Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1908-03-08
Pat Garrett Made Stirring
History Clearing Bad Men
From New Mexico

and incidents when Pat Garrett. killed
last week near Las Cruces, was clear
ing New Mexico OF some OF the most
desperate characters who ever made
outlaw history in the west. Fillowtu9
Is rom this story which is reproduced
here because of the, large number OF
our readers who knew Garrett during
the time recordsd:
The arrival of Pat Garrett at Fort
Sumner In February, 1878, was tle
first actual beginning of the reign OF
the law along the Pecos. He killed
the Kid in July, 1881, and kept up
the campaign until the bad mesr
either quit killing or left the country.
A Soft Tongue and an Iron Nerve.
Tho bad man of genuine sort rarely
looked the part assigned to him in the
popular imagination. The long-haired
blusfe1e r. adorned WITH a dialect that
never was spoken, serves very well In
eastern Fiction about the west, but
THAI is not the real thing. The most
dangerous man was apt to be quiet
and smooth spoken. When an alLag-
onist clustered and threatened, the
most dangerous bad man only felt ris-
ing in his own soul keen and stern,
that strange eXultation which often
comes with combat for the man nat
urally brave. A western officer of yes-
tablished reputation once said to NC,
while speaking of a recent personal
difficulty into which he had been
forced; Il hadn't been in anything of
that sort for years, aad l wished l
was out of it. Then / said TO myself:
aTc frt1a bnT oil
and have lost your nerye?' Then all
at once the old feeling came over me,
and l was just like used to be. 1
felt calm and happy, and 1 laughed
after that, l jerked my gun and
showed it into his stomach. He put
up his hand and apologized. L will
give you a hundred dollars naw,' he
said, If you win tell me where you
got that gun l suppose was tri-
file quick for him."
The virtue Of the drop was emf
nently respected among bad men. Yet
some times men were killed in the
last desperate conviction that no man
on earth was quick as they. what
came nearing being an incident of
that kind was related to me by Pat
Garrett, man who repeatedly served
as sheriff in three counties of New
Mexico, who was at times ranger,
cattle detective, and in general a
hunter OF bad men. Garrett is now
collector of customs at FL Paso and OF
such reputation as a square man and
one of peace that he is a rising figure
in southwestern politics. He deserves
recognition by the country, for it was
he who restored, or rather inaugur-
ated, law and order over what was
without doubt one of the most lawless
and dangerous regions of the west
eastern and southern New Mexico. As
I lived in that country myself at the
time of CARROTS tenure as sheriff in
Lincoln county, we two had planned
a land voyage OF some five or six
hundred miles, with the purpose Of
visiting certain old scenes together.
We were now driving across the wind
swept plateau near old Fort Sumner.
When near the edge of the Pecos val
ley he refined up and pointed to the
southwark.
Down there, eight or ten miles"
said he, there used to be a little sa-
loon, and took a man there once.
was wanted for murder. The reward
offered for him was twelve hundred
dollars. AS he was stranger none
OF us knew him, but TIE sheriffs oe
scription sent in said he had a freck-
led face. small hands, and red spot
in one eye. l heard that there was a
new saloonkeeper there and thought
he might be the man, SO | took dep
uty and went down one day to see.
The Man With the Red Eye.
81 told the deputy not to shoot until
he saw me go after my gun. didn't
want to hold the man up unless he
was the right one; and l wanted to be
sure about that Identification mark
in the eye. Now when bartender
is waiting in you he will never look
you in the face until just as you
raise your glass to drink. ! told my
deputy that we would order a couple
OF drinks and so get chance tolook
this fellow IN the eyeI did look him
in the eye-and there was the red
spot 1 dropped my glass and jerked
my gun and covered him, but he just
would put up his hands for while.
didn't want to kill aim, but |
thought l surely would have to. He
kept both his hands resting Oh the
bar, and knew he had gun within
three feet of him somewhere. At
last he slowly gave in. / treated him
well. as | always did a prisoner. We
put the irons on him and started for
Las Vegas with him in a wagon. The
next morning out he confessedeyery-
thing to me. We turned him over
and later he was tried and hung.
don't remember his name, / always
considered him to be bad man.
So far as the outcome was concerned,
he might about as well have gone AT
ter his gun.
zone of the nerviest men ever ran
against" the ex-sheriff went on re-
flectively, Il met when | was sheritf
of Dona Ana county. l was In Las
Cruces when there came in a sheriff
from over in the Indian nations, look.
ing for a might've who had broke out
OF a penitentiary after killing guard
and another manor so. This sneriI
told me that the criminal IN question
was the most desperate man he had
ever known, and that no matter low
we came on him he would put up a
fight, and we would have to kill him
before we could take him. We lo-
Gated our man. who was cooking on
ranch six or eight miles out Of town.
I told the sheriff to stay in town, our
man would knew him and would not
know usI had Mexican deputy Alohs
with me.
Il put out my deputy on one side OF
the house and went IN, | found my
man just wiping his hands on a towel
after washing up his dishes threw
down on him and he answered by
knocking me with his fist and jump