George Helm, well known stage driver was found dead in
Prescott on the 20th with an empty laudanum bottle in his hand.
A.A. LEA
March 1888
A.A. Lea, an ex-convict and formerly a resident of Globe has
at last had his light of life snuffed out by a bullet fired
from a pistol at the hand of T.B. Fox, in a saloon at Silver
King. The shooting occurred on the 19th and from the meager
information received here, it seems was justifiable and a
Coroner's jury and the committing magistrate pronounced it
so and exonerated Fox. Lea had threatened his life on several
occasions and in the altercation preceding the killing,
reached his hand to his pistol pocket with the intention
as supposed by Fox and others of getting the drop on him
when Fox drew his weapon and fired with fatal result.
A letter to the Belt from Sliver King states that the opinion
there is that Lea received his just deserts and that a feeling
of security now exists as Lea had threatened the lives of
others besides Fox and particularly the senior editor of the
Belt who when occasion presented itself never failed to refer
to Lea's lust for killing.
The crime committed by Lea on the 7th of May 1880 in Globe
was the killing of Charles Skirdin, a blind man and for which
instead of passing from time to eternity at the end of a
rope he was given a dose of penitentiary life. The blind
man's anti-mortem statement made in the presence of G.A.
Swasey, a Justice of the Peace, and reduced to writing is
in brief that he warned Mrs. Johnson, the mother of a
little girl of Lea's attempt to corrupt her child and
it was for that Lea shot him.
Immediately after the shooting Lea was arrested and confined
to the care of Constable Tom Kerr.
T.J. JOHNSON alias Dick
DICK HART
LARRY SHEEHAN
March 24, 1888
The Stein's Peak train robbers have one and all been killed.
When this report reached here it was at first discredited but
later advices add confirmation to it. Ex-Sheriff R.H. Paul,
now detective for the Southern Pacific Railroad and a man by
the name of Pierce, located them on a ranch about twenty miles
from the city of Chihuahua and with an escort of Mexican
soldiers demanded their surrender, but instead of complying
the robbers barricaded themselves in the house and the fight
began. Unfortunately for the attacking party a family was
in the house also, and aggressive measures could not be
resorted to while they were there but the next day they were
allowed to leave and the ball opened in earnest. Finally the
attacking party succeeded in firing the house and this drove
the robbers out and in the fight that followed all three of
them were killed as was also a Mexican sergeant of the
attacking party. This closed the bloody drama and train
robbing received another setback from which it will be
hard to recover. Paul and his posse are to be congratulated
on the great victory they have achieved.
March 16, 1888
From the information given to the Tucson Star by Sheriff M.F.
Shaw and Sam Harris, who returned from pursuit of the Stein
Pass train robbers on the 5th it is highly probably that the
gang will be overtaken and possibly are in custody now. The
trail of the robbers was followed by Marshall Meade's posse
with two Papago trailers to the Palatodo Ranch near the town
of Janos in the State of Chihuahua. Here a description of
the two men they were following was obtained and it was
learned that the same parties had come to the ranch ten
days previous, accompanied by a third who accidentally shot
himself in the leg in dismounting from his horse, and he
had remained at the ranch eight days until his companion
returned when they all left together in the direction of
Janos.
It is confidently believed that the robbers who took in the
train are Dick, alias T.J. Johnson and Dick Hart and the
wounded man left at the ranch is Larry Sheehan. Johnson
and Sheehan left Stein's Pass in the latter part of January
for El Paso, where they were joined by Hart and all then
went down to the city of Chihuahua. Detective Thacker who
was there at the time, suspected that they had a job on
hand. In a few days he missed them and learned that they
had left on horseback between the 8th and 10th and
subsequently heard of the robber at Stein's Pass.
Detective Thacker has been active in ferreting out train
robbers and was instrumental in securing the arrest and
conviction of the six Americans who robbed the Mexican
Central train on the 10th of February.
CYRUS GRIBBLE
Mr. JOHNSON
Mr. DOOTLITTLE
March 24, 1888
We learn fro the Citizen of March 20th that Cyrus Gribble,
superintendent of the Vulture mine and a man by the name of
Johnson were murdered on the night of the 19th on the road
between Phoenix and Vulture. Gribble was en route to Phoenix
with a bar of bullion and Johnson accompanied him as guard.
The bullion was taken and the bodies of the murdered men left
lying where they fell. So far there is no clue to the
murderers. There is much excitement in Phoenix and
several parties have gone in pursuit.
Another dead man, a guard, Doolittle,was discovered within
two hundred yards of where the treasure was taken. Two
thousand dollars reward is offered for the apprehension
of the murderers and the recovery of the bullion.
MR. GRIBBLE
Mr. DOOLITTLE
Mr. JOHNSON
September 29, 1888
At 9:00 this morning, Justice Woods called the case of Nabor
Escalante and Angel deMara, charged with being parties to
the murder of Gribble, Doolittle and Johnson--this being
the 5th day of their preliminary examination. A startling
development was made. The only witnesses examined were
Harvey Howe and Sheriff Halbert. The sheriff's testimony
was only corroborative. To show the full effects of the
evidence of Howe, the reporter will state that when the
two Mexicans were arrested in Cochise County, they made a
great endeavor and also an effort to throw away a watch
that was in their possession. This watch was today
identified by Harvey Howe who stated that he was a sworn
partner of Johnson who was assassinated with Gribble, as
his property and to made the evidence particular binding
he called attention to certain marks within the works
and upon opening the same his testimony was verified.
DR. WILLIAM HARVEY
January 1, 1889
Dr. William Harvey, who died at the Sister's Hospital, Tucson,
on the 8th was buried at Florence last Thursday. He was a
native of St. Thomas, Ontario Canada in the 46th year of his
age and had been a resident of Tucson and Florence for a
number of years.
DICK JENKINS
June 26, 1888
A fatal shooting affray is reported from Springerville, Apache
County. Dick Jenkins, a cattleman and John McGee, cook for
the round-up party concluded to settle their difficulties
with guns. Jenkins was hit twice, once in the arm and once
in the body, and died the following day. Robert Thomas,
captain of the round-up who attempted to stop the fight
was shot in the leg, necessitating amputation.
ALONZO JOHNSON
January 19, 1889
The first Killing at Harqua Hala gold camp is reported by the
Phoenix papers. Pete Burns shot and killed Alonzo Johnson and
a coroner's jury declared the act justifiable, although,
judging from published reports, it was a cowardly killing.
Pete Burns formerly lived in Globe and worked for the old
Dominion Company.
LUKE JONES
July 21, 1888
A boy, on Monday last, fell from a freight wagon in the
vicinity of the San Carlos Agency and was crushed under the
wheels. Residents of the Agency kindly assisted in his
burial. The deceased, Luke Jones was from Carlisle, New
Mexico.
JOHN H. MCCARTNEY
October 20, 1888
A Nogales dispatch of the 10th to the S.P. Chronicle says:
John P. McCartney was found on the roadside last Monday
near Santa Ana. The deceased was found on the San Rafael
Cattle Ranch here owned by Hon. Brewster Cameron and had
gone to Sonora to buy saddle horses. The news received
here says that he committed suicide but everyone here
takes no stock in this report. He had a large sum of
money when he left here about two weeks ago and it is
supposed that he was killed for it.
