The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-07-14
C~ARRUL0uSNESS
PROVES COSTLY
Thought at First That the Joke
Was on, Hold UP
BUT TABLES ARE TURNED
The Bandit Took Paste Jewels, but
Later Returned and Sc
cured Genuine Ar.
ticles.
BUT TABLES ARE TURNED

cured Genuine Ar
ticles.
Washington Star: 1--WE Just been
reading a dispatch in The Star, with
h Trinidad, Colo, date line,
ing that Bob McManus. the last sur
viving member Of Black Jack Ketch-
un's notorious band OF train robbers,
that terrorized Colorado and New Mex
leo for many years, la been captured
al that place. saidfiCaspar Marks, a
well-known travelling salesman for a
New York diamond firm, who often
visits Washington. THAT obscure little
item Of news carried me back fourteen
years to the summer 1 had the dis
tinction-to put it in thai light and
breezy way-of being n Of Black
Jack Ketchum's victims. It's a story
that 1 would never have told upon my
self for years after it happened, for
the memory of it ranked with me, see
Ing that it involved a lot of fool vanity
n unnecessary garrulousness on my
w part. But I've reached the stage
now where l can get as much fun out
of one on myself as upon some other
fellow.
1T huppened in the summer OF '91,
when 1 was a good deal gave and
more addicted to alkativeness than I
can afford to be nowadays. The begin
ming of 1t was a trip I took on the
Santa Fe east-bound train, returning
from my regular annua tour of the
west and southwest. / was in the habit
at that time OF wearing a good many of
my samples, SO to speak, in one shape
or another; for it hadn't then become
a settled maxim that a diamond man
doesn't help his business a little bit
by parading around with enough gems
on him to make him look like the
Min Of Hyderabad on a feast day.
My outfit of visible white stones con-
sisted of three big studs, three rings,
visible, by the way-and a pair OF
sleeve links-worth, in. all, about 1000.
Before I started for the east from Al
buquerque l had a talk with a jeweler
OF that town that.got me to thinking.
perhaps you are not var young
un,' said this Albuquerque jeweler.
that Black Jack Ketchum and his
bunch are working the Santa Fe just
now for all it is worth. If you don't
know 1t, I'm telling you now. II you
10 know it, you ought to be under
treatment. It's an even-money bet thai
If you're imbecile enough to carry all
those gew-gaws on you on your trip
back you'll never take them to Den
ver."
\ Great Idea.
Badly as I hated to own up at that
time. even to myself, that I didn't know
would be making myself an easy mark
II I didn't take his advice. But I was
young enough and vain enough to hate
to surrender my diamond front even
for the couple of days that my round
about trip to Denver would take. Med
ftating upon this subject, I suddenly
became seized with an idea that struck
me as being exceedingly humorous.
"A few months before a travelling
n who sold paste stuff on the road
had had all of the things I wore on me
duplicated in the paste Junk and gave
them to 111e as a sort of sardonic gift,
telling me that 1 might as we'll save the
wear n tear on the genuine stuff by
wearing the phony goods, which, being
a fanatic on the subject of his bogus
goods, he declared looked just as good
as the real stuff, anyway. I had put
this paste bunch of duplicates away in
the bottom of my trunk. After having
h a talk with the Albuquerque jeweler
1 suddenly thought of my paste rep
lfcas. 1t occurred to me that it would
be q whopping funny thing to wear
that stuff on my trip to Denver, so
hold the train and me up, I would be
enabled to ~perpetrate a gigantic sell
upon him. I just chuckled n Choir
tied over that idea, and the more 1
thouSh ABOUT 1t the more ScreechinEly
funny it seemed to me.
so 1 sent my genuine stones, to-
gether with h rest Of my samples and
most Of my money, on to Denver by
express. Then 1 stuck all of the paste
things in my apparel or aroun my
person where I a been habitually
wearing the genuine stuff, and took the
train.
To While the Time Away.
When we got to a point about fifty
miles south of Trinidad, where 1 was
to take the Rio Grande for Denver, 1
began to really fear that I wasn't going
to have a chance, after all, TO hand out
mask and a wicked looking pair of
guns. 1 was a little grieved over this,
for wanted to have the experience of
being held up, especially under such
delightful, dead Easy conditions.
Three Of US had put in most of the
time from the start in playing Califor-
MIA Jack for a dollar a corner. 1t was
a compartment train, and every car
was filled.
1.-The train slowed up at a little sta
..n about forty miles below Trinidad
.n}he neighborhood of II o'clock, and
Mip 1t started up again the passenger
~ ID picked up, on signal, appeared
doorway Of our compartment
VIZ Ivy watched our game for q while.
tnisnyas a tall, gaunt, commonplace
1nnassnan, except that he had a pair
OF pecu1rly black, deep-set and shifty
y fitting, st Of store re" clothes ety = 0h hius
nahhei h st with a black string tie,
anu q pta "a SLOUGH hat. 1 didn't take
~ ~ ~ ~ , IN details of his make up at
MS nttent,nn toof US paid any particular
agsinat the I'm as he stood leaning
After awhpp OF the door:
fellows asked J n - ha sre one - Oh e. the ne
70 ,adA in q ssldty Of four, and he
s enaheued +h.t bbkind of a way and
n leeAo a chance nee to 'dn't mind. Then I
nau - ont that T him UP, and fig
make up Of a cooEsas Of about the
outfit, or a bull WI a rounding up
to see his folks. I yer gong nome
CAUGHT him coming iiom my cards I
with his shifty eyes; fray Of paste
gotten all about the he l mao Ior-