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Elfego
Baca (1865-1945) - Born in
New Mexico,
Baca and his family later moved to Topeka,
Kansas when he was still a boy. After his mother's death in 1880, he returned with his father to Belen,
New Mexico where his father became the marshal. In 1884, at the age of 19,
Baca stole some guns and bought a mail-order sheriff's badge, intending to
follow in his father's footsteps. He soon appointed himself a deputy sheriff in
Socorro County, an untamed, lawless land in southwestern
New Mexico. In no time,
Elfego became embroiled in a shoot-out after arresting a
cowboy who had been shooting up the town of Frisco (now Reserve.) A standoff
ensued when Baca
took shelter in the tiny house of Geronimo Armijo. The standoff resulted
in a furious attack by over 80 cowhands, in which over 4,000 rounds were fired
into the house by those outside. Elfego
Baca managed to kill four of his assailants and wounded eight others. Thirty-six hours after it began,
Elfego Baca walked out unharmed.
Baca was admitted to the Bar in 1894 at the age of 29 and later became a
Deputy United States Marshal, an assistant district attorney, the held the
positions of both sheriff and mayor of Socorro County. Elfego
Baca died in 1945.
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William "Billy"
Bailey, aka: Bill Wilson, William Baylor (18??-1871)
- A
lawman and
cowboy, Bailey was thought to have been from
Texas before winding
up in Newton,
Kansas in 1871. A career
cowboy, and sometimes
lawman, he probably
wound up in the Kansas cowtown after a cattle drive. Though he was reportedly easy
going and even-tempered, he also had a reputation as a gunfighter. having known
to have been in three gunfights, where he killed two men.
During the August elections of 1871, Bailey was
hired by the
Newton authorities as a Special Policeman to help keep order. On
August 11th, he and another Special Policeman by the name of
Mike McCluskie argued over local politics in the Red Front Saloon. The
dispute soon turned violent and Bailey was knocked outside the saloon into the
dusty street.
McCluskie followed, drew his pistol, and fired two shots at Bailey, hitting
him in the chest. The wounded man died the next day.
McCluskie
immediately fled town to avoid arrest, but returned just a few days
later, after he heard that the shooting would most likely be deemed self
defense. Though Bailey never produced a weapon,
McCluskie claimed he feared for
his life, because of Bailey's reputation as a gunfighter. In no time, Bailey's
Texas
cowboy friends vowed to revenge his death which ultimately led to the
famous Hyde Park Gunfight on August 19, 1871.
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Frank Baker (18??-1878) - An outlaw member of the Jesse Evans Gang and a lawman,
Baker served as a deputy sheriff in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
Embroiled in the Lincoln
County War, he rode in the posse
that killed John Tunstall
on February 18, 1878.
Tunstall, a wealthy 24-year
old English cattleman and banker, along with a man named Alexander McSween,
had earlier established a rival business which competed
with the powerful
Murphy &
Dolan
Mercantile and
Banking Company that monopolized the trade of the county.
In February, 1878,
Murphy &
Dolan
obtained a court order to seize some of
Tunstall's horses as payment
for an outstanding debt. When
Tunstall refused to surrender the
horses, Lincoln County Sheriff, William Brady, formed a posse led by
deputy William Morton to seize them. Riding in the posse were also
Jesse Evans, Tom Hill and Frank Baker. After protesting the presence of
the posse on his land,
Tunstall was shot in the head. This incident started what became known as the Lincoln
County War.
The very next
day, Billy the Kid,
who had worked for Tunstall
as a cattle guard, along with a man named
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