Bisbee daily review., 1907-10-26
SHERIFF CAIN A TERROR ID
 BAD MEN
Friend Tells How He Began As Boy and Earned $2000 By Defying Whole Gang of Out laws.


 past. There was once a time when
 the population was divided sharply
 against itself and the lines between
 the good and the bad were well de- l fined. Everyone was either a typical bad man, ready to murder his fellow man upon the slightest proyocation, or lover of law and order, ready at a moments notice to battle to the death with the bad man for what he knew to be the right.
 One of the most picturesque of the latter class still remaining to us is Deputy Sheriff Marion McCann. whose days of usefulness are by no
 means past. as his arrest of the man RoiorduereZ, supposed to be a mur- derer at Frog Tanks few weeks ago amply testified. McCann is not a man who goes about telling everyone
 that he is handy with a gun, but when it comes to a showdown, any one in the vicinity is likely to find 1T out.
 Many people, since the arrest U Bajorquez, have wondered where Nc Cam got his first experience as gun fighter. Tom Cook, who is him selt a well-known character and has seen the west develop from country dotted with a few mining camps and COW ranches into what it Is today, is an old friend of the deputy, and hap pened to speak of the first gun fight
 McCann ever had.
 It happened in Pioche, Nevada. | Pioche was a typical western frontier town. The majority of the population consisted of thieves and cut-throats, with a few honest men mixed in with | the bad.
 A mining claim was discovered near the camp which showed indf cations of being a valuable mine. A gang of thieves in the camp deter mined that the discoveTer should not 1 retain possession of his find anu | made it so hot for him that he did not dare remain there. This gang
 was headed by ruffian named Black ! Jack.
 However, the gang was afraid to ! take possession after driving the | rightful owner away. They feared i the bullets of the owner. who could | have crept up after they had taken ] charge and picked them off. So ] there the mine was. Two factions
 were warning for it's possession. but each was too much afraid of the other to advance to the little shaft [ which had been dug and begin york. | In his dilemma the unluclSv pros | pector offered a reward cf s2a0p to anyone who would hold the mine for | him twenty-four hours. It was the ! law in Nevada at that time that a man must hold possession of claim | in person or by agent for that leEgth
 of time before he could call it Eio | own.
 But it looked too scary to the peo- pie of Pioche. They did not feel like risking their lives for S200O. l At this juncture McCann, boy of i Is, appeared. He procured a rifle and informed a saloon keeper of his acquaintance that he was going to 1 earn the reward. The saloon keeper tried to dissuade him, but young Nc Cam was firm. He did not believe l the danger was so great, after all.
 So he crept up unseen to the little ! hole in the ground, which represent
 ed mine, and got into it. The hole l was not over his head and offered a
 fine position to fight off the enemy. | When Black Jack heard that a boy
 was holding the mine he became furi- ous. He advanced with his gang, but
 he did not find that the boy ran from l him. On the contrary, he shot three
 of the attacking party and the gang was forced to retire.
 1 The leader of the ruffians was
 more furious than ever. He berated
 his men as towards and aEowed his intention of going up there and yank- ! i'm hn hv- hn 1f q,
 neck"
 He strode toward the mine without regarding its guardians orders to
 halt. When he got within a few feet
 of the shaft the youngsteT pulled the trigger and Black Jack bit the dust. He lay there groaning in agony,
 while his comrades stood off at dis
 tance and watched. They did not
 care to come within range of the | deadly rifle, even to help their | leader
 | McCann did not like to see the man
 suffering, so he climbed boldly out
 of the shaft and went to the wounded
 man. He forgot that the gang stood
 only short distance away, any one
 of whom would have shot him with
 out the slightest compunction Under
 the muzies of their guns he pulled his
 enemy around to the other side Of
 the hole and made him as comfort
 able as possible.
 The next morning the twenty-four
 hours were up and people came ur from the town. The gang had disap-
 peared. Black Jack was given the
 best care possible under the eircum-
 stances, but expired.
 McCann got the 5000 and was the
 hero of the camp