The Arizona copper camp., 1919-03-29

8 to Sonora. The trail is unlighted
at night. Thurman and York, who
had heard few shots fired, determ-
ined to investigate, and stationed
themselves in the canyon. Their Wig
lance was rewarded soon, as the two
desperadoes rushed right into their
arms. The foremost, Aguilar, was
carrying a stolen coat, hat and shirt.
He dropped the articles, drew his re-
volver, pointed it at York and snapped
the trigger.
York drew his own gun and fired at
Aguilar, hitting his left side. The
man not wavering under the terrific
impact of the .45-caliber bullet, York
fired once more, this time striking
him in the head. The second soht
proved his finish.
Other Man Draws Dirk
Aguilars companion, Gonzales, in
the meanwhile, had been engaged by
Thurman. Gonzales hand flashed to
his belt. AS he drew murderous-
looking dirk Thurman, who was un-
able to draw his gun because of a
heavy mackinaw which he was wear
ing, grasped the man and, after a
short struggle, disarmed him. Con-
zales was placed under arrest.
Defective Bullet Saved York
Had it not been for the fact that
Aguilar had loaded his gun with 32-
caliber shells instead of .38s, Deputy
York would probably not be alive to-
day. An examination of the revolver,
which was a Colts police positive,
proved that the bandit had attempted
to make use of the wrong shells. 1t
is to this fact that York owes his
| life.
The body of Aguilar was taken to
Bryant's undertaking establishment,
where it was found that the first shot
had gone entirely through the mans
body The second bullet, which had
entered his face at the left side,
ploughed it's way down his neck and
| lodged between the shoulder blades.
HoId-up Men Had Masks
| An important find was made by
Bryant, when he discovered that tho
black cloth "muffler" which had been
given TO him by Thurman to keep
with the rest of Aguilar's effects, was
in reality cleverly- constructed mask.
The mask was so constructed as to
envelop the head completely, a piece
of cloth about four and half feet
long extending down the front, the
better to disguise the bandits cloth
| ing. The mask did not have other
than two small holes pierced in it for
his eyes. Gonzales had a stitched
piece of the same cloth, about two feet
long, which he admitted to have used
by winding it about his face. The
masks were neatly stitched by ma
chine, and looked as though they had
been made by someone with thor
ough knowledge of machine sewing.
This has led the officers to suspect
that there is a woman connected with
the case.
Had Bad Record
Aguilar and his companion had
robbed two MeXicans about ten days
previously, and the former is known
to have murdered three men in Texas.
The fruits of their hold-up amounted
to $4,000 and thinking, no doubt, that
pay night would be a good time TO
duplicate their work, the highway
men went out Friday night. That
they would have succeeded, but for
the prompt and efficient attention they
received at the hands of the deputies,
is not to be doubted.
Gonzales knife had heavy, double
edged blade, about eight inches long,
with a copper guard at the juncture
of the handle with the blade. The
handle was fashioned of lead, and was
heavy enough to provide a good bal
ance for the powerful blade. 1t was
evident that the homemade knife had
been fashioned with care to provide a
weapon powerful enough to kill with
one stroke, heavy enough to crush
mans skull, and nicely balanced to
make good weapon for throwing. 1t
was highly polished and was in first
class condition.
Gonzales was charged with carry
ing dirk, and the sentence of six
months hard labor, imposed by Judge
French, commenced Wednesday. Dep
uty Sheriff c. T. Henderson, guarding
the prisoner, was driven by Sheriff
Henry Hall to Florence in the latter's
car
In ridding the community Of these
desperados, Sheriff Hall and his eff
cient deputies have performed duty
that will be appreciated by the resi-
dents of Ray and Sonora.