Arizona republican., 1908-08-06
DEAD OUTLAW
VIM. DOWNING
Killed Yesterday at Wilcox
by Ranger Speed
Since His Return From the
Pen He Had Been the
Terror of the Town.

William Downing, an old time Ari-
IONA train robber and rustler was
shot and killed yesterday at Wilcox
by Ranger William Speed. The de-
tails of the affair were not learned
but the news of II excited no sur
prise here. Downing was recently
discharged from the penitentiary
where he had completed a ten year
sentence for participating in the Co
chise station train robbery and i'm
mediately on his release returned to
Wilcox. Complaints were received
from time to time of his lawless con-
duct there. He set out to terroriZe
the town and the community. He
wore his gun as in the old times and
now and then he rounded up a
peaceful citizen.
Captain Harry Wheeler was in
formed of the conduct of Downing
and he sent Lieutenant Olds to Will
cox to have a talk with him. Down
ing said that he would do better. He
had spent nearly half a century of
lawless years and he would now turn
over a new leaf. In the meantime
he was running a tough saloon in
the tenderloin district and was con-
stantly surrounded by persons as
lawless as himself. 1t was generally
predicted that Downing would short
ly find an excuse for killing some
body.
The Associated Press last night
sent the following brief story of the
killing: WIN. +. Downing. a mem
Der of the old Stiles-Alvord band of
outlaws which ten years ago oper-
ated in southern Arizona, was killed
today in a saloon at Wilcox by
Ranger William Speed. Speed sought
to serve Downing with a warrant
when the latter. it is said, displayed
a gun whereupon Speed fired"
Downing was nearly fifty years of
age He bad lived more than half
that time in Wilcox and vicinity.
Along in the eighties he was a
well known COW thief and in that
capacity he murdered Billy Trainor.
The cattlemen of that part of the
country had organized for mutual
protection against rustlers and had
formed a cattle association. Trainor,
a man of nerve, was employed by
the association as detective and he
performed his work so well that the
operation of the rustlers were great
ly hampered. They resolved to put
him out of the way. One night
Trainor was shot and killed by
Downing in what was represented as
saloon row. The only witnesses of
the affair were friends of Downing
who supported a theory of self-de-
:.
II has always been believed that the
murder was unprovoked and pre-
meditated, but there was no way to
prove that.
There was hardly break in the
criminal career of Downing but he
was not again brought prominently
to public attention until Bravo Juan,
who had been shot and wounded by
officers after one of a series of train
robberies on the Southern Pacific
and the Nogales railways, confessed
to the identity of several other per
sons who had been so engaged. lie
named Downing. AlvOrd, Stiles and
Burts as participants in the Cochise
robbery some months before.
The careers of Stiles and Alvord
have long been part of Arizona
criminal history. Both have been
frequently arrested and have as
many times escaped. Stiles is a flu
gitive from justice, usually almost
within, but just out of the reach of
the officers. Alvord was finally
brought to trial and sent to the pen
itentiary-
Comparatively little was heard of
the case of Downing for he was
less picturesque criminal. But he
was arrested for the Cochise robbery,
convicted and sent to the territorial
prison.
Downing was one of the few bad
men remaining in Arizona.