Arizona, executions recorded in city, county, and statewide records, 1968, 1981, 1986, Undated

TOMBSTONE, ARIZONA, HANGINGS

Hangings — Legal
and Otherwise

In the entire red saga of Cochise County there is no single
instance of cold-blooded killings which, for sheer savagery, can
approach the infamous murders known as the Bisbee Massacre.

Five desperadoes held up a general store in the little copper
camp of Bisbee one late December evening in 1883. While three
of the men were plundering the store, two men stood on guard
outside the door and wantonly killed three men and a woman.

The border blazed with anger, and this time the law got
the killers. In six weeks’ time the five men and their undercover
leader were in the Tombstone jail.

Johnny Behan was no longer sheriff, having been overwhelm-
ingly defeated in his party’s first Cochise County convention.
He got only four votes in the early ballots and finally withdrew.
This was the only time Behan ran for the office, his previous
terms having been by appointment. J. H. Ward, the Republican
nominee, won the election and he seems to have been able to
find deputies who were allergic to outlaws.

The five participants got a quick trial, were convicted, and
sentenced to be hanged. Their mastermind, John Heath, asked
for a separate trial and was saved temporarily from the same
fate when the jury brought in a verdict of second degree murder.

This did Mr. Heath very little good for a group of Bisbee
men rode into town three days later, took Heath from his cell,
and lynched him from a telegraph pole.

The story has been told and written many times, but never
with the flavor and the details furnished by the pages of the
Epitaph and Republican which, at that time, were operated by
one management.*

The five men were hung simultaneously from one gallows,

* University of Arizona Bulletin: “Newspapers and periodicals of Arizona.”

224 TOMBSTONE’S EPITAPH


i

a ~

@.. (alias William) Parker came to Arizona in the
early 1880s from Bakersfield, California. He and George
C. Ruffner worked together on the Double O Ranch in
Chino Valley for awhile. The two men’s ambitions were as
different as their appearance: short, dapper Parker
admitted that whiskey, women, and no work was his aim;
while tall, rugged Ruffner allowed as how he wanted to
own the finest horse in the territory and make something
of himself. Later, the two men went their separate
ways with no idea that their paths would cross again under
very different circumstances.

Parker was an expert with horses and his services were
in great demand in Northern Arizona. He eventually was
able to save a little money and bought a small string of
horses, which was like money in your boot to a cowboy.
Then one day, all Fleming’s luck seemed to leave him.
Two of his horses were run over and killed by a train.
When the railroad offered an insultingly low settlement,
Parker decided to settle the claim his way, by robbing that
same train. On February 7, 1897, Parker and three
accomplices boarded the train at Peach Springs and took
$100.00 in registered mail. One of the outlaws was shot
and killed during the hold-up. Parker and the other two
men were captured eight days later by Sheriff George
C. Ruffner.

The men were taken to Prescott and awaited trial in the
county jail. On May 9, Parker and two other prisoners,
L.C. Miller and Cornelio Sarata, escaped. The turn-key
was overpowered and knocked unconscious. The three
took a shot gun from the Sheriff’s office and during the
getaway, Parker shot and killed Lee Norris, the deputy
district attorney. The outlaws ran to Ruffner’s livery
(where City Hall now stands) and demanded three saddle
horses, including Sure Shot, Ruffner’s prize while gelding.

TheSheriff was investigating a cattle rustling when the
jail break and shooting occurred. When he heard of the
break, he commandered a train at Congress and
“‘high-balled’’ up the tracks to Prescott. Soon after their
escape, Miller was captured in Chino Valley by the
sheriff's posse but Sarata eluded them and was never
seen or heard of again. Ruffner continued following
Parker's trail. Parker knew the seriousness of his
crime and in order to confuse his trackers, he reversed
Sure Shot’s horse shoes. The animal eventually went
lame and Parker, a lover of horses, turned the big, white
gelding loose rather than ride him until he dropped.

Train Robber and Murderer.

Look. Out for

$1000 REWARD |

For the Arrest and Conviction of

FLEMING PARKER

Who escaped from County Jail at Prescott, Arizona, on or about May 13,1897. In making
his escape he shot and miortally wounded the Deputy District Attorney.

DESCRIPTION.

Fleming Parker, alias William Parker, is now about 31 years of age; 5 feet 714 inches
high; weighs 165 lbs; light grey eyes; brown hair; size of foot 64 inches; teeth in fair
condition; high, full forehead; round features; straight nose; small mouth; round chin;
vacine mark on left forearm; mole back of neck; scar on left side of head. Usually wears
his hat on back of his head; is a cowboy by occupation, and a native of Tulare Cozaty.
His picture as given hereon is a perfect likeness of him. He has served a term of five years
in San Quentin for burglary. When last heard of he was heading for Nevada or Utah; had
a repeating rifle with him. He was artested for attempting to rob the A. & P. R.R. train at
Peach Springs, Arizona, and was being held for trial in the Prescott Jail when he escaped.
His partner Jim, alias Harry Williams of Utah, was killed at the time of the atterm pted
robbery. There is no doubt of his conviction if captured. If arrested telegraph Sheriff
Ruffner, Prescott, Arizona, or the undersigned.

Jc N. THACKER,

Sreciat Orricer, WELLS, Farco & Co.,

San Francisco, May 18, 1897. SAN FRANCISCO 3 9 k

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f - rs re / t es eS) George C. Ruffner, cowboy, freighter, and fron

sheriff, was a man typical of the old West. He cam
Arizona in 1882 at the age of twenty-one and found work as
a cowboy on a ranch outside of Mayer. By 1886, he owned
a spread on Big Bug Creek and had registered his first
brand, the tackhammer. Five years later he opened a
ae Apia, Binet freight line between Ashfork and Jerome.
Sane DURE ete oeeemrerenee ts | Ruffner became deputy sheriff of Yavapai County in
be deat Rank ees 1893 and the next year was elected sheriff. He was a
rugged individualist, respected by all for his fearlessness
and fair play. A typical example is his handling of the
Bugger Bennett case. Bennett had a grudge against a
local doctor and one night shot him. But, instead of killing
the doctor, as Bennett believed, the man was unhurt
because his large gold pocket watch had deflected the
bullet. Ruffner went into the Bradshaws without a weapon
and when he caught up with Bennett, coolly talked the man
into giving himself up. When Bennett learned the charge
was assault, not murder, he agreed to return to Prescott.
Ruffner proved he not only had grit but cleverness and
an understanding of human nature when he went after
Lark Pierce, a robber of some renown. He trailed Pierce
for over a week and seemed right behind him all the while,
but could never quite lay hands on him. When Ruffner
finally tapped Pierce on the shoulder, the outlaw was quite
surprised. Pierce was‘on the look-out for a lawman riding
fast and hard. Instead, the Sheriff was walking beside his
horse, masquerading as a prospector. It was incidents like
these that led a local paper to declare ‘‘He possesses
nerves of steel, utmost calm in moments of danger, and his
name has become a terror to the outlaws and
toughs that infest the territory.” VA e
The Sheriff had a sense of duty, but he also had a sense Ne
of humor. During Prohibition, he arrested bootleggers $
only when public opinion demanded it. When things got to ~
the point where he had to go out and look for &
illegal liquor, Ruffner put two horses in his home-made te
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He figured three or four times around would enforce the 2 !
law, for moonshiners made themselves scarce when they SS
saw the Sheriff taking his horses around the square. If he on
did find a still, he would pour the whiskey out onto the te
ground; George hated to do this, but it was the law. Ss

George C. Ruffner was Arizona’s oldest peace officer, SS
both in age and years of service, when he died in July,
1933, at the age of 71. Ruffner was elected to the Hall
of Great Westerners at the Cowboy Hall of Fame in
Oklahoma City, in 1961. He was the first man chosen
to represent Arizona.

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- IG, -pine-clad mountains . surrounding Prescott. .
“s - aggioed with Sounds of con-*uctisnesthéladies of the area 2
“SET saw to it.that the first church and several-fashijnablé vfs
~ homes Were built to compete with the degrading influence | <r e
of saloon and shanty. : oo
Shortly after the territorial capitol was established, ees
church services had been instituted. The postmaster, a
~ devout Methodist aithough not an ordained minister, was
| the first preacher. The first services of the Methodist
~ Episcopal Church were held in December, 1870, when
“. “Reverend Alexander Gilmore, the chaplain from Fort
. Whipple, began to conduct regular religious services.
S The March 7, 1879 issue of the Weekly Journai-Miner
~~. reported that ‘‘the finest residence in the town of Prescott
belongs to the Honorable Edmund Wells. Mr. Wells has
the gratification of seeing a grand structure grace the
corner of Cortez and Carleton Streets, through his energy,
perseverance, and business qualifications.”’ The lot was
part of the original townsite of Prescott and first purchased
in 1864 by Richard C. McCormick. Lumber for the home
was milled locally at the Virgil Earp sawmill, located in
what is now the Thumb Butte picnic grounds. After about a
year in the Prescott area, Earp left for Tombstone. He
owed $312.00 to the Goldwater Mercantile Company — a
debt which is still on the books, as the Company prudently
never pressed for payment. :

Judge Wells arrived in Prescott in 1864, when he was
eighteen years old. In 1869, he married Rose Banghart,
daughter of a pioneer cattleman. Admitted to the bar in
1875, Wells served as-district attorney, senator, associate
justice of the territorial court, and was appointed to codify
the State’s laws. He was also active in mining promotion
and was one of the founders and first president of the Bank

~ - of Arizona, now known as the First National Bank of
Arizona. : se
~ In 1875, the same year Edmund Wells began practicing ae
law, the first hanging took place in Prescott. The man ! =
whom they executed was a twenty-seven year old Mexican AE. ‘ det Ge = abel!
. who was found at the scene of the murder. He claimed not , a Se Sai MERA ee a fe tage ay
. to have known the victim and said he had stopped to render Lee eee ae AR er: a ph passe
| him aid. The jury did not believe his story and aithough no . oe
) motive was ever established, the accused suffered the full ae
penalty of the law. Sixty years later, the murdered man’s ad es
neighbor confessed io killing him over water rights. The
first man ever hung in Prescott had been innocent, as he
had claimed to the end.

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Bordered in black, this invitation certainly was out of the
ordinary. Citizens receiving these were respectfully invited
to witness the hanging of the bad man of the Arizona Ter-
ritorial Prison.

3

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rays

On June 16, 1905, Martin Ubillos, an inmate of the Terri-
torial Prison, was hanged for the murder of a fellow pris-
oner, Invitations were sent out to townspeople by Sheriff
Gus Livingston to witness the execution in the jail yard of
the county buildings on Madison Avenue. — roLuamus
COLLECTION

EXCCU tS

a ae AS AE EEE ET I EET 2

Yuma, Urizona, June 5, 1905,

* The Sberit of Yuma! County, Uriyona, announces that
On Friday, June 16, 1005, at tbe bour of I o’cloch a, m.,

Martin Ubillos

will be crecuted at tbe pall yard tn thin city, for tbe murder
of Simon Uldrete, You are respectfully tnyuted lo witness
tbe execution. s&h, WYP : a

idle anit - Ne ae Ser

Boers.

Miss Kare Martin has taken up her residence,
with the consent of Judge Levy, at the County
Hotel for the next sixty days. Disturbing the peace
did it for Kate this time.

Arizona Sentinel

September 4, 1880

YESTERDAY MORNING, at 10 o'clock, quite a
number of ladies and gentlemen were congregated
at the District Court rooms, in this city, to hear the
sentences to be pronounced against three prisoners
convicted of murder. The first to receive his sen-
tence was Canuto Soto, for... murder... The
County Jail of Yume was designated as the Terri-
torial prison... [for serving] his sentence.

dlrisona Sentinel
March 29, 1873

RIMINALS WHO have chosen Yuma County as
C a base to hold high carnival in crime, have
evidently made a mistake in their location, The
prompt and efficient action of the court at the late
session gives the good people some hope that thicir
lives and property may be protected by the laws
of the Territory. Let the good work go on, and
when criminals understand that to a reasonable
certainty punishment will follow the commission
of crime, just in that proportion criminal business
will diminish.

Arizona Citizen
April ty, 1873

Tucson — Fes. 11.— (bills that have passed the
legislature) A bill fixing the penitentiary at Yuma
with an appropriation of $25,000 for buildings,
providing for management, etc.

Arizona Sentinel

February 13, 1875

YUMA, ARIZONA, HANGINGS.
APTER SEVENTEEN

E FIRST HANGING IN YUMA

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that revolution is inevitable
ts lain America... only the form it takes is uncertain.

Milton S. Eisenhower

Yuma County can claim the dubious honor of having held within its borders the
&st judicial hanging in the Arizona Territory.

Mee On December 1, 1872, Michael McCartney, better known up and down the Colorado
“ua by the familiar sobriquet of “Rawhide,” was found literally chopped to pieces in his
sue on Gila Street in Arizona City (Yuma). He was a widely known resident of
Yuma County and had many fricnds in Arizona City where he was established in business.
The unfortunate man drank at times to excess, but during such periods he never trans-
guicd any business and shut himself up in his store until he had fully recovered from his
bout with John Barleycorn. Therefore, it had ceased to cause any great surprise among

bis acighbors whenever his store remained closed for several days.

’ At the time of his murder, however, he had been absent from his boarding place —
he Colorado Hotel — for a couple of days, when some of his acquaintances decided to
avestigate and find out the reason for his continued absence.

Lying on the counter with his head resting on some bolts of calico, lay the dead

body of McCartney in a horribly mutilated condition. There were no signs of a struggle

gand the storekeeper had evidently been murdered with an ax—he never knew what

ag stuck him —and dicd instantly. A blow from the ax had split open the left side of his

ead. Robbery had apparently been the motive for the terrible crime but the murderer

hiled in his effort to open the store safe and left practically empty-handed, taking only a
few coins from the change drawer.

»* Two Mexicans—Canuto Soto and Manuel Fernandez—were arrested for the
@curder of McCartney. They were later tried and convicted in the District Court of
yg Yuma County — Soto receiving a sentence of 99 years at hard labor and Fernandez, the

actual wielder of the death weapon, being sentenced to hang. Soto broke down when he

agp beard the decision of the court but Fernandez took his death sentence very lightly and,

vase alter being returned to his cell, sang and laughed as though the whole affair was a huge

(ist joke. To the sheriff he remarked: “What an idea! Just imagine for a moment me being
suspended by the neck! What a beautiful picture I'd make!”

¢, . For the purpose of having the sentence carried out, Judge De Forrest Porter
§ designated the Yuma County Jail as the Territorial Penitentiary.

‘4
Pe

4

% shotguns and a miscellaneous assortment of other weapons-——was drawn up around the
‘place of the execution. The condemned man descended the gallows and although under
‘aheavy strain, spoke as follows:

be Fe “Long live Mary, the Most Holy. I greet you all. To my Mexican friends present I
wg bive the advise — May you never occupy the place that I do today. I would prefer to be
“@ shot, It is an honor for a man to die in battle. God gives life—God takes it away.

hi

4 God gave me life and now it is for me to die. We are all born to die.”

ke helng of Gurnee ~ Lhe Zrritrrcel (Assen
ly fae AGS FCF :


LOOM se Cae

1900, between the hours of nine in the morning and five in the
afternoon of that day to-wit: at the hour of twelve o'clock noon
of that day, at the court house door (front entrance) in the city
of Solomonville, county of Graham, Territory of Arizona, I, Ben
R, Clark, sheriff of said county, will sell all the PIER, CitiLe
and interest of said I, L. Qualey, one of the defendants, in and
to the above described: property, at public auction, for cash,

gold coin, to the highest and best’ bidder, to satisfy said exe-
cution and all costs. ;

, Ben R. Clark, Sheriff,
By Ben W. Olney, Deputy Sheriff,
ee > ies

A Hanging at Yuma

Santiago Ortiz paid the penalty of his awful crime on the
Sallows at Yuma last Friday. Ortiz murdered his employer, a
Mr. Moffatt, at Harrisburg, Yuma county. The old man was found
dead in his bed with his head crushed, Money was the object of
the murder, Ortiz was Suspected and arrested. Shortly after his
&pprehension he confessed to the murder. He took the officers to
a ravine and showed them where he had buried the instrument of
murder, which was dug up and proved to be a miner's drill, about
three feet long. The stains of biood and patches of the old man's
hair were still on the bar. The trial of Ortiz was brief and the
verdict guilty. The sentence of the court was the death penalty

and yesterday at noon Sheriff Speese sprung the trap that swung
Ortiz into eternity.

Tickets for the Normal Theatre will be on sale at Maeser's
Stationery store in Thatcher,

WANTED: AN INVALID CHAIR

Any one having a rolling invalid chair to dispose of will
please correspond with Dr. John H., Lacy.

Solomonville, Arizona.

: 5 .
ara Z. Dé. Sorget i il tO yore a fru. A Ce Ly be

Grr Sul, Ve i) OLE Le
nade: Corr yre bred fay CL6 Wha he

SPEAR RIE RR ER ANS I SOR DMRS AR


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n May 13, 1846, Congress made

official what was already real

and inescapable: the United
States was at war with Mexico. Presi-
dent Polk ordered that Mexican ports
be blockaded and the territory invaded
at strategic points.

To expedite the latter objective, Col-
onel Stephen Watts Kearny of the Ist
Regiment of U.S. Dragoons was given
command of a force of 1,600 men. This
‘Army of the West”’ included regiments
commanded by Colonels Alexander W.
Doniphan and Sterling Price. The ar-
my’s orders were to capture Santa Fe
and occupy New Mexico.

To preserve the painstakingly estab-
lished valuable trade with Santa Fe the
Americans wanted to avoid violence. To
that end, Kearny was preceded to the
New Mexican capital by James Magof-
fin, a long-time resident of Chihuahua
and veteran trader in the Internal Pro-

nces. Magoffin knew every man worth
-lowing in New Mexico. Under confi-
dential directions from the President,
Magoffin was to attempt to arrange a

“‘bloodless"’ occupation.
50

Vere
Rocce © a
a" i . Pt" S08 ce

SONS NERY Son trea &
Pele PeR NAS Sh hac eKA SEK K
+ Si Nee tea 4
vst iin ea

Nee ee .
-4a0 AS: sas ‘
RARE ei adhe Swe ‘

By PHIL CARSON

On August 12, Captain St. George
Cook and Magoffin entered Santa Fe,
where they met with Governor Manuel
Armijo and his chief military officer,
Colonel Diego Archuleta. The Ameri-
cans presented Armijo with Kearny’s
terms—if Armijo would surrender, the
American force would make a peaceful
occupation. If Colonel Archuleta had his
way and the New Mexicans resisted,
bloodshed would follow with the Ameri-
cans certain victors.

The Magoffin Papers, first published in
1967, revealed that Magoffin persuad-
ed Governor Armijo and Colonel Ar-
chuleta to surrender with ‘‘a large
bribe.’’ That explains the odd behavior
of the New Mexican leaders four days
later at Apache Canyon. Armijo and Ar-
chuleta gathered the New Mexican
forces at that strategic route into San-
ta Fe as if to resist the Americans. By
all accounts, the narrow canyon could
have been defended indefinitely by the
Mexican force. At the last moment,
however, Armijo capitulated to the
American general, disbanded his men,
turned tail and fled south to Chihuahua.

SAPNA SUE eR ee SY
return 2
5 ves BRA :
Re: Toyah aor .

Uprising

Colonel Archuleta followed. Kearny pro-
ceeded to Santa Fe and raised the Stars
and Stripes over the capital that even-
ing, August 18, 1846. New Mexico had
been conquered ‘‘without the firing of
a single shot.”’

IN ACCORDANCE with his orders,
Kearny established a civil government
of American and New Mexican officials.
He then proceeded to California, send-
ing Colonel Doniphan to Chihuahua and
leaving Colonel Price in command at
Santa Fe.

Some prominent native families and
officials, including the lieutenant gover-
nor, Juan Bautista Vigil, actually wel-
comed the American invaders. They
were tired of distant decrees from Mex-
ico City and the dishonesty of Armijo.
But the New Mexicans were not of one
mind on American rule. There were
grumblings that Armijo had surren-
dered prematurely. A score of influen-
tial citizens—including Don Diego Ar-
chuleta—resolved that the Americans
should suffer revenge and Mexican con-

trol be regained.
True West

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June


DEAT PENALTY
IN AKIZONA

An initiative measure cifective December §, 1916 deleted the provision for the
deat penaity as punishmenc ior first degree murder.
’ ' ’ o om ‘ ’ % « a
The Geath penalty was restored December 5. 1918. The method of execution was
by hanging. .
Deatn by Lethal Gas iastead of by banging was made efettive Oczober 28, 1933.
Last execution by hanging was 8-21-1931. Ke :
First execution by Lethal Gas was 7-6-1934, at waich time two brothers, Manuel
and Fred Hernandez. were executed. .

Highest number executed in one day were four Chinese on June.22, 1928.
ha .

28

35 have been executed by Lethal Gas since statciiood.

ave been executed by hanging since statchocd.

i commutation of sentcuce of death to life imprisonment has been granted since
1934.
“
EXECUTIONS BY HANGING ARIZONA STATE

JOSE LOPEZ White

CESARIO SANCHEZ White, {

RAFAEL BARELA White 310 AM = 1Z-2- 1910
DOMINGO FRANCO White - Ne 7-7-1911 ©
ALEJANDRA GALLES White :40 AY 7-28- i911
RAMON VILLALOBO White : y 12-10-1915
FRANCISCO RODROQUEZ White : Ny 5-19- i916
N. B. CHAVEZ White : 6-9-1916
MIQUEL PERALTA White : : 7-7-1916
SiNPLICIO TORREZ White : 4-16-1920
PEDRO DOMINGUEZ : White : : 1-14-1921
NICHAN MARTIN Oe gees White :0i 9-9-1921
RICARDO LAUTERIO White ey 1-13-1922
THOMAS ROMAN White 5:20 AM 1-13-1922
THEODORE WEST White "5:00 AM 9-29-1922
PAUL V. HADLEY White 00 AM’ 4-13-1923
MANUEL MARTINEZ White 25 AM 8-10-1923
WILLIAM WARD Negro 0 AM 6-20-1924
SAM FLOWERS Negro 00 AM 1-9-1925
WILLIAM LAWRENCE Whice 20 AM 1-8-1926
CiiARLES j. BLACKBURN Whice 09 AM 520-192
B. W. L. SAM Chinese 16 AM 6-22-1928
SHEW CHIN Chinese 42 AM 6-22-1928
JEW HAR Chingse 04 AM 6-22-1928
GEE KiNG LONG Chinese * 333 AM 622-1928
EVA DUGAN&— _ White - 5: +) AM 2-21-1930
REFUGIO MACIAS White

HERMAN YOUNG White

5:
5:
5:
33
54
5:
23
5:
6:
6s

EXECUTIONS SY LETHAL GAS

9299 MANUEL HERNANDEZ Wiite :00 AD 7-6-1934

9300 FRED HERNANDEZ White 5:00 AM 726-1934

9350 GEORGE SHAUGHNESSY White - 5:00 AM 7-13-1934
939i LOUIS SPRAGUE DOUGLAS Wirite : 12:30 AM. ~ 8-31-1934
9924 JACK SULLIVAN Wiite 5:05 AM 5-15-1936
10021 FRANK RASCON Wiite " 5:10 AM 7-10-1936
9880 ROLAND UH. COCHRANE White , 5:00AM Y 10-2- 1936
10094 FRANK DUARTE White 5:00 AM 1-8-1937

10540 ERNEST PATTEN Negro 4:00 AM 8- i3- 1937
10580 BURT ANDERSON _ White 4:00 AM 8-13-1937
10252) DAVID BENJAMIN KNIGHT Whice 4:00 AM 9-3-1937

10853. ELVIN JACK ODOM White 4:15 AM 1-14-1938
11163 JAMES BAILEY White 5:CO AM 4-28-1939
11253) FRANX CONNER Negro 5:00 AM

11506 ROBERT BURGUNDER ¢ ~ White * + 5:00 AM

12409 J. C. LEVICE Negro y :

12410) .GHARLUS SANDERS Nepre

12411 GRADY B. COLE Nepro

12659 JAMES C, RAWLING Waite 6:15 AM

12334 ELISANDRO L. MACIAS White 6:00 AM

12964 iN EARNEST RANSOM ** ‘Negro 6:0) AM

12983 LEE ALBERT SMITH Wirite _ 5:CO AM \ 4-6+ 1945

13306 Ws Li GiOLLEY Negro *, 5:05 AM 4-13 £3955
14854 ANGEL B. SERNA White 4:05 AM 7-29-1950
16003 HAROLD THOMAS LANTZ Whur 5:04 AM 7-18-1951
Sa: ies i
5:
5:

OC 17659 CARLO ]6 POLK 'f Wiite * AM 3-4-1995
19392, LESTHR EDWARD BARTHOLOMEW White VAM. a-31- 1955
18320 LEONARD COEY Whits’ OAS O85. 206 1957
17337, ARTHUR THOMAS sl Neyro + . S§:05 AM 11-17-1958

O1NGD RICHARD LEWIS JORDEN Woire * 5:00 AM 11-22-1958
19795. LONNIE CRAFT Negro 5:05 AM 3-7-1959
20414° ROBERT D. FENTON White 5:06 AM- . 3-LiedL900
21245 HONOR ROBINSON — Negfa .

@ tists: VATAICN Mo McGee White _ §:00 AM
237723. MANUZGL &. SILVA Wirite _ 5:00AM (“3-14-1963


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Watt Espy <= December 10, 1981

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Martin Duran, 23 years old, probably Mexican.
Newspaper indicates he spoke "tolerable
Ehgelish.” Hanged March 2, 1888, by. Sheriff
Mulvenon for the murder of his alleged mistress,
Reyés Baca, a Mexican. Source: Arz¥zona)|Miner,
March. 7, 1888, p.- 1, SHM file.

Henry Hall, caucasian, 50 years old (no
occupation). Hanged by Sheriff J.R. Walker,
February 10.1882, for the murder.of H.J, Bishop
at Flagstaff, Arizona, at that time part of
Yavapai County. (Now Flagstaff is county seat
of Coconino County, founded 1891.) Sources:
Arizona Miner. January 20, 1882, p.°3 c.i1;
Feotmary 20, 18082, p. 3 cc. 2°§-3)SEM. file.

Eligio (Hilario) Hidalgo and Francisco Renteria
(also spelled Rentezia). Mexicans (no ages given).
Hanged July 31, 1903, for the killing of} Charles
Goddard and Frank Cox at Goddard Station, Yavapai
County. Sources: Crimes notebook clipping file,
ppy 159-160; Hangings file, pp.1-3,; SHM file.

James Malone, caucasian (also spelled Melone),
soldier. Hanged 1876 (exact date not given) for
the murder of Richard Lawler, soldier at Ft.
Mohave. U.S. Marshall W.W. Stannifer (also
spelled Standefer) presided over the execution
in.,Presecott, = ~Sources:. Dilda Case file; p. 8;
Hangings file, p. 7; Arizona Miner, March 4, 1882,
D..o @. 2) SAM. file.

Jim Parker - aka Flemming Parker, 34 years old,
Caucasian, cowboy. Hanged June 8, 1898 by Sheriff
George Ruffner for the murder of Lee Norris,
Assistant County Attorney. This occurred when
Parker broke jail where he was being held on the
chargevor train robbery. Sources: Parker. clipping
fite;-Ruffner.clipping file, SHM: file; Parker ‘Story

by Thomas Way. Publ. 1981 by Thomas Way.

Frank Wilson, handyman, cowboy, caucasian, 30 years
old. Hanged by Sheriff Mulvenon August 12, 1887,
for the murder of Samuel and Charlotte Clevenger.
Took the Clevengers' adopted daughter, 15-year-old
Jessie and, evidently, forced her into living with
him in Utah until their capture. Jessie was
pregnant at the time of Wilson's death. Sources:
Murder file; Hangings file; Arizona Miner, August
10; 687 ,°SHM file.


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LESTER WARD RUFFNER

& BARRANCA DRIVE
FESCOTT, ARIZONA 86301 August 3, 1982

Mra Watt Bepy

Law Library

Box 6205 :
University, AL 35865

Dear Mr. Espy:
Please forgive fhe delay in answering your letter of

July l4th. I have just returned from New Mextco and am
Just catching up on my correspondence,

Regarding your request for information on condemned
PelLOns 3” territorial Prescott, Arivone., all © know of

Mr. Dilda is that the famous Buckey O'Neill was captain
of the Prescott Rifles and attended that execution which
was not on the plaza at Prescott but for some reason,

the gallows was erected four blocks west of the square on ae
what is now the corner of Gurley and Willow Streets in ie |
Prescott. Captain Q'Netll, who later died with the Rough ee:
Riders on San Juan Hill in 1898, fainted when he witnessed eer
the hanging of Mr. Dilda. Dilda was a rancher from Walnut ee
@°° south of Prescott. : oe

My uncle, George C. Ruffner, a territorial sherift of e¢on— pe US es
Biderable tenure, hung his old friend, James Parker, at ee =e
marker's request, .Your date of June 6, 1898 45 correct . iy, SE Sgt
end 1 have 4 series of four pictures showing James Parker
on the gallows with George Ruffner, Morris Goldwater, the
uncle of Senator Goldwater, who was mayor of Prescott at
the time, and Father Quiteu who administered the last
rites of the Catholic Church to Parker prior to His exe—
eulLion. Parker, among his other Grimes, shot and killed
mee Norris, the assistant districs attorney, while he

was making the jail break on a Sunday morning. I also
have an original of the Wells Fargo WANTED poster which pe eee
describes him and his train robbery and murder of Norris. oe hee -
Te you. would like to Have 4 Peproduction of either one of :
these, I shall be happy to furnish them at Wy cost,

One execution I can recall occurred dn the spying of 1925
when the federal marshal hung Jackson SUujanamie, a4 Yava-—
Dai Indian, He was Huns on federal tand tnstead of town,
Foe the murder of Mr. Cavell. a taxa dviver, Being an
Indian, this came under federal cantrol,


ve < °

Watt Espy ~erc# December 10, 1981

Budge Ruffner of Prescott, relative of Sheriff George
Ruffner and an Arizona historian, may have additional
information along these lines. His address i$;

Lester "Budge" Rurtner
Barranca Drive
Prescott, AZ 86301

Sarncerely,

PLE
aT H. ~ Abbey

Archivist

SHA/ph


cain was on his land not far from his home. The trip was
made from Kingman in one day in a spring wagon. Water
was carried from the creek for camp use.

Clayton Metcalf. a wonderful boy age sixteen and the
oldest of the family, died of pneumonia. He had visited us
on our ranch on the Sandy a short time before his death.
This seemed to break not only the hearts of the family but
the spirit as well. Mrs. Metealf and the three younger chil-
dren (Natalie, Merla and Don) moved to Los Angeles and
Mr. Metcalf built a home in Metcalf acres and spent most of
his life in Kingman. Mrs. Metcalf had never liked the desert
but came back in her old age to live for a year or two. The
Metcalf family were fine people and our good friends always.

I stated earlier in this brief history of Kingman as it
looked before the turn of the century, that the last house
west of Second Street was the Metcalf home, but I had for-
gotten one little group of houses on the southwest corner of,
or near, the corner of First and Beale.

These drab looking cabins were quiet by day but oc-
casionally gaily dressed girls would emerge and walk down
the narrow trail to town.

There was no electricity in early day Kingman, only a
few gaslights, but this corner was brightly lighted with kero-
sene lanterns and could be seen from any direction. This was
the “Rabbit Patch” and “Blackjack” was queen, at least that
was what the older kids told me and I knew by the shocked
expression on our elders faces when we asked questions, that
this spot was a forbidden subject.

“Little children have big ears” is an old but true saying,
We heard all the thing that we were not suppose to hear;
we also learned that ladies should never be inquisitive about
such “‘characters” as Blackjack and her girls.

When you passed these gaily dressed girls on the street
you must walk sedately, and when you passed a saloon door,
never try to see who was inside. Saloons were plentiful in
early day Kingman but the doors were nearly always closed.

One day I met one of these “women” on a narrow trail, a
small dog was trotting along behind her. Intuition told me

who she was as I knew everyone else in town. [ went in to my
act as “nice little girls” should, head just at the angle to
sce all you could and, not appear inquisitive, when a soft
voice said “Goodmorning, Baby” ([ was eight years old). I
stopped and looked with both eyes; no horns, just a neatly
dressed middle aged woman wearing hat and gloves. A
thought ran through my childish mind, maybe this is “Black-
jack.

I have wondered since if this refined looking woman,
who could have been anyone’s mother, had not at one time
been respected and known a better life.

The old courthouse was torn down in 1914 and the
present structure was built on the same spot where the old
wooden building stood. Our present building is much larger
but is becoming too small to accommodate our fast growing

“22 population.

The first county jail was built where the present jail

"=z" stands but like the courthouse was built of wood. If we had
“Sige had the desperate characters that our better highways and
ve fast cars bring through the country today, they would not
= have remained long in our old wooden jail. Cattle and horse
cy: thieves and early day killers were not as skilled in picking

and breaking locks as our car thieves and bank robbers are
today.

One prisoner did escape from the. jail in 1900, Perhaps

i oi broke out of the old jail as it was built before I was
ee. orn,

_ The hole that had been cut through the back wall of the

2 Jail in 1900, perhaps with a pocket knife, was just large
~, enough for me to wiggle through and I was nine years old.
= Blood around the opening indicated that the prisoner had
-. removed his clothing before he crawled through the hole. He
“Was later captured and spent two years in Yuma Territorial
’ Prison for stealing cattle.

Back of the first jail built in Kingman was an enclosure

: af planks, a sort of stockade. A man was hanged in that enclo-
: Sure. He was convicted of killing a woman in Goldroad, an

a

21

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early day mining town about twenty-five or thirty miles west
of Kingman.

A gallows was built back of the jail inside the board wall
that kept the town from witnessing the hanging. Walter
Brown was the sheriff of Mohave County at that time and
had to spring the trap that sent Mr. Lee to his death,

The present dav jail built of concrete was built before the
courthouse was built in 1914.

This community has long since outgrown the jail. I have
lived for many years in the first house east of the courthouse
and once watched while an ordinary drunk knocked one of the
east windows, frame and all, loose from the concrete with a
bed leg torn from an iron bedstead. Later the other east
window was pried loose and both openings were walled up
with brick. A few years ago a prisoner escaped and was not
apprehended until he had murdered a young couple and an
old man who had befriended him. He was tracked down and
killed, but that did not bring back the lives of three innocent
people.

A few months ago some remodeling was done on the jail
after prisoners rioted in the tank upstairs. Mattresses were
set on fire, electric wires and plumbing fixtures were torn
from the walls but no prisoners escaped. Our local officers
handled the situation in a cool headed manner and took the
prisoners to a place in a neighboring county jail until the
damage could be repaired and parts of the jail reinforced.
One prisoner was a young man that a few weeks later was
sentenced to die in the gas chamber at the State Prison at
Florence, Arizona for the murder of his father-in-law, his
mother-in-law and his wife.

It is dithcult for me to give a short history of the town
as it was in 1899 and the early nineteen hundreds, and not
follow with a few facts of the town of today.

The first house’ east of the courthouse in 1900 was a
three room house built by Harley Fay (told to me by Homer
Gaddis who lived next door). When I was a child of eight I
visited with Mrs. Dell Beebe and her three small daughters,
Adell, Catherine and Mary, not knowing that someday this

22

would be my home, 415 Spring Street. The street did not
have a name at that time nor a number.

Sumner Beecher, a local boy bought this place, added
rooms to the house and improved it before his marriage more
than fifty years ago to May Devine, only sister of Andy
Devine, the actor. Four children were born to the Beechers
While in this home, then May died. Sumner married again
and moved to San Francisco.

Clyde Cofer bought the Sumner Beecher home in 1927 and
moved his family from the Hot Spring in the Sandy Valley to
Kingman to place his son Chet in high school.

East of the house built by Harley Fay was the Gaddis
home built in 1893, by O. D. M. Gaddis, for his bride Elenor
Baker. Homer Gaddis was born in Pasadena in 1895. Two
other sons were born to the Gaddis’. One passed away in
infancy and another son, Leland, died after he was a grown
young man. This was a terrible blow to the family.

The Gaddis’ sold this nice old house to the Episcopal
Church and bought a house across the street from MIrs.
Watson. The Watson property is now the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Roy Borden.

Fast of the Gaddis home was the Methodist parsonage.
The pastor of the Methodist Church from 1898 until 1900,
perhaps longer, was the Reverend Zeigler. Mr. Zeigler and
his two grown children, Elmer and Edith, lived in the parson-
age. When the new Parsonage, south of the present day church,
Was built, the parsonage was sold to Minnie Sawyer an
owner in the Mohave County Miner when Anson Smith was
the publisher.

The Episcopal Church bought Minnie Sawyer’s home

“when they bought the Gaddis property. The old Methodist

Parsonage is now part of the Episcopal Church.

On the corner of East Fifth and Spring is the old Judge
Blakely home reputed to be the first home built in Kingman,
now the home of Judge Charles Elmer and his wife Dorothy.

_ [have visited in this old house more than sixty years ago
with Judge Blakely’s granddaughter Isabell. Isabell was the
daughter of Ross H. Blakely son of Judge Blakely and his


but does contain the highlights of the hanging, as an Epitaph
reporter saw it.

PAID THE PENALTY

Thomas and William Halderman Sent to their Doom

All that human agency and legal skill could do to save those
whom the mandate of the law had marked as its own was done
in behalf of Thomas Halderman and William Halderman, but
Justice wept and would not be comforted; the blood of two peace
officers of. Cochise county cried aloud and hushed the voice of
mercy, and at 12:40 o'clock these two young men forfeited their
lives to satisfy the ends of the law. The importance of this case
caused the bringing to bear upon those in power the strongest of
influence both from those in high public station and in private
life. But the pardoning power was satisfied after a most thorough
examination, that the men had a fair and impartial trial; were
defended by able attorneys and their conviction and sentence
was legal, although twice the gallows, with its ghostly shadows
flung across the prison windows, was in readiness and twice was
the hand of mercy stretched forth to give them a small respite
from their impending fate. ‘Ihe first respite was given them when
the appeal to the supreme court was taken, the next was granted
by President McKinley and lastly by Governor Murphy, who
fixed today as the time which was the last.

All the windows in the court house on the second floor facing
and overlooking the prison yard were lined with people to wit-
ness the execution. When the iron door leading to the jail was
swung open a solemn hush prevailed and all eyes turned in that
direction. Shortly afterwards the condemned men appeared, ‘Thos.
Halderman in the lead in charge of Deputy Sheriff Johnson and
Wm. Halderman in charge of Deputy Sheriff Bravin while Sheriff
Scott White and Rev. Elliott followed closely in the line down
the narrow steps to the scaffold. Thos. Halderman, the younger
prisoner had just emerged from the jail door and facing the crowd
said, “Hello hombres,” then placing his hand to his eyes to shed
them from the sun’s rays said, “the sun’s hot ain’t it?” ...

Wm. Halderman stepped to the front under the dangling
noose and surveying the crowd below said with a wave of his
hand, “Nice looking crowd.” He even smiled and remarked
“Some of you fellers are shaking already.” Thos. Halderman who
was equally nervy held the rope and also looked over the crowd
below and turning to his brother said, “Those people look all

HANGINGS—LEGAL AND OTHERWISE 235


right.” He looked at the noose and mechanically placed it over
his own head. He then listened attentively to the reading of the
death warrant by Sheriff Scott White. At the conclusion of the
reading Sheriff White asked if they wished to make a statement.
Thomas Halderman spoke up promptly and in a clear voice
said:—“I have nothing to say and guess it would not do any good
anyway, I forgive you all and hope you will forgive me.’ Wm.
Halderman said, “This will be an experience that ought to bene-
fit all of you. I hope I will meet you all. I pray for you and hope
you will pray for me.”

The black caps were then drawn over the heads of the prison-
ers and as it shut them out from sight of the faces below, both
men said in chorus “Goodbye boys. Pray for us.”” Each said “Good
bye,” and the crowd answered “Good bye.” ‘The trap was sprung
at exactly 12:40. The bodies were cut down just 28 minutes after
the trap was sprung.— (Nov. 18, 1900.)

TOMBSTONE’S EPITAPH


he asked, when he was under the pole selected for his gallows.
A thousand people had gathered by this time, and he stood in the
center of the crowd, the coolest one among them.

It was short work to throw the rope across a bar and slip the
noose around the doomed man’s neck, and then was exhibited
the most wonderful show of bravery the oldest follower of West-
ern mining camps had ever witnessed.

“Have you anything to say?” shouted the leader. Heath’s only
answer was a motion to his pocket, from which he pulled a silk
handkerchief and placed it over his eyes and face, asking a by-
stander to tie it behind. ‘““Now, gentlemen, will someone tie my
legs?” and when his request was granted, he asked to have still
another handkerchief tied around his knees. This being accom-
plished he remarked that he was ready.

“Gentlemen, you are hanging an innocent man, but I am not
afraid to die,” he said. “I have two requests to make. Promise me
not to shoot into my body when I am strangling and give me a
decent burial. Iam ready.” And the body of the nerviest desperado
who ever trod the soil of Arizona dangled between the earth and
the sky, as the last word was finished. The coroner’s jury decided
that “the deceased came to his death from lack of breath,” and
as the coroner and jurymen were all witnesses of the affair, no
testimony was necessary.

The Halderman Brothers

Men killed and escaped in Tombstone but some of them
were caught and some were hanged.

The Epitaph gave better than three columns of type on page
one, November 18, 1900, to an account of the hanging of the
Halderman brothers. They were convicted of murdering a con-
stable and an eighteen-year-old boy and of shooting the consta-
ble’s assistant.

According to the Epitaph the family of the Halderman
brothers spent a large sum in their defense and when the
brothers were convicted, carried the case to President McKin-
ley, who delayed their execution until the governor of the ter-

ritory had made a complete investigation of the trial. The
governor being satisfied, a new date was set for the execution.
The story which follows does not cover the long legal battle

234 TOMBSTONE 'S EPITAPH


Here again the researcher is checked by a break in the
Epitaph’s files. This time it is a real loss. For there is no spot
news story of the formation of a group of one hundred armed,
mounted and angry men in Bisbee, or of their long night ride
through a high pass and over the starlit deserts.

No one tells what the people of Tombstone thought when
they were awakened in the early hours of the morning by a
cavalcade riding furiously through the city.

One is fortunate, however, to find an eye-witness story of the
lynching, written by S. C. Bagg, a former editor, even though
it was published years later in the Epitaph. This is the way he
remembered an hour which was high drama, even for Tomb-
stone.

I believe in all the murders and lynchings I have ever known
in the west, and I have seen a few in my time, I never saw more
real down right nerve displayed by the chief actor on the program,
than in the case of Jack Heath, who was hung by the Vigilance
Committee, Feb. 22, 1884. I remember the date because we after-
wards celebrated Washington’s birthday and lassoed steers with
the same rope that hung the rustler. It was a bright spring morn-
ing, such as is only known in this season in the mountain towns
of Arizona, that Heath was hung to a telegraph pole, about three
blocks from the Courthouse in the best mining camp Arizona
ever saw.

When the news was carried to Bisbee that Heath had been
found guilty of manslaughter, a meeting of citizens was called
and it was decided that the mines would be shut down for twenty
hours and all citizens who could secure horses were requested
to be in Tombstone by daylight. The hundred horsemen who
filed up in front of the Courthouse made short work of getting
to their man. The sheriff was disarmed and lifted over the heads
of the determined men down the stairs to the sidewalk and Heath
soon appeared with a rope around his waist.

“I suppose you want me, gentlemen,” was his greeting as they
came to his cell. He was clad in a pair of broadcloth pants, white
flannel undershirt, and calf-skin boots.

“Don’t drag me and I’ll go with you,” he added; he kept his
word for he started down the street like a deer, with 50 feet of
rope behind him held by as many hands. “Where shall I stop,”

HANGINGS—LEGAL AND OTHERWISE 233


.

- . . YAVAPAI COUNTY EXECUTIONS.

narlot
Hall

415 West Gurley Street - Prescott, Arizona 86301: ee
, December 10, 1981

- Watt Espy

Capital Punishment
Research Project

Law Library - Box 6205

University, AL. ~ 55486

Dear Mr. ESpy:

Please forgive the delay in answering your letter of
6 November, but I am sure you understand that we are
short-handed, not equipped to do outside research and
must rely on volunteers at their leisure to help us
out. The following is a brief outline of information
and sources.

Manual Aviles - Mexican. Age 27-30 years.
Hanged 1873 (no definite date) by Yavapai
County Sheriff for the murder of another
: Mexican in the Verde Valley (Yavapai County).
pources;. Dida Case file, p.° 8; Hangings
K file, ps: wey SAharlot.Hall Museum Archives
(hereinafter referred to as SHM files).

John Berry (not Perry). Forty years old,

: caucasian. Hanged by Sheriff J.R. Walker
Pesraary.o; 28sec, for the murder. of. “Old Tex"
(Michael Shores) at Tip Top Mine. Sources:
Dilda Case file, p. 8; Arizona Miner, February

3, 1682,7p 6.0.72, SHM. Tile,

Dennis Dilda, caucasian, rancher, farmer, 37
years of age.’ Hanged on February.5, 1886, for

the murder of Deputy Sheriff John M. Murphy.
Murphy was trying to serve Dilda with a

warrant charging burglary. Source: Dilda
Case file, SHM file.


ere

os Ei Sn

Upon his arrival in San Fernandez de
Taos on January 18, Bent was greeted

by rumors of imminent insurrection.
He scoffed. ‘Why would anyone want
to kill me or my family? Have | not
been their friend? Have no fear for
me. | will depart with my family in
good time." Bent's confidence rested
on the sentiments of a significant por-

tion of the populace. As subsequent
events proved, it was ill-founded.

By December conspirators were hold-
ing secret meetings and planning to
murder the Americans and their New
Mexican sympathizers and provide tor
their own accession to office. Each prin-
cipal was assigned an area of the ter-
ritory where he was to enlist the support
of the populace, thus making the revolt
region-wide. The critical goal was to
take Santa Fe and kill the highest gov-
ernment officials.

After first setting a date, December
9, the conspirators postponed the revolt
until Christmas Eve, hoping to catch
the celebrating Americans off guard.
The conspiracy failed when the wife of
one of the leaders, fearing carnage, in-
formed Colonel Price of the secret
designs. Some of the principals were
caught and confessed; others escaped.

Their initial failure only forged the
resolve of the conspirators remaining at
large that a second attempt should suc-
ceed. This time a ‘profound secrecy”
was maintained.

The newly appointed governor of the
Territory, former trapper and business-
man Charles Bent, issued a proclama-
June 1986

tion from Santa Fe in early January
1847 informing the population that a
rebellion had failed and explaining the
wisdom of accepting American sover-
eignty. Bent, confident because of his
long residence in New Mexico, his even-
handed dealings with his adopted coun-
trymen, and his marriage to a Mexican
wife, suspected no further trouble. He
left Santa Fe for Taos on January 14 to
move his family to the capital. Bent was
accompanied by the sheriff of Taos, the
district attorney, and the prefect.

UPON HIS arrival in San Fernandez
de Taos on January 18, Bent was
greeted by rumors of imminent insurrec-
tion. He scoffed. ‘“Why would anyone
want to kill me or my family? Have I
not been their friend? Have no fear for
me. I will depart with my family in good
time.’’ Bent’s confidence rested on the
sentiments of a significant portion of
the populace. As subsequent events
proved, it was ill-founded.

Early in the morning after his arrival
at San Fernandez—January 19, 1847—a
band of insurgents led by a Pueblo de

)

Colorado

Arroy Hondo

Ferdinand
deTaos

Santa Fe

NEW MEXICO

Taos Indian named Tomasito gathered
at Bent’s home. Rudely awakened on
that blustery winter morning, the
Governor was soon aware of the mob’s
violent intent. He tried to talk with
them through the closed door. Shots
were fired. Two balls passed through the
door, hitting Bent in the stomach and
chin. The mob forced the door and rid-
dled their victim with arrows. Bent, a
powerful man, managed to pull several
shafts from his head and face before his
attackers fell upon him with axes and
knives.

Enfeebled by pain and loss of blood,
Bent could offer no resistance as the
blood-thirsty mob scalped him alive in
front of his family. Seeing that the
governor could not be saved, his wife,
children, Mrs. Kit Carson, and Mrs.
Boggs—both members of the house-
hold—broke through an adobe wall in-
to the adjoining house to escape. The
terrible mob followed. Mrs. Carson
(Josefa Jaramillo) and Mrs. Boggs
(Runalda Luna), both Mexican, begged
on their knees that the killers spare Mrs.
Bent, also Mexican, and her children.

af


caravan, unaware of hostilities. Al-
though Waldo, like Turley, was well-
respected in his adopted homeland, he
and his companions were killed without

mercy.

One survivor of the seige at Turley’s
mill made it all the way to Santa Fe on
foot with news of the violence. Three
days later on January 23, Colonel Price
and his troops rode north with veteran
trapper Ceran St. Vrain and a company
of volunteer mountain men. The Ameri-
cans reached the valley of Taos on Feb-
ruary 2, after meeting scattered re-
sistance.

The main body of insurgents retreat-
ed to the Pueblo de Taos where they bar-
ricaded themselves inside and opened
fire. Colonel Price drew up his twelve-
pound mountain howitzers and fired ball
after ball into the rebel hideout. Night-
time and freezing temperatures forced
the Americans to retreat to nearby San
Fernandez while the jeers of the defend-
ers mixed with the howling of the wind.

When the sun rose, the Americans
marched resolutely back to the seige
and resumed pounding the enemy with
mortar fire. The insurgents fled to a
nearby church, where, according to a
contemporary account, they ‘poured
out a galling fire.’’ Captain Burgwin and
his First Dragoons dismounted and
stormed the front door of the church.
June 1986

Burgwin met his death there, and the
charge was repulsed. Burgwin’s second
in command, Lieutenant McIlvaine, or-
dered the dragoons to the west side of
the church, where they hacked a hole in
the adobe wall. The howitzers were run
up to the gap and discharged repeated-
ly into the crowded church. Some of the
defenders managed to flee—right into
the hands of St. Vrain and his mountain

men. Over 150 died. Seven Americans

perished and many who were wounded
died later.

AS SPRING arrived in Taos, the re-
maining insurgents were tried. Presid-
ing as judge was none other than
Charles Beaubien, whose son had seen
no mercy on that bloody January morn-
ing three months earlier. Ceran St.
Vrain filled the role of interpreter, while
the juries were packed with French and
American mountain men. George Bent,
the murdered governor’s younger
brother, newly arrived with volunteers
from his fort on the Arkansas River,
was jury foreman. The outcome was not
surprising. As daily court sessions were
held, fifteen men were sentenced to
death by hanging for their part in the
uprising.

Seventeen-year-old Hector Lewis Gar-
rard witnessed the trials and subse-
quent hangings. After ten months in the
West, Garrard was well-regarded by the
experienced mountain men. The young
man took notes on the events at Taos,
as he did throughout his brief sojourn
west of the Mississippi. His is the only
eyewitness account of the aftermath of
the Taos uprising.

Despite the fact that the volunteers—

‘‘Out upon the word, when its distorted
meaning is the warrant for murdering
those who defend to the last their coun-
try and their homes.”’

On the day appointed for the hang-
ings, compassion aside, Garrard and his
companions lent the sheriff their lariats
for use as hangman’s nooses. Payment
was accepted in the form of whiskey.
The sheriff’s bill of expenses later listed
twelve and one-half cents for ‘“‘soft soap
for greasing nooses.’’ The American
mountain men soaped the ropes of death
as they sat drinking that morning.

Shortly after nine o’clock in the morn-
ing on Friday, April 9, 1847, a wagon
hitched with two mules was positioned
under a large tree outside the Taos
prison. According to Garrard, ‘‘A death-
like stillness reigned. The spectators on
the azoteas seemed scarcely to move—
their eyes directed to the painful sight
of the doomed wretches, with harsh
halters now circling their necks.”’

The condemned were allowed a few
last words. There were admissions of
guilt and repentance from several men.
But the one man sentenced to die for

treason asserted his innocence and de-

nounced “the unjustness of his trial, and
the arbitrary conduct of his murderers.”’
With the cap of the condemned pulled
over his face, he hissed his last words:
“Caraho, los Amertcanos!”

The mules were started. The ropes
stretched under their loads, and ‘the
bodies swayed back and forth, and, com-
ing in contact with each other, con-
vulsive shudders shook their frames; the
muscles, contracting, would relax, and
again contract, and the bodies writhed
most horribly.

Within hours Turley's mill was surrounded by an
angry crowd. Turley was told his life would be
spared if he surrendered his mill and men, but all
other Americans in the valley were to be

destroyed."

Garrard included—who accompanied
George Bent to the valley of Taos went
“ready to wade up to their necks in Mex-
ican blood,”’ Garrard’s narrative reveals
a sober and compassionate man. “It cer-
tainly did appear to be a great assump-
tion on the part of the Americans to con-
quer a country and then arraign the
revolting inhabitants for treason,’ he
wrote, as witness after witness, them-
selves Mexican, provided the prosecu-
tion with the damning evidence it
sought. ‘‘Justice!’’ lamented Garrard.

“While thus swinging, the hands of
two came together, which they held with
a firm grasp till the muscles loosened in
death.”

It may well be that on Judgemen
Day, in weighing man’s inhumanity to
man, the Lord will have to toss a coin
to determine which side at Taos de-
serves the harsher punishment.

Ape

53


Courtesy of Jaramillo-Bent-Scheirich Collection,
New Mexico State Records Center and Archives

Charles Bent

That was granted, but more blood was
to spill.

Elsewhere in the settlement, the new-
ly appointed district attorney of Taos,
J.W. Liel, was scalped alive, stabbed
repeatedly with lances, and dragged
through the snowy streets. The virgin
snow turned crimson as the Indians ig-
nored Liel’s repeated pleas for a merciful
death. Finally a Mexican ended his suf-

New Mexico's rising stars. Narcisco and
Pablo Jaramillo, Mrs. Bent’s brother,
managed to hide in a straw-covered
trough in the back of the house. But a
Mexican servant of the Beaubien’s
called them to the attention of the blood-
thirsty mob: “‘Kill the young ones, and
they will never be men to trouble us.”’
Beaubien and Jaramillo were lanced
mercilessly and scalped forthwith. The

By December conspirators were holding secret
meetings and planning to murder the Americans
and their New Mexican sympathizers and provide
for their own accession to office. Each principal was
assigned an area of the territory where he was to
enlist the support of the populace...

fering with a single bullet. The Ameri-
can sheriff of Taos, Stephen Lee, was
killed seeking refuge on the roof of his
home. The Mexican prefect, Cornelio
Vigil, an uncle of Mrs. Bent’s, also died
at the hands of the mob.

Narcisco Beaubien—son of Judge
Charles Beaubien, the great mountain
man, and a Mexican wife—had the mis-
fortune to be home when the insurgents
came for his father. The younger Beau-
bien knew French, Spanish, and Eng-
lish, had been to college and was one of
52

fn ge RO I

Beaubien home was left raging in
flames.

The insurgents moved on the Arroyo
Hondo, several miles to the northwest,
bringing with them their thirst for
revenge. Simeon Turley, a local Ameri-
can distiller of ‘“‘Taos Lightning,’’ got
word of the massacre and the approach-
ing insurgents, but remained uncon-
cerned. He doubted he would be a target
of their wrath. With him were eight
other men—Americans, French-Cana-
dians, and Englishmen.

Courtesy. of Shiskin Collection,

New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
General Manuel Armijo

Within hours Turley’s mill was sur-
rounded by an angry crowd. Turley was
told his life would be spared if he sur-
rendered his mill and men, but all other
Americans in the valley were to be ‘‘de-
stroyed.’’ When Turley refused, the in-
surgents, numbering in the hundreds,
positioned themselves for a seige. The
attackers relentlessly fired on the mill
while the veterans inside carefully
picked them off one by one. The seige
continued through the night and into
the next evening. Finally, as the grim
men inside were running out of ammuni-
tion the insurgents set fire to the mill
and its buildings. All but two of the
defenders perished.

To the north on the Rio Colorado, the
northernmost New Mexican settlement,
the legendary trapper Markhead and a
companion named Harwood were on
their way to Taos for whiskey when they
were caught by insurgents. Under the
pretense of being conducted to Taos to
be turned over to the chief of the in-
surgency, both men were shot in the
back, ‘‘then stripped and scalped and
shockingly mutilated, and their bodies
thrown into the bush by the side of the
creek to be devoured by wolves.”’

At Mora, at the eastern flank of the
mountains, veteran Santa Fe trader
Lawrence L. Waldo of Missouri and his

companions were entering town with a
True West


through the same, securing cash which has been variously stated
to amount to from $900 to $3,000. Meanwhile the other two
bandits, believed to be Dowd and Delaney, remained on guard in
front of the store, and as any citizen chanced to come that way
he was immediately ordered to enter the store. The first to dis-
obey the order and attempt a retreat was J. C. Tappenier, who
was ruthlessly shot down and instantly killed. The shots caused
a rush of citizens into the street, whereupon the guardian bandits
began shooting indiscriminately up and down the street. The
result was the killing of D. T. Smith, J. R. Nolly and Mrs. R. H.
Roberts in addition to J. C. Tappenier, before mentioned. The
store being thoroughly plundered, the robbers left with their
booty. As they were going in the direction of their horses, Deputy
Sheriff Daniel opened fire upon them and, as was subsequently
developed, wounded one of them, Sample.

The Pursuit

Then followed the pursuit. A posse headed by Daniel, left
shortly after the robbery, one John Heath, who had for some
days previous been a resident of Bisbee, being especially active
in organizing the posse, of which he was a member. News of the
tragedy was also sent immediately by courier to this city, and
before daylight, Deputy Sheriff Bob Hatch, Si Bryant, and other
determined men, were also in the field. Daniel’s posse remained
out scouring the country until all trace of the robbers was lost.
However, from ranches where they stopped, full description of
the men, together with their names were obtained. Evidence was
also obtained implicating Heath as the prime mover in the
affair and immediately upon Daniel’s return the former was
arrested. The whole country was, of course, aroused at the peculiar
atrocity of the murders, as it was generally conceded the robbery
could just as well have been committed

Without the Shedding of Blood.

Rewards were offered by the territory, county and citizens of
Tombstone aggregating $1,500 to the man. Descriptions of the
men were broadcast all over the country and circulars printed in
Spanish were distributed in all towns of northern Mexico. Such
was the vigor and tenacity of the pursuit maintained by Sheriff
Ward and his deputies that, contrary to all expectations, complete
success crowned their efforts and the last of the bandits was run
to earth within a comparatively short time. The first one captured

226 TOMBSTONE’S EPITAPH


was Kelley, who was arrested disguised as a tramp at Deming.
He was evidently working his way east. Then followed the arrest
of Howard and Sample in Graham County by’ Deputy Sheriff
Hovey of that county. Meanwhile Deputy Sheriff Daniel had
ascertained that Dowd and Delaney had gone to Mexico, and
thither he followed them, capturing the former at Corralitas, in
the state of Chihuahua. Delaney, the last of the gang was soon
afterwards run down at Minas Prietas, in the state of Sonora, and
on January 22, just 4 days after the perpetration of the crime,
every participant was securely lodged behind the bars.

Trial, Conviction and Sentence

Judge Pinney, in response to a universal call of the people of
the territory as voiced in the Republican at the time called a
special term of the district court. The special term convened on
February 4th, the prisoners arraigned on the 8th, indictments
charging them with murder having meanwhile been found by the
grand jury, to which they pleaded not guilty. Separate trials were
waived by all except Heath and the trial of the five men who this
afternoon expiated their crimes upon the gallows was com-

ant District Attorney Ro
prisoners and on the 11
the first degree was rende
was made for a new trial
sentence of death was pa
same month.

To keep the picture clear, the Republican’s story is broken
at this point to insert the Epitaph’s account of the courtroom
scene when sentence of death was passed on the five men.

Heath was on trial that day and the judge recessed the case
while the convicted men were brought before him. This is the
way the Epitaph saw the dramatic moment.

To say that the courtroom was crowded at the appointed hour
would but idly convey the idea. It was literally packed to suffoca-
tion, the crowd even pressing on the diaz leading to the judge’s
seat. The prisoner’s dock was

HANGINGS—LEGAL AND OTHERWISE 227


Crowded With Ladies

and large delegations were also present upon the main floor
inside the rail. Many of those present were representatives of the
wealth, beauty and culture of this city, and it is but fair to pre-
sume that a desire to hear the eloquence of Messrs. Herring and
Smith, was the motive prompting attendance, and not that of
morbid curiosity to see five unfortunate victims of their own evil

passions sentenced to die an ignominious death on the scaffold.

Soon the clank, clank, clank of the manacles was heard, and the
doors swung open to admit the prisoners, closely guarded by the
sheriff and his deputies. Slowly they advanced up the aisle and
took seats facing Judge Pinney. The silence was painful when the
latter told the five men to stand up, and, questioning each in
turn, asked him if he had anything to say why sentence of death
should not be passed on him.

None of the five made a statement, and the judge pronounced
the death sentence.
Now the Republican’s story is resumed.

Subsequently the condemned men inclosed a handsome re-
tainer to Colonel Herring with the request that he endeavor to
get an appeal. The learned advocate said he could see no grounds
for an appeal in the case and accordingly refused to accept the
retainer. Thus were the doomed men deprived of the last vestige
of hope and the conviction that an ignominious death must
expiate their crimes was forced upon their consciousness.

The Eve of Eternity

For some time after all hope had departed from the condemned
men their terrible position was apparently not realized by them-
selves and crimination followed by recrimination was of frequent
occurrence in the jail where they were confined. But as the dread
day which was to be their last on earth approached more serious
thoughts appeared to harass their minds. Father Gallagher was a
frequent visitor in the cells of the condemned and his spiritual
administrations were received with favor by the condemned men.
Father Antonio Jovencean came from Tucson a few days ago and
has since labored assiduously in behalf of the prisoners. Delaney,
Sample and Kelley were the first to listen to the holy counsel of the
reverend fathers they having previously received the ordinance of

228 TOMBSTONE’S EPITAPH


and the news story of the event covered the holdup and murders, .
the chase, capture, trial and sentencing, the last hours of the
condemned, and, finally, the scenes on the scaffold.

It is an interesting example of the way border newspaper
men organized and wrote a big story.

DANCING ON AIR

The Bisbee Bandits Atone for Their Crimes on the
Scaffold; An Ignominious but Well-Merited
Fate Bravely Met

The “Final Launch Into Eternity” Successfully
Accomplished by Sheriff Ward

Scenes at the Jail Before the Execution—Brief Resume
Of the Crime—etc.

THE CRIME

The horrible tragedy which was enacted at Bisbee on the
evening of December 8, last has been summarily avenged, and the
last of the perpetrators and participants have made atonement
with their lives for the dastardly crime then and there enacted.
The facts concerning the crime for which five men today perished
ignominiously on the scaffold are well known to all readers of
the Republican, and yet a brief resume of the same in this con-
nection will prove of interest. At 7:00 o’clock p. m., on the day
above mentioned five men rode up the canyon at Bisbee, dis-
mounting and hitching their horses about 100 yards below the
main portion of the town. They then proceeded leisurely up the
street until the store of A. A. Castanada was reached when three
of the strangers entered the store, in which were seven or eight
persons at the time. The intruders wore heavy blanket-lined,
thick overcoats, and each was armed with a magazine rifle and a
brace of six-shooters. Two of them were masked while the face
of the third was exposed to view. As they entered the store they
drew their weapons and commanded all present to

Throw Up Their Hands
which was promptly complied with. Since proven to be James
Howard, alias ‘““Tex” then held up the frightened inmates of the
store while the other two, Kelley and Sample, proceeded to go

HANGINGS—LEGAL AND OTHERWISE 225


‘ : ee is : :

*, LIST OF PERSONS EXECUTED AT ARIZONA SiaTZ PRISON SINCE Mrs, Meadows: I would appre-
cia if you would fill in any of the blank spaces that bu can on the demographic infor-

course, any additional information on any of these man and their crimes and
gs would also be very helpful, ‘Thank you,

TAME. RACE AGE OCCUP ATION COUNTY DATE OF EXECUTION.
i, LOPEZ, Jose 0 ha borer Pinal 1-5-1910
2, SANCHEZ, Cesario Spi He Coconimo 12-2-1910
2, PARBLA. Rafael mM 3o Carpenter Cocanimo 12-2-1910
H, FRANCO, Dominco mM “ey L 2 bere Santa Cruz 7-7-1911
e GALLES, Alexganrdo m ae Sheephender Vavapal 7-28-1911
B. VILLALOsO, Ramon Mm 28 os b geek Pinal 12-10-1915
A
fF. RODRIGUEZ, Francisco ae 24 Clin bee Maricopa 59-1916
Bo, CHAVEZ, N. Be laa\ Sy fie Yavapai. 6-9-1916
®, PERALTA. Mizuel mM Ga 6 neitee ae Yavapai 7-7-1916
15, LORREZ, Simplicio mM 24 Sheepherdes COconimo )-14-1920
ll, DOMINGUEZ, Pedro Mx 27  +#£2\Miner Greenlee 1-1-1921
wh 2h Importer Yavapai 9-9-1921
laa 5 3 fo bene Maricopa 1-13-1922
1h, 320PAN, Thomas m S2 Pi wer Maricopa 1-13-1922
15, west, Theodore wh 3s” 8x-Convict ps ren reiohave 9-29-1922
16. HADLEY, Paul V. wh ax ERSSES ARS Sct | Pima le 31922
"7, MARTINEZ, Manuel Nox 29 Randittabozert Santa Cruz 8-10-1923,
18, WARD, William BL 3¢ AA bezer Pinal £=20-192h
Eo, FLOVESSs Sam BL Bg En bener Maricopa 1-9-1925
20, LAWRENCE, “illiam th Ee. Bee hew ic Maricopa 1-8-1926
21, BLACKBURN, Charles da ™h 36° Rancher Graham 5-20-3927
Oo, 2, W. L. SAM Ch 27. Dris wastes  Mobeve 6-22-1928
23, SHEW CHIN ch 23 Prsk washer Mohave 6222-1928
Ch 2S Cook Mohave 6=22—1928
Ch ew ieee 6-22-1928
96, DUGAN, Eva (female) Wh h9 Housekeeper Pima 2—21-19 30
a
27. MA CHAS, nefugio Mx %2- Laborer Greenlee 3-7-1930


o &
2
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QA. Tectia Am DoF oan
em dy a we Paige oe POU NS

Se UEONANDE fn

So agee PNANDEZ $ 4 fanuel
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Je NocdwnNLGd g Prank

+ OU A TIARRTIV ee n S
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8 : ‘Wale 5

NTT a 7 ph a
DOUGLAS, Louis Sprague

pe OULLIVAN, Jack

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-® AAS Wuastie frank
ae PEN MTA ANT) B52) ne rT
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pe DUARTE, Frank

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eS Pere N, Ernest
3) ANTE DAO S
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e ANIGHT, David Benjamin

f. O8os, Lewin Jack

>, CONNER, Frank
3» BURGUNDER, Robert
is LEVI CE r J eo “es

>¢ SANDERS, Charles
f HAWLING, James C,

o MACIAS, Elisandro L,

fF ovine. Lee Albert
P BOLLEY, A. Le

*. SERNA, Angel B.

ANTZ, Harold Thomas

= eee

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¢ CARTROLOMEW, Lester Edy.
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28
22 La b6 eer
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26 Aeboner.

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CYAT TRIMS
COUN 3k sg

Santa Cruz
Yuma
Cochise

Maricopa

Maricopa

Apache

Santa Cruz
Maricopa
Cochise
Cochise
Cocnise
Greenlee

Pima

Maricopa

Pinal
Cochise
Navajo

Maricopa

Te ara

(lS Re Oy
et dick GULION,

7-10-19 %

10=2-19 26

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N-28-19 39
9222-1939
8-9 =19h0
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1-8-191:3.

2-19-1913

7-29-1950
7-18-1951,

e= LISTINGS OF PERSONS EX=CUTED AT ARIZONA STATE PRISON,

NEME RACE AGE OCCUPATION COUNTY DATE OF EXECUL ION,

25, COEY, Leonard irae SC Beker Maricopa 883t=1955 s-22-/ 457
3 2 > (ey ere ;
57. THOMAS, Arthur N Bevck ty Cochise 11-17-1958
©8. JORDEN, 2ychard Lewis ™h 2 Male nurse Pima 11-22-1958
59. CRAFT, Lonnie BL a f-rq hrer Maricopa 3-7-1959

Are RT! ay VAn art ywess Tey OL
60, FENTON, Ronert D, yaty W LY Bus m4 e. ha 3-11-1960
Sls 20EDNSOM » Honor N Y 2 Pomesfic “Maricopa 10-31-1941
s Tee man
O2. McGEL. Patrick M, Wh 5° Farm laborer cocomino 3-8-)963
m en : |
62, SILVA, Manuel EF 1" 42 ar dBase. Pimal 3-11-1943,

Se ae

wovet Mrse Meadows-; she surnames of most of those whose races are given as not known would
indicate that they: are Mexican, I am reluctant to carry them either as white or Mexican un-

vill I now the correct manner in which to list them, I hope that you can assist me with

some of these and if I may be of further service to you, please let me know, Zest wishes,
+


NEW ARIZONA.

11-26-1862-SMITH, Charles, white, Army Corporal, Mesilla (UM).
Mutiny.

7-9-1881-HARPER, Thomas, cowboy, Tucson. Murder of John Talla-
day.

6-22-1891-GRANDE, Antonio, His., Solomonville. Murder.

6-29-1891-NELSON, Frank, black, 28, Solomonville. Nurder of his
mistress and child.

7-9-1891-LASHLEY, Philip, black, soldier, Tucson (F). Murder of
John Saunders, black.

8-14-1908-HAWKINS, Edwin, white, trolley conductor, Tucson.
Robbery-murder of Al Leonhart, white.

4-6-1992)-HARDING, Donald Eugene, white, 42, escaped prisoner, SP

(Pima). Robbery-murder of Martin L. Concannon & Robert A.
Wise, whites. (At least five other victims).

ARIZONA - UNCONFIRMED & POSSIBILITES.
1870"s-DEKAY, Michael, Mohave Co. for wife murder.

1888-1889-An Indian was supposed to have been hanged at Solomon-
ville for murder of Fred Herbit, white.

1901-1902-ELIAS, Teodoro, convicted of murdering William Katzen-
stein, dep. pol. ch. of Tucson, convicted without mercy rec.


Kelley, whose position was on the extreme east end of the
scaffold, remained silent, when several voices in the crowd shouted,
“Kelley, Kelley.” The poor wretch, whose face was already as
pallid as that of a corpse, responded as follows: “I am innocent
of the murders committed at Bisbee on the evening of December
8th. I have never yet murdered a human being. I have only one
request to make and that is a Christian burial.”

In response to a question from Sheriff Ward if they had any-
thing more to say, they all answered, “no.” The nooses were then
adjusted to their necks by the attending officials, the priests mean-
while whispering words of consolation in the ears of the doomed
murderers, who each and all stood firm as adamant throughout
the trying ordeal.

“This is a Regular Choking Machine”

remarked Dowd as the rope was being placed around his neck,
and the result showed that he spoke too truly. The caps were
then pulled down over their faces and the nooses tightened.

“Let her go,” said Kelley in a muffled voice.

At precisely 1:18 Sheriff Ward with a quick movement cut
the cord by which a 250-pound weight was suspended and the
ponderous trap fell with a “swish.” When the ropes became taut
the framework quivered with the descending weight, while every
joint in the timbers creaked mournfully. The suspended forms of
Sample, Howard, Delaney and Kelley never moved a muscle after
the fatal drop, but the legs of Dowd were drawn up convulsively
several times, and his whole body was shaken as with the mortal
agony of suffocation. Pulsation was perceptible after the drop as
follows: Howard, 7 minutes; Dowd, 714 minutes; Sample, 51%
minutes; Delaney, 714 minutes; Kelley, 9g minutes. The bodies
were allowed to hang thirty minutes when, being pronounced
dead by the attending physicians, they were cut loose and placed
in neat but plain coffins. They were then taken to the morgue
where the physicians viewed the bodies and concluded that with
the exception of Sample the necks of the executed felons had not
been dislocated.— (March 28, 1884.)

Here the story must cut back to February 19, and the trial
of Heath.

Like the people of Bisbee and Tombstone, the Epitaph
was convinced that Heath had master-minded the fatal holdup.

HANGINGS—LEGAL AND OTHERWISE 231


So, on the second day of the trial it predicted a hanging verdict
before the jury came in. Its headline and story follow.

WILL HANG
The Conviction of Heath a Foregone Conclusion

Col. Herring resumed his argument for the defense in the
Heath case, occupying a little more than an hour in addition to
the time taken up by him in the morning. At the conclusion
merited applause greeted the distinguished advocate, for the very
skilful manner in which he had made the worse appear the better
cause.-It was evident that his cunning sophistries and ingeniously
spun themes had made more than a passing impression on some
of the jury, and all the efforts of District Attorney Smith, who
followed him, were brought to play to disabuse the minds of
that body. For the space of an hour he hurled the weight of his
logic, satire, invective and legal eloquence at the legal barriers
erected by Colonel Herring in his client’s defense, and carried his
audience with him as he pictured in glowing colors the depth of
depravity into which he claimed Heath had fallen. ‘The argument
was an universally forceful one, and did much to counteract the
impression made by the preceding counsel. At the close of the
district attorney’s argument, the jury were charged by the judge,
and retired to deliberate upon a verdict. After an absence of
about five hours they came into court and announced they had
agreed. Upon the reading of the clerk, it was discovered that the
defendant has been found guilty of

Murder in the Second Degree

That this verdict gave almost universal dissatisfaction, is but
stating the naked truth. Such a thing as a compromise verdict
was not warranted by either the law or the evidence. John Heath
was either guilty or not guilty of the crime of murder charged
against him. If he was guilty of murder at all it was murder in the
first degree. If not guilty of murder in the first degree he was not
guilty of murder in any degree and should have been acquitted.
As previously stated the verdict was a compromise one, it being
stated that on the first ballot the jury stood six for murder in the
first degree, four for acquittal and two for murder in the second
degree.— (Feb. 19, 1884.)

32 TOMBSTONE’S EPITAPH


The Crime Expiated

Over 500 tickets of admission to the jail yard to witness the
execution were issued by Sheriff Ward and they were nearly all
represented. The gate to the jail was thrown open at 12 o'clock
and in a few minutes the waiting multitudes were inside. The
procession moved from the jail door to the foot of the gallows
and the nine steps leading to the platform were ascended in
silence, the prisoners going to their doom with light springy steps.
The. broad brimmed sombreros with which the

Doomed and Daring Rustlers

were wont to shield themselves from the inclemencies of the
weather while scouring the mountains and mesa, were quickly
exchanged for the horrible black caps. The prisoners glanced
anxiously around, first at the crowd surrounding them and then
at the dangling nooses and other ghastly paraphernalia which
were to, be the means of their death. Delaney, Kelley and Sample
recognized familiar faces in the crowd and shouted out cheerily,
“Good-bye.” A series of handshakes followed between the men
standing on the very threshold of death and the attending officers
and priests, after which their arms and legs were quickly strapped,
when Sheriff Ward said, “‘stand up, boys.”

The five men arose as with one accord, and the chairs were
removed from the trap on which they had been resting. Sample,
who occupied the west end of the scaffold then said in a loud and
firm tone of voice:

“Gentlemen, before I die I wish to say a few words. I die
innocent of the murders and robbery committed at Bisbee on
the 8th of December and, so far as I know, John Heath had
nothing to do with the affair. He never put up any such job with
me. I die in a firm belief in the Catholic church and request a
Christian burial.”

James Howard whose position was next in order on the death
trap asserted his innocence of any complicity in the affair and
also his belief in the innocence of Heath.

Dan Dowd, the next in order, reiterated the statements already
made and also requested a Christian burial.

W. E. Delaney said, “Gentlemen, I expect in a few minutes
to meet my God. I am entirely innocent of the crime of which I
was convicted and if I had had a fair trial I would not be here
to hang today. I request a Christian burial and I hope that Father
Gallagher will conduct the services and look after our bodies.”

230 TOMBSTONE’S EPITAPH


baptism in the Catholic church. Then Dowd and Howard, who
had remained somewhat obdurate, yielded to the comforting
assurances of their spiritual advisors, and the rite was conferred
upon them in the presence of a number of ladies and gentlemen
in the jail.

How the Last Night Was Passed.

The prisoners last night regaled themselves with a hearty
supper of oysters and other delicacies furnished by the sheriff. A
Republican reporter visited the jail at midnight and found the
doomed men restless and uneasy, being unable to sleep which
they attributed to the hearty supper eaten. The remainder of the
night was passed in a similar manner, and only occasionally
relieved by short periods of disturbed slumber. This morning

At an Early Hour

Will Baron with his shaving utensils was admitted to the jail and
the prisoners were submitted to his tonsorial manipulations. They
were then dressed in neat suits of black furnished for the occasion
by Sheriff Ward. As they were being attired in grave clothes an
occasional grim joke at the appearance of some of their comrades
was indulged in by the bandits. The reverend fathers and Miss
Nellie Cashman were in constant attendance and the forenoon
gradually wore away, the prisoners bearing up bravely, and con-
versing upon ordinary topics with greatest nonchalance. At the
request of the condemned the death warrant was read in the cell
by Sheriff Ward and was listened to attentively by the unfortunate
men. ‘he reading was commenced in a clear, firm voice, but
when that portion was reached commanding him to hang until
they were dead the listening men standing before him it is no
discredit to our sheriff to say that his voice became tremulous
and husky with emotion. The reading was finished at 12:55 when
the sheriff said:

“Boys, you have asked the privilege of going to the scaffold
free from straps or manacles. This privilege I grant you, but each
of you will be taken by the arm of an officer.”

“I'd rather be strapped than packed up to the scaffold,” said
Sample.

“So would I,” echoed the other four.

The sheriff assured them that they would be allowed to walk
from the jail to the death-trap free and untrammeled, after which
some strong coffee was served, stronger stimulants being refused.

HANGINGS—LEGAL AND OTHERWISE 229


BUNGLED.

2-21-1930, SP (Pima), DUGAN, Eva, hanged (Decapitated)

ELDERLY.

4-6-1945, SP (Cochise)-SMITH, Lee Albert, white, 63.
3-4-1955, SP (Navajo)-FOLK, Carl J., white, 55.
5-22-1957, SP (Maricopa)-COEY, Leonard, white, 57

Orraauay ¥ KetiSabe
f-6-/442— HARD de Pew cat,

Mass + SERIAL ;
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RELATIVES.

11-16-1900, Tombstone-HALDERMAN, Thomas and William, whites. Bros.

ARIZONA

DOMINGUEZ, Demetrio, HM16/17 Maricopa
Murder, WM 11-26-1880

HERNANDEZ, Manuel HM17/18 Pinal
Murder, WM,65 7-6-1934