This Day…

1865-Norrato Ponce killed a man named Joy in a dispute over cards at the Governor’s Saloon in Hayward, California. Later in the month he escaped into the night near Livermore after being surprised by a posse and hit with a shotgun blast and three pistol slugs. He was finally run down and killed by Sheriff Harry Morese in Pinole Canyon.

1876-A patrol led by Texas Ranger Sergeant John Armstrong closed in on an outlaw camp at Espinoza Lake near Carrizo, Texas when the smoke cleared the rangers had killed three of the four outlaws in that camp and the fourth was hit four times. In seperate shootouts that night Armstrong’s detachement killed to other outlaws.

1895-Loss Hart killed Bill Dalton with a rifle bullet near Ardmore, OK. By the time the posse got back to town with Dalton’s body the heat made him swell to twice the size even though they dumped several buckets of well water on him along the way.

1897-Big Nose George Currie, the Sundance Kid, and Harvey Logan were wanted in the robbery of a bank in Belle Fourche, SD. After a brief gunfight with six-shooter Bill Smith and a bounty hunter they were taken into custody near Lavina, MT. All three outlaws escaped from the jail in Deadwood on Halloween.

1861-Thomas Duffy was killed by Herculano Chaves during an attempted jailbreak in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

1887-Jim Roberts and Jim Tewksbury were ambushed at their camp on Cherry Creek in Pleasant Valley, AZ. Firing from their blankets they hit Joe Underwood in both legs and killed Harry Middleton. The other bushewhackers lost their nerve.

1901-President Theodore Roosevelt rises to the presidency following the death of President McKinley. The forty-two-year-old Rooosevelt takes the oath of office at 3:00 p.m..

1753-The Delaware and Iroquois Indians, at the Winchester Conference, revoke the year-old Treaty of Logstown and throw in their lot with the French, supporting their claim to the Ohip territory.

1895-Littl Bill Raidler, a member of the Doolin Gang was shot six times while resisting arrest by Bill Tilghman and W.C. Smithe near Elgin, Kansas. He survived the shooting but never regained his health.

1876-The James gang attempts to carry out a bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota. The town of 500 people have been alerted, and many are lying in wait to ambush the gang, three members of which are shot and killed. Two others wounded; only Jesse and Frank James escape. This marks the end of a long string of successful bank robberies for the James brothers. A $25,000 reward is posted for Jesse James, dead or alive, and $15,000 is offered for his brother, Frank.