1899 Elbert County COLORADO newspaper with BLACK JACK KETCHUM GANG train robbery

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1899 Elbert County COLORADO newspaper with BLACK JACK KETCHUM GANG train robbery
1899 ELIZABETH, Elbert County COLORADO newspaper with coverage of a train robbery at Folson, NM Territory by the famous "BLACK JACK" KETCHUM GANG
- inv # 7P-224
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SEE PHOTO(s) - COMPLETE ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER, the
Elbert County Banner
(ELIZABETH, Colorado) dated July 21,  1899. This original newspaper contains an inside page heading "BATTLE WITH BANDITS" with coverage of the train robbery at Folson, NM Territory by the "BLACK JACK" KETCHUM GANG.
Tom ("Black Jack") Ketchum was a famous New Mexico Territory train robber and the leader of the "KETCHUM GANG of train robbers in New Mexico Territory.
Elizabeth is a statutory town which is the most populous municipality in Elbert County, Colorado. Elizabeth, initially called Russellville, was originally a saw mill camp. The town was later named after a family member of John Evans, a territorial governor. The town was incorporated in October 1890 and has had a post office since 1882.
Tom ("Black Jack") Ketchum was a New Mexico train robber and the leader of the "KETCHUM GANG of train robbers in New Mexico Territory.
On July 11, 1899, the gang struck. After camping at the head of Dry Canyon in northeast New Mexico, Sam Ketchum, Bill Carver, and Elza Lay, a.k.a. William McGinnis, made off with some ,000 from the train in Folsom, New Mexico. They were soon pursued by a posse to a hideout near Cimarron, New Mexico. The outlaws were better armed with high-powered rifles and smokeless powder, while the posse had conventional black powder guns, the smoke of which, gave away their positions.
In 1892, Tom (Black Jack) Ketchum, his brother, Sam, and several other outlaws learned that an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad was en route to Deming, New Mexico with a large payroll. The gang set up to rob the train just outside Nutt, New Mexico, a water station about 20 miles north of Deming.
The gang stopped the train, holding it up at gunpoint, and made off with about ,000. During the robbery, the conductor had sneaked away, making his way to Nutt, where he telegraphed for help. Soon, a posse from Lake Valley, 18 miles to the north was on its way. However, by the time the posse arrived, the gang was well hidden in their safe house, and Black Jack soon slipped into Arizona. The ,000 was never found.
On December 12, 1895, Tom and several other men shot and killed John N. “Jap” Powers, a neighbor in Tom Green County, Texas. Tom later admitted he took part in the murder but claimed he was paid to do it.  After this episode, Tom and Sam high-tailed it out of Texas back to New Mexico.
While in New Mexico, the Ketchum Gang was well known at many of the dances, social functions, and saloons in northeast New Mexico. These well-mannered young men, riding good horses, flashing plenty of money, and claiming to be cowboys, would arrive at the local functions where the women were enraptured by their manners. They were known to have frequented several establishments in Elizabethtown as well as Cimarron, specifically Lambert’s Inn (now the St. James Hotel.) Not until later, when they were captured, did townspeople learn these young men were actually members of Black Jack Ketchum’s outlaw gang.
After leaving Texas in late 1895, the brothers worked at the Bell Ranch until sometime in early June 1896, when they quit, stealing supplies from the ranch before they left. On June 10th, they showed up at the small settlement of Liberty, New Mexico, north of present-day Tucumcari.
The Ketchum brothers rode hard to the Pecos River after the robbery, with Levi Herstein and several other men chasing after them. A gun battle ensued at the Pecos River, leaving most of the posse dead. The brothers then headed west to Arizona, where they sometimes rode with Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch.
Apparently the Ketchum Gang felt confident in robbing trains in this specific area of New Mexico, between Folsom and Des Moines. The area was the point where the old wagon road crossed the Colorado and Southern Rail tracks near Twin Mountain.
Their habit was to stop the train and uncouple the mail and express cars, which were then taken about a mile and a half down the track and looted. On September 3, 1897, Black Jack and his gang were back at it, robbing another train, making off with about ,000 in gold and ,000 in silver. They escaped after the robbery, hiding in a cave south of Folsom, New Mexico where they remained until the next day.
On July 11, 1899, the gang struck. After camping at the head of Dry Canyon in northeast New Mexico, Sam Ketchum, Bill Carver, and Elza Lay, a.k.a. William McGinnis, made off with some ,000 from the train in Folsom, New Mexico. They were soon pursued by a posse to a hideout near Cimarron, New Mexico. The outlaws were better armed with high-powered rifles and smokeless powder, while the posse had conventional black powder guns, the smoke of which, gave away their positions.
Sam Ketchum and McGinnis were both wounded in the gun battle and captured. The posse faired even worse, with two of its members, including Sheriff Edward Farr, killed and another posse man injured. Sam was taken into custody but developed gangrene from his wound. On July 24, 1899, he died in the Santa Fe penitentiary and was buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery.
On August 16th, Elza Lay was arrested and was later tried and convicted for the murder of Ed Farr and sentenced to life in prison. Carver escaped to ride with the Wild Bunch.
In the meantime, Thomas “Black Jack” Ketchum, unaware of the fate of his brother, Sam, made a final solitary attempt at train robbery on August 16, 1899. Waiting in a cave south of Folsom until after dark, he rode to the location where he intended to rob the train. Boarding the train from the blind side of the baggage car, he planned to force the train to stop, where he could disconnect the mail and express cars from the rest of the train.
But, Black Jack’s best-laid plans were doomed to fail eventually. He crawled into the engine and drew his pistol on the engineer and fireman, forcing them to stop the train. However, he had miscalculated the stopping point, which was on a curve, leaving the train in a cramped position where it was impossible to uncouple the cars.
Conductor Frank Harrington, whose train was being held up for the third time, had finally had it. He took his shotgun to the baggage car and carefully opened the door, pointing the gun at Black Jack. However, Tom was too quick for him and shot at the conductor, just barely missing Harrington. Harrington also shot at about the same time, hitting Black Jack in the right elbow, almost severing the arm. Tom fell backward out of the train and down the bank. Harrington ordered the engineer and fireman to get the train moving as fast as possible.
Resuming the run, the train stopped at each station, reporting the would-be robbery and sending word for law officers to look out for a badly wounded man near the scene of the hold-up.
Ketchum later reported, “I tried a dozen times to mount my horse but was too weak to do it.” Weary and dizzy from the pain, he sat down to wait for the posse. Early the next morning as the sun was coming up, a freight train heading from Folsom passed by the robbery scene. A man was seen about 100 yards from the train, waving his hat on the end of his gun, as a signal. When the train was stopped and the conductor and brakeman approached, Black Jack drew a gun on them. The conductor said, “We just came to help you but if this is the way you feel, we will go and leave you.” Black Jack responded, “No boys, I am all done, take me in.” (In other accounts, Sheriff Saturinino Pinard is credited with the arrest). Black Jack was carried to the train, placed in the caboose, and taken into Folsom.
At first, Black Jack stated that his name was George Stevens and that the would-be robbery was his first attempt at a hold-up and a mighty poor one. He was taken on the first passenger train to Trinidad, Colorado, and placed in San Rafael Hospital, where his arm was amputated. When he was able to travel, he was taken to Santa Fe for safekeeping. Later, he was transferred to Clayton, New Mexico for trial, where he plead innocent, but the judge found him guilty and sentenced him to death by hanging.
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