In  1886  a party  of  Mexicans  had  a fight
on  the  Mimbres,  abducted  a little  girl,  wounded
her  brother  in  the  leg  so  that  he  died  long
afterward,  were  pursued  to  Santa  Rita,  killed
one  of  the  followers  and  fled.  Wm.  Courtney
telegraphed  from  Fort  Bayard  that  a Mexican
with  stolen  child  had  gone  toward  Pinos  Altos.
Deputy  Sheriff  Hall  at  once  went  to  the  gold
camp  to  find  the  party.  In  returning,  a short
distance  above  the  city  he  caught  up  with  a
Mexican  named  Pilar  Perez,  leading  a horse
upon  which  was  the  girl.  Questioned,  Pilar  said
that  he  came  from  the  Mimbres.  What  followed
is  largely  a matter  of  conjecture.  Pilar  fatally
shot  Hall  in  the  back,  the  girl  escaped,  and  told
of  the  assassination.  She  says  Hall  did  not  shoot.
His  pistol  was  found  in  its  scabbard  fully'
loaded.  Pilar  was  in  jail  last  Fall  at  Flagstaff
and  revealed  his  identity.  He  said  then,  and  has
ever  since,  that  Hall  shot  twice  at  him.  A jury
was  empanelled  yesterday,  and  in  three  hours
after  the  first  juror  was  questioned,  a verdict
of  murder  in  the  first  degree  was  returned.  The
evidence  of  the  girl,  and  those  who  .examined
the  official  pistol  was  convincing.  J.  M.  Ginn,
the  attorney  appointed  to  defend,  could  not
say  anything  in  favor  of  the  defendant.  Sen-
tence will  be  pronounced  today.

In 1886 a party of Mexicans had a fight…

Entities extracted from this source (6)

Chunks (1)

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