The St. Louis Republic., 1902-11-30

| WRITTEN FOR THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC.
1 IAnguishing in various jais throughout
the West are six of the eight outlaws who
| robbed the coordination store and Post Of
December q. 1901.
! The bandits held up score of men as
| they came unsuspiciously through the door
for a quiet evening smoke and an equally
quiet evening chat. and killed one man who
refused to be held UP.
| The two leaders OF the gang-Hawkins
and Isbell-are still at large. but the posse
Is hot on their trail. and news of their death
| or arrest is momentariy expected
When the outlaws We're entirely through
\ with the men In the store they calmly
! kissed their hands to them. said "Adios y
| mounted their horses and quietly rode away
| over the rolling prairie.
| The robbers were men by the name of
| Henry Hawkins. Witt Neil. George Cook
John Smith. Frank Isbell. Pat Potter and
George r. Messagee. Among the last to
| be captured was Messagee.
The person they killed was Felipe Beau
| bien, a lad OF IS years, and the last In male
\ line of one of New Mexico's most famous
! families
At one time they were the owners of the
Maxwell land grant. which is now worth
! millions Of dollars.
The boy worked for Philip Hickman, the
owner OF the store and Postmaster. blessa-
gee is only a boy.
He tells the story in his own words:
"At Moore's ranch met Henry Hawkins,
George Cook. Witt Neil, Potter, John
Smith and Frank Isbell.
II had met several Of them before. but
had never seen the others until came by
chance to Moore's looking for work.
i've left Moore's ranch about p m. on
January 81.
I'VE all had horses and each a Winches-
ter rifle, besides four six-shooters in the
crowd.
Hawkins furnished US all with plenty of
cartridges, which he got at the Revuleto
robbery.
Hawkins also furnished all the rifles. ex-
cept the one Isbell got at Moore's.
'On the way HAWKINS and Cook set the
prairie on fire for fun, and it soon got out
of bounds and was roaring when We left.
while we were all watching the fire
Hawkins told us we were going to take in
Fort Sumner That place has never yet
been held up he said. and Well show them
that We can do IT.
They ought not to have made brags
like that said Cook, Neil and Potter.
I'VE started for Sumner about half-past
z. It was dark.
I'VE drove until about two miles from
the town, when Hawkins and Cook paired
to the town, and our Instructions were to
go into the store the way we we've riding.
First were Hawkins and Potter. next
were Cook and Smith, and following them
came Neil and Isbell, bringing up the rear.
Not more than ten steps from the store We
dismounted
II held Hawkins's horse and the other six
men went into the store. could partly see
what was going on inside, as they left the
door open.
Hawkins and Potter threw their guns on
those In the store. and the other boys fol-
lowed in. two at time, with their Win
chesters.
Several men who lived In tho place
went into the store while was holding the
horses, and as fast as they would come in
our boys would hold them Up.
Part Of the time Neil was at the door
and part of the time Potter
II was outside about an hour and half
when Hawkins came out and told me to
come ip, and get some chop feed. which 1
did, Hawkins ripping open a sack and
pouring me portion on the floor.
81 took the feed out and put 1t on the
horses. In the meanwhile. the boys went
through the stock Of clothing in the store
and brought a lot out, which also loaded
on the horses.
After we had all the clothes on the
horses and everything out We wanted. and
were ready to CO. Hawkins stood at the
door, and, after telling us to mount our
horses. which We did, he, with wave of
his hand, told the people in the store
'Adios.' and We left with the booty and a
dead man lying in the warehouse door.
There was just one shot fired in the
store. Just as the boys went in 1 heard
Hawkins say:
Hands up at the same time covering
the men on the left with his gun. Potter
doing likewise on the other side.
Il saw Potter tell his men twice to throw
up their hands, and then make one jump.
and he was out Of my sight. then heard
the gun fred
- This was not more than minute and a
half after the boys went inside and this
was the shot which killed the man in the
rear of the store.
"One of the men in the store. Mexican.
did not hold his hands up, and Hawkins hit
him with his rifle.
when went in saw the man standing
there with a big cash In his head. The
boys said the man who was killed was In
the back room. but never saw him.
I'VE rode in a slow walk until we got
across the river, some distance away, and
there divided up the cartridges.
What cartridges we did not take Haw-
kins a1d Cook threw into the river.
about half mile from Sumner we sat
down in bunch. and Hawkins and Cook
took the cartridges they had and threw
them on the ground.
I'VE each took mere than a hundred
apiece, then mounted and rode about eight
miles southwest, in q fast troi, when we
stopped, ate some canned goods we had, and
fed our horses.
Then We went on to an old abandoned
adobe house. and there we divided the
money.