WHOLESALE THIEVING FROM THE KANSAS PACIFIC RAILROAD AT KIT
CARSON--TRAINS ROBBED BY AN ORGANIZED BAND INCLUDING THE ENTIRE
POPULATION OF THE PLACE--GROCERIES, DRY GOODS AND LIVE-STOCK STOLEN--A
RAILROAD DETECTIVE IN BAD LUCK--THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ASSOCIATION ON THE
LOOKOUT--ALEX MACLEAN'S NARROW ESCAPE--DUPLICITY OF A CONSTABLE AND A
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE--THE WHOLE GANG ARRESTED AT DAYLIGHT BY A POSSE
FROM DENVER.
The month of January, 1877, was devoted by the Rocky Mountain Detective
Association to the ferreting out of a gang of thieves who made their
headquarters at Kit Carson, on the Kansas Pacific railroad in this state,
and who earned a living by stealing from the railroad cars.
The case was one of prolonged and bold stealing, in which a large number
of the citizens around Carson took a high hand. They carried on with great
success a scheme for the robbery of the Kansas Pacific Railroad Company
and those who entrusted their freights to the care of this corporation.
Carson is situated about a hundred and fifty miles from Denver, and was
then the point at which the Arkansas Valley branch of this road left the
main stem. It is also at the foot of a heavy grade, and was then used as a
place for leaving cars. On account of the grade, it was often the case
that the most heavily laden of the cars were laid over there. The plan
with the rascals who carried out this scheme was to help themselves to a
portion of whatever articles they might find themselves in need of.
The watchman, whose name was Frank E. Williamson, it seems took part in
these plunderings, and was well paid for his trouble. They did not confine
themselves to merely laying in groceries, dry goods, etc., but actually
broke into the live-stock cars and secured good prizes in the shape of
horses and mules. At first but little notice was taken of these
depredations, as they were, for a time, on a very small scale, but the
losses being continually reported, aroused a suspicion in the minds of the
officials of the road that the goods were more than one man could
comfortably get away with, and hence they reasonably concluded that a gang
was engaged in the business. The reports constantly coming in, it was by
some means ascertained that Carson was the point at which they were taken,
and accordingly the matter was placed in the hands of Gen. D. J. Cook, the
superintendent of the Rocky Mountain Detective Association. Not, however,
until the railroad company had made an effort to make one of its own
detectives useful.
Having convinced themselves that the goods which shippers complained of
finding missing were being stolen at Carson, the company sent one of their
"fly" men to the place to work up the case, that evidence might be
obtained and the parties arrested. After spending a few days about Carson,
he decided to take some action, thinking that he had sufficient facts to
justify arrests. He accordingly went before the magistrate of the place,
whose name was Pat Shanley, and who was also proprietor of the hotel
there. The warrant being sworn out against a few men, Shanley told the
detective that he would take him around and introduce him to the
constable, whose name was Worth Keene, and who was also proprietor of a
saloon, intimating that it might be a good opportunity to kill two birds
with one stone by getting a drink at the same time the paper was handed
over to the constable. The drink was taken, and the two enjoyed a laugh at
the expense of the fellows who were so soon to be in the hands of the
minions of the law. But the detective probably did not see the sly wink
which passed from the justice when he handed over the warrant, or if he
did, did not understand its import. He must have thought it rather
strange, however, when after going out Constable Keene did not return, and
the men whom he knew to be offenders against the law began to disappear.
It may be that he was given a hint of the intention of the citizens of the
place, which was to lynch him that evening.
Whether his suspicions were aroused or not, when the train came along
bound for Kansas City, the detective quietly stepped aboard and was seen
no more in those parts. He departed with but little more information than
he had possessed when he went in, and convinced that the ways of the
people of Carson were peculiar, quite peculiar, and past finding out.
It was then that the case was placed in the hands of Gen. Cook to have it
worked up. The job was a delicate one. There were but about twenty-five
people, women and children included, residing at Carson, so that a man who
should go there would be open to immediate inspection, and if he should go
as a detective, the chances were that he would be found out before he
could find out anything. Yet Cook decided to chance it. He concluded to
send a man down to the place, who should stop there for awhile and play
the role of a deserter from the army. Alex MacLean, at present a resident
of Denver, was commissioned to perform this delicate task. All went well
with him for awhile--almost to the end, in fact. He got along quite
swimmingly for many days. His story was accepted, and as he displayed a
considerable sum of money and used it freely, he was made at home with the
boys.
At last, however, the thieves began to suspect MacLean and made a strong
endeavor to catch him. One of them prevailed upon MacLean to sleep with
him one night, and during the night undertook to draw him out, telling him
that there was a splendid opportunity there for a detective, and entering
at some length into the scheme of robbery which had been carried on at the
place. MacLean listened with eagerness, though he did not, by words at
least, betray himself. He, however, agreed with his friend that they could
make a great deal of money together by exposing the thieving, and that the
man should show MacLean, the next morning, where the goods were hidden.
This was done according to programme.
It now became apparent to the thieves that MacLean was a detective, and
they arranged their plans to put him out of the way, in other words, to
quietly kill him on the following night. This programme would most likely
have been carried into effect had the thieves not been so indiscreet as to
whisper their intentions to some one, who dropped the information far
down the Kansas Pacific, beyond Carson, to a party who telegraphed Gen.
Cook the peril that his man was in. With this Cook decided to recall
MacLean and ordered him home that very day, and thus were the plans of the
murder frustrated.
A previous train the same day brought in Williamson, the watchman, who,
concluding that he had been found out or soon would be, was preparing to
skip the country, and came in with his baggage checked for Montana. Being
informed through MacLean that Williamson was on the train and that he
probably knew a great deal, Cook proceeded to the depot in Denver, met the
train and quietly took Williamson into custody. He at first made an effort
to bluff the officers, but failing in this, agreed to make a full
confession on the condition that he should be released from custody. The
officers agreed to this proposition, especially as they had already taken
precautions to prevent his capture being known or telegraphed to his
friends at Carson. Being placed in a close carriage he was driven to a
place of safety and then told the entire story of the thievery to the
detective.
It appeared from this story that the entire town of Kit Carson, with the
exception of two men who were too old for action, had been engaged in the
thievery, which he said had been going on for nearly two years, beginning
by small stealings and increasing them as time went on until some big
holes were made in the shipments which passed through. Shanley, the
justice of the peace, was the head of the gang, and he accumulated quite a
fortune in carrying on the work. His hotel was supplied from the proceeds
of his robbery. He purchased herds of cattle, and before he was discovered
had stolen sufficient stock to start a line of teams between Carson and
Del Norte, thus procuring a market for the stealings of the gang in the
San Juan country, and hauling them away at the expense of others. Keene,
the constable, was also a leader in the gang. With the magistrate and the
constable, the state's only officers in the district, and the coöperation
of the railroad watchman, the stealing was made easy. It was now, alas,
about to be brought to an end forever.
It was on the 1st of February, 1877, that Williamson was arrested and
that MacLean arrived at home. Gen. Cook decided that the gang must be
taken without delay, and as soon as MacLean arrived and he heard his
story, he decided upon a _coup d'etat_. Procuring a special train, he
organized an expedition under the leadership of Assistant Frank Smith, and
sent them down to make the arrest of the parties implicated. The party
consisted of Smith, MacLean, Major Sam Logan, John Copeland, Tom Chandler,
and Tom Porter.
The special left Denver in the evening and ran leisurely down the track,
timing itself so as to reach Carson about daylight. All worked well, and
the train drew up a few hundred feet west of the station just as the gray
dawn was beginning to make itself visible on the eastern knolls of the
plains. But little time was lost in preliminaries. Most of the men
belonged at the hotel, and it was determined to surprise them first. The
officers crept cautiously behind a protecting house, and finding that a
majority of the rogues were already out of bed and standing in front of
the hotel, marched boldly out before their startled gaze, and with arms
presented and ready for instant use, commanded the scoundrels to hold up
their hands.
It was all over in a minute. Nothing was left for them to do but to throw
their hands into the air and quietly surrender.
This party being in the possession of the officers, the few others
scattered in various directions were soon taken, there being eight in all,
namely: William Kelly, Worth Keene, Mike Fitzpatrick, William Tally,
Thomas Rasbaugh, J. Ratliff, C. W. Lindsley (Texas Bill), and Pat Shanley.
A hurried search was made in the vicinity and large quantities of stolen
goods were found hidden from Kit Carson down the railroad for four miles,
as well as two miles east, on the Big Sandy, and some on Horse creek,
north of Kit Carson. Nearly all the articles were buried in the ground.
Among the miscellaneous assortment of articles stolen were hats, caps,
laces, silks, groceries, boots, ladies' shoes, raisins, feather beds,
beef, beef tongues, apple butter, bacon, ham, tea, coffee, lard, a
quantity of coal, tobacco, powder and butter. The goods were mostly taken
from the original packages, and where they were not so filched most of the
marks were erased, except in the case of the butter.
[Illustration: Arrest of the entire male population of Carson, by officers
from Denver.]
When these men were removed from Carson to West Las Animas, the county
seat of Bent county, in which the stealing was conducted, there were but
two men left at the station to take care of the horde of women and
children who cried after them as they moved away in their shackles.
One more arrest made in Denver completes the list. While the posse was
down the road Col. C. W. Fisher, division superintendent, telegraphed to
Gen. Cook to arrest a brakeman named Adam Ehls, for complicity with the
gang. He was discovered late in the evening at 520 Arapahoe street, in
full dress for an engineers' ball. But the appearance of Detective Arnold
convinced him that a change of programme was unavoidable, and that Turner
hall must dispense with his presence. When informed that Col. Fisher had
ordered his arrest, he seemed to perfectly comprehend the whole affair.
The officer accompanied him to his own house, where were found a trunk and
valise containing a large quantity of fancy goods, ladies' shoes, silver
plated pistols, and several boxes of cheap jewelry. Forty pocket knives
had been placed on sale at Tierney's hardware store, but were recovered
several days before.
Thus was this well organized and extensive gang of thieves brought to
justice in a way so effective that the road never since had a trouble of
this kind of half so extensive a scale to deal with.
The association received, as it certainly deserved, the warmest thanks
from the railroad company, as well as liberal pay for their services.
At the preliminary examination of this band of thieves, which was held at
West Las Animas soon after their capture, several of the men were released
upon bail, in sums ranging between $1,000 and $5,000 bail each. Shanley's
bail was fixed at $5,000, Keene's at $2,500, and Ehl's at $1,000. Three of
the men were sent to the penitentiary for long terms, and the other four
escaped upon technicalities. Shanley, Keene and Ehls forfeited their bonds
and disappeared from the state, never having been seen in Colorado since.
The town of Kit Carson was broken up by the raid, and is now little more
than a water tank on the Kansas Pacific.
RAGSDALE GATES.