Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1901-09-26
RANGERS IN ARIZONA.
DESPERATE CHARACTERS TO BE
RUN DOWN.
Burt Mossman Will Have Charge of
the Work of Running Down
bad Men"

elusive benefit of the dime novelist or
the writer of Bowery tragedy
One gets a glimpse of the fact, how
ever, that though much reduced in
numbers, if not in quality, the frontier
desperate still exists, from action re-
Gently taken by the territorial govern
ment of Arizona.
The Legislature has just provided for
a body of rangers to patrol the extreme
southern part of the territory. which
borders upon Mexico, in order to run
down the desperate characters, includ-
ing escaped murdersrs, cattle thieves
and other criminals who hide in that
Wild trackless and mountainous re-
| gion.
Burt Mossman, a we'll known ranch
superintendent, has been appointed cap
tain of the company of rangers, which
| will be modelled on military lines and
will cor.prise a dozen picked men who
are neSafraid to tackle the most des-
perate characters they may come
across, The company will be stationed
in the southeastern part of the state,
| with headquarters and base of supplies
| in the mountains.
| Captain Mossman knows personally
most OF the men whom it will be his
duty to capture and bring to justice for
| atrocious crimes and 1t is more than
likely that the desperate characters will
now organize a band of their own to
thwart in every way possible the ef
! forts to capture them which will be
made by the rangers.
| Bets are being freely made here that
a year from date neither Mossman nor
one of his rangers will be living to tell
the tale of their experiences.
| MosSman however, is character not
to be daunted by any such prophecies.
| He is typical Westerner, with a big
massive frame, an eye like a hawk
nerves of steel and a careless-devil-
may-care manner that suggests more of
the bandit chief than of the state po-
| liceman
| He Is man who will stand up and
| face the fire till his last bullet is gone
and then will clinch with his antagon-
| list. He has had some of the most des-
perate characters in this region work
! ing for him as cowboys and has sent
several to their last account during his
career in the Southwest He is a man
OF thousand and will get high price
from the state for his services.
| When asked concerning his plans,
| Mossman said that he had none other
than to look out for the men who were
wanted for offenses which were sup
posed to have been committed by them.
"It'll seem rather odd to have to say
to such fellows as Hank Hawkins, Dan
| Spearman or Jerry Joy: Hands up old
man; your ropes run out But I'll do
! it good-naturedly. The life those fell
lows is Twin in the mesquite scrub and
the sand holes is a dogs life and half
of 'em ii be glad when it's over and
thank me for takin' em in. OF course
they'll object as long as there's any
| powder left in the locker, but | shoot
pretty steady"
| Burt might have been talking about
| shooting mountain lions, or mountain
| sheep for the matter of that. so uncon-
oerned did he seem about it.
Burt is the man who years ago ran
| down the Mexican bandit Salaveras,
who shot the superintendent of the
| Calico Silver mine when he was on the
| way with the coin to pay off the men.
Burt happened to be up in another part
of the territory at that time and was
in Daggett when the story of the muir
der came into the camp. Salaveras was
Mexican miner and had been working
/
when the superintendent was about
half way to the camp Salaveras started
to meet him. After shooting the SUI
perintendent the Mexican took his
horse and the money and struck off
across the desert toward Utah. The
horse gave out near the big dead lake of
Paradise Valley, and Salavaras had
nothing to do for 1t but run to the
coyote holes. He knew that by this
time the men whose pay he had cap
tured would be on his trail to avenge
! the superintendents death.
| Down into the mud the Mexican
plunged taking care to put the money
! bag beneath him as he burrowed his
way into the coyote hole. On the side
! from which his pursuers must approach
! there was a large bunch of Spanish
! hayonet grass. which completely hid
! the MeXican's head-all that remained
I OF him above the surface 1t was hours
/ before the pursuing party reached the
! coyote holes With Mossman were a
couple of Indian guides with their dogs,
whose services the ranchman had Sc
clred to track down the culprit. One OF
! these brutes was soon shifting around
/ the bayonet bush. and Salaveras see
ing the game was up. got out OF his
/ hole and faced the posse with his SIX
| shooter. Inside of two minutes he was
filed with bullet holes, the money was
dug out and he was left for the crows
TO feed on, which is a cheap and charit-
able method OF burial favored for out
laws in Arizona, as it saves funeral eX-
penses and gives the birds something t.
pick on.
! Cemeteries as a matter of fact are
no, much in demand in Arizona except
lin the great centers OF civilization. II
the coyotes fail 10 reduce the residue
OF humanity to a bunch of glistening
bones the sands of the desert, which are
continually shifting. soon hide the sick
ening picture from sight, and the boraN
deposits do the same anatomical work
for the human derelict as do the
coyotes. SELpON NlEh'
Cannot Credit the Report.
Can II be possible. as wild rumor
from Constantinople hints. that Tur-
Roy has ordered 500 pieces Of artillery
~