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114 CHAPTER 13 Finis of the Ketchum Gang A bout early May 1899, during the time Kid Curry was preparing for his strike at the Union Pacific near Wilcox, Elzy Lay gave notice to manager William French of his intention to quit his horse-breaking job at theWS Ranch nearAlma, New Mexico.1 He was going to join Sam Ketchum and Will Carver in Cimarron for their strik e at the Colorado and Southern Railway near Folsom. The latter two had recently broken with Tom Ketchum owing to his br utal and erratic behavior, and were setting up camp at their Turkey Creek Canyon hideout.2 Some authors have stated that Kid Curry participated in the robbery, or at least w as onsite for the later gun battle at the hideout instead of Carver. This is easily refuted in that the Pinkertons followed Curry’s trail (Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado) for w eeks after the Wilcox robbery, well into the month of Jul y. In addition, Bob Lee stated in a deposition to authorities after his ar rest, that Curry went to visit his sister Allie in Kansas City, Missouri, shortly after the Fourth of July (just before the Folsom robbery).3 The visit probably would have occurred later in the month since Siringo and Sayles were most assuredly still chasing Curry and Sundance at this time.Thus, he could not have been present at either action in New Mexico.4 Lay made a deal with F rench in which he would take charge of a trainload of cattle from Magdalena to Springer , in return for the price of the train tick et. Bruce “Red” Weaver quit at the same time to accompany Lay under the same ter ms. French regretted losing a top man like Lay, but didn’t mind losing the ser vices of Weaver, who was a “bit of a bluffer” when it came to breaking horses. Springer w as the nearest railhead to the ranch’s northern headquarters, and would put Lay and Weaver close to Cimar ron. After their arrival Weaver was suspected of having contracted smallpox, and was lodged in the local pesthouse.5 Lay Finis of the Ketchum Gang 115 loafed around Springer for a few days, and then left for Cimarron around June 7.6 James K. Hunt, postmaster and par tner in Porter and Hunt’s general store, saw Lay after his ar rival in town. Hunt, suspicious of strangers, remembered seeing Ketchum and Carver in town buying supplies a week or so previous. Meanwhile, Weaver had been released from the pesthouse , and joined La y in Cimarron about mid-June. Carver, using the alias G. W. Franks, was seen in the compan y of Lay for almost a w eek in late June. He sent an order of f to Denver for a .30- .40 carbine with 1,000 rounds of smokeless ammunition, which was promptly shipped to Cimarron by Wells, Fargo and Company. This gun was given to Elzy Lay, since Carver and Sam Ketchum were already thusly armed. All this activity was not going unnoticed by residents of the town. Then on July 7 Ketchum and Carver bought supplies from Hunt’s store for the last time, and left for the hideout at Turkey Creek Canyon. Lay and Weaver left the next afternoon, after a few drinks in the bar at Lamber t’s St. James Hotel.7 It was 10:10 p.m. on Tuesday, July 11, 1899, when Elzy Lay and Sam Ketchum climbed aboard the blind baggage car of the southbound Colorado and Southern Flyer No. 1 while the engine was being filled from the water tank at Folsom station. They soon had a gun on the engineer , and when the train was in the Twin Mountain curve, he was ordered to stop at a fire next to the track. Will Carver was waiting with three horses tied to a snow fence, while Red Weaver may have served as a lookout nearby with another horse. The through safe in the e xpress car was blown, and the take was reported to have been anywhere from $30,000 to $70,000.8 The outlaws escaped toward Turkey Creek Can yon, but Weaver split from the group near Springer. The loot was probably cached somewhere in the mountains of Colfax County, until a time when they could all meet for the divvy. Weaver was arrested soon after leaving the others, but was released ostensibly owing to...

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