The Arizona sentinel. [volume] (Arizona City [Yuma], Yuma County, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1872-1911, 1904-01-13
DOC SHELTON'S ESCAPE.

help rearrest man who had
robbed the Deadwood stage, kill
ed the driver and one of the pas
sengers.
81 was out with my theatrical
company at the time and we had
just succeeded in loading our
baggage at Omaha, when | saw
coming toward me on the plat
form a motley group. In the
lead was a man with handouts,
behind him the sheriff and an
austerelooking, clerical gentle
man, and bringing up the rear
man in a red shirt, high top
boots and a slouch hat, leading
two bloodhounds. My curiosity
was excited, and after we had
taken our places in the passen-
ger coach 1 sought out the man
with the dogs and learned from
him that the man under arrest
was the notorious Doc Shelton,
who about six weeks before had
robbed the Deadwood coach,
killed the driver and one Of the
passengers, and made off with
the contents of the Wells-Fargo
box which contained the treas
ure.
''It seems that in making his
escape Shelton had left q frag-
ment of his coat, which had
caught on a nail in the stable
where he changed his horse, and
with the aid of the bloodhounds,
the sheriff and the man in the
red shirt had traifed him through
the country to Jasper, Ia, where
he had taken refuge in the home
of his father, who was a minis
ter. The sheriff was taking
Shelton back to Cheyenne, where
he expected to meet his fate.
"While we were journeying
through Nebraska, a niceap-
pearing lady asked and obtained
of the sheriff permission to talk
with the prisoner.
Sin the course of their conver-
satlon, as she related it after
ward, Shelton told her that the
cause of his straying from the
path of rectitude was the loss of
his mother, who had passed away
to her reward. That his father
was one of those auStere, over
beBring men who found fault
with his every act, and followed
it up when he was a boy by ad
ministering severe punishment.
He said that his mother made in
tercessions for him, and that
when she died his home was no
longer endurable and that he had
left it to become an outlaw. His
only joy, he declared, came from
the thought that he would soon
be with her in heaven.
"Shelton did not look like the
desperate character that he was.
He was most amiable, a good
talker and an entertaining per-
son. The train stopped for din
ner. Shelton was hand-cuffed
and his feet were ironed, and the
woman went out to her dinner.
When the train started up again
the prisoner asked permission to
go to the toilet room, which was
granted. We were running at
the rate of about forty miles an
hour at the time. [ stood talk
ing with the sheriff, near the
door, and after lapse of fifteen
minutes the sheriff called on
Shelton to come out. There was
no response, and after waiting a
few minutes longer the door was
forced and the place was found
to be empty. He had made his
escape through the window not
withstanding he had the irons on
his legs and wrists.
''The train was stopped. |
with several others were made
deputies and the bloodhoundS
were brought out. There was a
call for something belonging to
the prisoner, and at this the
lady hurriedly left her seat,
opened her valise and placed
something in the bottom of it.
The prisoner had taken all his
belongings with him and there
was nothing with which to start