John Ringo, King of the Cowboys: His Life and Times from the Hoo Doo War to Tombstone, Second Edition

Chapter 20. “desperate and dangerous”

205 20 C H A P T E R “desperate and dangerous” THE BRUTAL MURDERS IN GUADALUPE CANYON intensified tensions and racial hatred along the border. Many of the cattlemen in the region hailed from Texas. Border warfare and feuds were nothing new. These men did not care what the government wanted. Friends had been killed, and if the government could not or would not act, they would. It was the savagely biblical law of the feud demanding an eye for an eye. John Ringo had no intention of attacking the Mexican army, but he may have considered an opportunity for revenge. A. M. Franklin encountered him after the ambush. In 1925 Franklin recalled that L. M. Jacobs & Co., of Tucson, sent him to the San Simon to take charge of a herd of cattle being driven north from Durango and Chihuahua. Franklin arranged for the customs agent at Silver City, New Mexico, to meet him and clear the herd, which was in charge of a man named Jim Sprague. After the herd reached the San Simon, Sprague, Franklin, and four of the Mexican herders were detailed to take the first watch. Everything was calm until shortly after midnight when the herd stampeded . Franklin tried to outrun the cattle and was finally overtaken by Joe Browning: 206 JOHN RINGO, KING OF THE COWBOYS Browning, seeing how I stood rode towards me; he caught up and said without introduction: “You damn fool, haven’t you got sense enough to circle around so as to get the cattle milling and stop this damn stampede? You’ve been the ringleader of it for the last four miles, leading the cattle.” This was the first information that I had that the cattle were stampeding; it was certainly the first information I had that I was leading the stampede.1 The drovers settled the cattle and again bedded them for the night. The following morning, Sprague and two hundred of the cattle were missing. According to Franklin, Sprague had reported the herd’s arrival to Ringo who, with six or eight other men, stampeded the herd and cut some of the herd. Franklin saddled his mount and headed toward town where he saw “bunches from 3 to 10—not a man or horse in sight” as he rode. At Galeyville he met Ringo.2 Ringo was surprised by Franklin’s appearance. After a few rounds of drinks the conversation turned to why Franklin had come. Franklin told Ringo that his cattle had stampeded during the night and that the herd was about 175 head short. He looked at me with his baby blue eyes, which actually danced with excitement and first said: “Did you see anything as you were coming up the trail?” I answered: “I thought I did but I’m not sure.” He then said “Why in the hell didn’t you send your Mexicans up to get your cattle?” I answered: “They’ve got as much as they can attend to and if you and your fellows will round up the cattle I’ve lost and deliver them to me at the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation it will be worth $10 a head to me, or it will be worth $5 a head to me if you can deliver them to me at San Jose, which was a little settlement—the first settlement on the Gila river after the river leaves the mountains and the first place to water the cattle. He joshed with me a little while and said again: “I’m sorry you didn’t send your Mexicans.” “desperate and dangerous” 207 Ringo agreed to round up the cattle in return for a mere $100, less than a tenth of what Franklin was willing to pay, an obvious indication that he had no financial motives. As Franklin left, Ringo asked again, “Why in hell didn’t you send your Mexicans up to get them anyhow? They’re the fellows we wanted to have some fun with.” Franklin believed the beeves were stolen. From his description it is clear the cattle were scattered, something no thief would have done. It appears that Ringo was either good-naturedly pulling his friend’s leg or he had attempted to lure the Mexican wranglers into an ambush. Franklin also provides a good description of Ringo at this time. John was over six feet tall, rangy, bony and strong as a horse...