Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-04-23
DADE'S RISE TO FAME.
Ten Strike of a Deputy Sheriff In a
Texas Town.

DHDAI . ~ - <AHAASs
Ten Strike of a Deputy Sheriff In q
Texas Town.
Never heard Of Deputy Sheriff Alvat
Dade Of Tenuacana?" asked Colone
Quarles, Of Waco, Texas. Hes not g
deputy sheriff now. He's an oil-lum-
ber-cotton-bale plutocrat, with the
governorship Of Texas in his vest pock-
ct, by all accounts. But I guess he'll
80 down in history as Deputy Sheriff
Dade.
"Alvah was working cotton patch
down in the bottoms, when his uncle
Lem Dade, was elected Sheriff of Te-
huacana county. Lem brought him UP
to the city and appointed him deputy.
"Alvah was as big as a couple OF
steers, with light hair and eyes like a
baby. And he was certainly the un-
combedest, greenest specimen that ever
struck the town.
"A fellow by the name Of Beet Welch
had been counting on being deputy
sheriff and he was terrible sore when
Alvah got the job. All you had to do to
make Alvah believe thing was to tell
it to him, and Welch and his friends
didn't lose any time taking advantage
of this.
First week Alvah was on duty a
man rushed into the office and gasped
out that old Job Conger over on the
Bosque had killed four Of his neighbors.
Alvah ran his horse nearly to death
over those six miles and found old Con-
ger quietly cutting up four hogs.
IA few days later kid came up to
Alvah with a note saying that strang-
er had got into Mrs. Powell's house,
out on the edge Of town, while her hus-
band was away, and she couldn't get
rid Of him. Alvah chased out and found
that Mrs. Powell had just had baby.
Something like that would happen
every week or two, mostly put up by
Welch and his friends, and before long
the whole county was laughing at AL
yah. But Alvah didn't seem to catch
on. He just looked out Of his baby eyes
and was earnest and thoughtful.
"One day Welch met Alvah on the
street and said that old man Campbell
wanted to see him up at his house right
away. Campbell was the richest man
in central Texas. He had a lumber
yard in every sizeable town in the state
and people said he was worth a mil
lion.
HE had been troubled good deal
about that time by thieves and Alvah
thought that was what he wanted to
see him about. So up he posted and
found Campbells daughter, who had
got home from school in the east that
day.. sitting on the front piazza in a
white dress with yellow ribbons.
"Alvah would rather have crawled in
to a barrel of wildcats, but he marched
up and told his business. The girl said
her pa wasn't at home, but that II ne
had sent for Alvah he'd probably come
soon. So she made Alvah sit down on
the piazza and wait.
1T was then o'clock. She was a
mighty pretty girl and she kept Alvah
there till after 6. Alvah had business
downtown, but he didn't know how to
get away. So he sat for two hours
breathing through his nose and perspir-
ing, and gurgling whenever 1t came his
time to say something.
"Quarter-past Campbell came home
and looked tired when he heard Al
vah's story.
Its too bad he said, breaking In
to a respectable mans house this way.
You'd better take to the woods before
you disgrace the county
"Alvah backed down to the gate and
the girl looked sorry. Fifteen minutes
later he laid his gun and his badge on
his uncle's desk and said he wanted to
resign. The sheriff listened to what he
had to say and thought it might be a
good thing.
Five minutes later Atvah- came up
the street to where Welch and his gang
were sitting out in front Of the Palace
hotel. Alvah walked over to Welch and
picked him. Then he licked him.
"Welch pulled a gun and Alvah took
it away. Then the licking went on.
Then Alvah went down to the sheriff's s
office and his uncle reappointed him.
1.-TWO months later when Welch
crawed out Of the hospital on crutches
he was crazy for revenge. His Idea was
to get Alvah into some scrape that
would be 80 foolish and scandalous
that he'd be fired from his job and hoot-
ed out Of town.
"Welch was an ingenious man, but
he worked and studied for three weeks
without turning anything up. Then one
day his idea came to him.
Central and southerly Texas was be-
ing torn up at that time by a road
agent named Sam Bolo, who was the
smoothest artist that Texas had pro-
duced in a long time. One day he'd
clean out bank in some big town, and
by the time the officers had him all. but
run down he'd De holding up mail
train a hundred miles or so in the other
direction.
HE always worked alone. but des-
criptions of him differed. After he had
made two or three rich clean-ups he'd
drop out of sight for month or so un-
til people began to think he was dead or
had skipped. Then some day he'd
break loose worse than ever.
within six months there were eight
murders charged to him, and 1t was
reckoned that he had stolen nigh half
a million dollars. The state, two coun-
ties, five banks and three railroads were