The copper era and Morenci leader., 1920-04-23

any one who might come after him.
 Stopping at vacant ranch house Torrez cooked supper and evidently spent the night. With his customary preyerse temprament, he cooked his food on a bonfire built on the floor rather than on the stove and kicked the embers about the house, according to the large hole burned in the floor and smaller scorched places around the room. Adding a tarpaulin, small mattress and some children's toys to his equipment he rode up in the noun tains and made camp little over 20 miles from Williams. Here he butch cred calf with the razor he had pur- Joined and set up housekeeping. He was captured on the third day, by three officers from Williams, who had carefully approached the camp and surprised him. When approached, Torrez was sitting on the floor of the pup tent, two loaded revolvers on his lap, several wreaths of paper flowers about his neck, and he was beating a toy drum in front of him. n
 Again he was consigned to the state prison, reformed, to all appearances, and Governor Campbell allowed him | { from the residents of Coconino county, i of whom one of the most active was Victor Melick, the man Torrez mur- 1 dered,
 His Last Crime
 Immediately following his release, Simplico Torrez went back to Williams
 and while he did not at once openly
 defy the law by personal insults he
 constantly made his presence unpleas.
 ant for the police. Scarcely two weeks
 passed, until on May 31, 1919, Con stable Victor Melick was notified that 1 Torrez had stolen a horse. Melick
 had known the man for many years {, and believing that he would return fol | the saddle, went to the house where the stealing was done, accompanied by another officer. AS they approached }, Torrez was. seen returning and MT 1 Melick went to him and advised hin
 to return the horse and avoid trouble I With hardly word, Torrez drew his
 gun and shot twice, killing the mar
 who had befriended him. An exciting
 man hunt, followed, the citizens o ! Williams leaving their occupations I and arming with rifles and revolvers to join the chase. Like return o old frontier days, was the hunt whicI
 ensued The fugitive finally wa. cornered in a little frame house on ths outskirts of town. Here a battle roy
 al took place, both sides exchangins shot for shot, until the shack was rid
 dled with bullets. Later, reinforced by posse of county officials iron
 Flagstaff, the house was rushed, ant Torrez captured. He was taken t,
 the jail in Flagstaff since feeling ral
 high against him in Williams, and i
 was considered unsafe to leave hin
 ,here. The murdered man was of tn, considerate, quite kind to whom tn, old saying might correctly be applied he numbered his friends by his ac quaintences' and there was open tall of lynching.
 During the trial la,er, Torrez admit : ted his guilt an added that he 'coul, have killed" the other officer an, ! wished he had". Both his parent , testified against him, his mother stat , ing that he had long been incorigibl and his father expressed the hop
 that at least life sentence would b. } given Simplicio, in order to protec the lives of others. A plea of insani : ty was entered by the defense, but tn , clear, rational; detailed description of the murder, which Torrez gave, re fused that contentiony