Williams news., 1903-02-21
MAN-HUNTING OUT IN ARIZONA
An Interesting Article on the Chase and Capture of Jim Parker Train Robber and Murderer,
 as Related by Ralph Il. Cameron

In the northwest part of Arizona
 between the Colorado river and tho
 Utah line, there is a section O
 country which has been known al
 the Robbers Roost" Some years ago this country was infested witt a band of lawless men who sought refuge in that wild country from the operation of the law. Through the energy of Sheriff Ralph Cam. eron this gang was effectively bro- ken up and disappeard. and, where a few years ago murderers, robbers and other desperate men held un- questioned sway, peaceful focks oi sheep and herds of cattle now feed unmolested.
 Ralph H. Cameron, Flagstaff, Arizona" is the record in the reg ister of the New Willard hotel, and reporter hunted out this man, whose signal daring in the capture of the notorious Jim Parker, the train robber, and Juan Lopez, the Mexican murderer, brought him fame in the west some years ago. MT. Cameron is modest, unassum- ling man, and would be the last one person would pick out in crowd as a determined and brave officer. He is of medium height, inclined to be slender, and wears a mus tache. His face shows the rugged ness of western life and his eyes are small and keen, says the Wash ington Star. It was some time be- fore MT. Cameron could he induced to talk, and then he told the story of Juan Lopez, the Mexican.
 But thrilling as this story is it pales into insignifcance beside the story of Jim Parker, who single handed and alone-his partner hay ing been killed-held up the Santa Fe train and calmly and deliber- ately robbed it. 'That was per haps the most thrilling experience in my life," said MT. Cameron, and his eyes twinkled in recollection of the long chase Jim Parker gave the officers of Arizona.
 "Jim Parker was not bad man at heart. Like many other young men he began wrong and developed rapidly. The police first became acquainted with Parker in Visalia county, California, where he was caught, while still a boy, stealing grain from the fields during harv- est time. He was sent to San Quentin prison and served a term of five years. In the early '9Os Jim Parker made his first appear ance in Arizona as a cattle thief, and was the recognized chief of what was then known as the Thompson gang, whose headquar- ters was Robbers Roost." This gang consisted of Abe Thompson, Kid Marvin, and several half- breeds and Mexicans, whose names were never known. Thompson had been a railroad engineer and fur nished the mechanical plan to rob the SantaFe train. For several weeks Thompson, by drawings and illus trations, coached Parker in the management of locomotive. It was the first chapter in a well-con- ducted plot to hold up an express train, a job that required great de- liberation and daring. Jim Parker furnished all of this, for though a small man, with a kindly face, he was the most determined man when he set out to do job that I ever saw. Parker told me afterwa,d that he planned the robbery. Some time before tb, hofd-up Parker went to Peach Springs and pur- chased ticket for Cal ifornia. talk ing with him his saddle and gun, giving it o,at generally that he was tired of> le country and was going home. Ahree weeks alter he left he retua on horseback, riding