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Early in July, I received a reply from a letter I had written to
Mr. Brazel.
I was at Lincoln when this letter came to me.
Mr. Brazel
was dodging and hiding from the
Kid.
He feared his vengeance on account of the part which he,
Brazel,
had taken in his capture. There were many others who "trembled in
their boots" at the knowledge of his escape; but most of them talked
him out of his resentment, or conciliated him in some manner.
Brazel's
letter gave me no positive information. He said he had not seen the
Kid
since his escape, but, from many indications, believed he was still in
the country. He offered me any assistance in his power to recapture
him. I again wrote to
Brazel,
requesting him to meet me at the mouth of Tayban Arroyo an hour after
dark on the night of the 13th day of July.
A gentleman named
John W. Poe,
who had superseded Frank Stewart, in the employ of the stockmen of the
Canadian, was at
Lincoln on business, as was one of my deputies, Thomas K. McKinney.
I first went to
McKinney,
and told him I wanted him to accompany me on a business trip to
Arizona,
that we would go down home and start from there. He consented. I then
went to
Poe
and to him I disclosed my business and all its particulars, showing
him my correspondence. He also complied with my request that he should
accompany me.
We three went to
Roswell
and started up the Rio Pecos from there on the night of July 10th. We
rode mostly in the night, followed no roads, but taking unfrequented
routes, and arrived at the mouth of Tayban Arroyo, five miles south of
Fort
Sumner
one hour after dark on the night of July 13th.
Brazel
was not there. We waited nearly two hours, but he did not come. We
rode off a mile or two, staked our horses, and slept until daylight.
Early in the morning we rode up into the hills and prospected awhile
with our field glasses.
Poe
was a stranger in the county and there was little danger that he would
meet any one who knew him at
Sumner.
So, after an hour or two spent in the hills, he went into
Sumner to
take observations. I advised him, also, to go on to Sunnyside, seven
miles above
Sumner,
and interview M. Rudolph, Esq., in whose judgment and discretion I had
great confidence. I arranged with
Poe
to meet us that night at moonrise, at La Punta de la Glorietta, four
miles north of
Fort
Sumner.
Poe
went on to the plaza, and McKinney and myself rode down into the Pecos
Valley, where we remained during the day. At night we started out
circling around the town and met
Poe
exactly on time at the trysting place.
Poe's
appearance at
Sumner
had excited no particular observation, and he had gleaned no news there.
Rudolph thought, from all indications, that the
Kid
was about; and yet, at times, he doubted. His cause for doubt seemed to be
based on no evidence except the fact that the
Kid
was no fool, and no man in his senses, under the circumstances, would
brave such danger.
I then concluded to go
and have a talk with
Peter Maxwell,
Esq., in whom I felt sure I could rely. We had ridden to within a short
distance of
Maxwell's
grounds when we found a man in camp and stopped. To
Poe's
great surprise, he recognized in the camper an old friend and former
partner, in
Texas,
named Jacobs.
Continued Next
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