Democrat: A short while ago J…
source date: 1889
availability: public-domain

oth of W. H. Durkee’s horses ha^e been stolen recently, the last one was taken on Friday night, from about three miles above town on the Pinos Altos road. He is a gray horse branded K U L on left hip, and is 14 hands high. From Ihe June 14, 1889, Issue of The Enterprise Democrat: A short while ago J. H. Riley lost $600 or $700 worth of cattle, among them a valuable bull, from some unknown cause. Then his foreman fell very sick, and showed every symptom of poisoning, without any ap- parent reason. Last Saturday one of his men unlocked a well or reservoir, from which his cattle are watered, and, on looking down into it, saw a bottle at the bottom of the water. The water was drained off, and the bottle was found to contain strychnine, which had been bought of D. Y. Hadley & Co. Mr. Riley says openly that his well was deliberately poisoned; and states his belief that it was a certain man, well known in the county, who had threatened to “get even with him.” He, himself, was over at the well a few days before the discovery of the poison, with one of his men, and, being thirsty wanted to drink from it, but the well was locked, the key was at the ranch, and he was fortunately unable to get the drink he wanted. If the well was deliberately poisoned every effort should be made to bring the offense home to the doer of it, and punish him most severely.