plan came when a tenderfOot
from the states came into that part OF
the country and bought up 100000 head
leaders of the Clanton gang applied to
the tenderfoot for positions with his out
fit to look after the cattle, but he re-
fused to have anything to do with them.
One day they sent him a note, asking
him to call at their ranch. and when
he arrived they deliberately shot the
man dead
THE gang fed to the mountains, and
wanted me to go along, too, but ex-
cused myself by saying I was going
hunting I meant it, too, for 1 jumped
on my horse and rode to the county seat,
where I talked up my plans to the
sheriff. He wanted to send out posse,
but I said I could do better alone l
did, however, take one deputy along
had been over the trail, of course, and
also knew every member of the gang by
1--WE rode post haste to Wilcox, and
were told there that the gang had fled
to Mexico. 1 knew this was untrue, and
on the way back to Solomonv1lle /
learned that they were hiding in the hills
near there went to the sheriff of the
town and notified him that the gang
were there, and to arrest any OF them
who came to town.
.sWhile was saddling my horse in
the corral the hostler told me he had
seen one of the Clanton boys in town
that very morning at the sheriff's office,
getting some checks cashed. also
learned that the sheriff himself was as
tough a nut as any of the C1antons and
was told that he wanted me done up
were cattle thieves and murderers or the
toughest type.
.sMiller and I saddled up and rode
across the ella river and lay IN the mis-
all day The next morning we struck
the camp of a cowboy named 'Peg-leg
Wilson, and here we stopped TO get
breakfast. As we were kindllng nre
we heard the clatter of horses hooIs
along the trail, and glancing up We saw
Ike Clanton approaching. Miller
Strengthened up, and Clanton saw ana
recognized him Immediately. he
wheeled his horse and unslung his VIM
chester. starting to ride around US. 1
ora bbed my rifle and covered him,
shouting at the same time to hold up
his hands and to halt. Miller yelled:
shoot the -!' Clanton refused to
halt. and I fired at him, hitting him I'M
der the arm. He reeled in the saddle,
and I gave him another, which struck
the cantle of the saddle ana Went
through his body. He dropped, ana
when we ran up we found him as dead
as a rnackereI- One of the gang had
been wiped out, and one Of its worst
Giving the body on his horse, we con-
tinued on our way and soon met three
cowboys who helped US bury Clahtoll
bodv AS we were about to place the
body in the grave I happened TO thlnh
that Clanton had once told me that II
I was present whenever he turned up
his toes to be sure and pull off his boots
before he was buried as his people mao
often declared that he would be buried
with his boots on and he wished to
show that they were mistaken 7 pulled
off his footgear, high top boots that cost
Clanton S12, and were 1nlald with silver
stars and had a fine pair of silver spurs
at the heels, and put them on my feet
when 1 got back to Springville
man who was a friend of Clanton saw
me and recognized the boots and asked
me where got them I told him
hatched-up yarn, but he refused to be-
lieye it. and we came near having a
v1.,r, Ton q a
round bad man. and had a record OF 1S
kills to his credit I saw him kill two
men myself, Just for the mere fun of the
thing he called it.
CsoIr, a