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Chronology of the Life of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War, Part 4

July 1, 1877---Rob Widenmann becomes sick with smallpox. He is laid up at Tunstall's Rio Feliz ranch and Tunstall takes care of him.
July 7, 1877---Tunstall leaves Lincoln to go to St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri on a buying trip for his store, which is still being built.
Mid July 1877 (exact dates unknown)---David Shield and Alex McSween decide to become law partners, as they both are lawyers. Their law firm will be known as McSween & Shield. They will keep their offices in the Tunstall store when it's completed and Shield and his family will live in the massive McSween house when it is finished as well. Around the same time, John Chisum has 2,500 head of his cattle driven to Arizona, where he plans to start yet another ranch. Believed to be around the same time, Frank MacNab is assigned by Hunter & Evans to go to New Mexico and work as a foreman on Chisum's South Spring Ranch. MacNab is sent there to try to reduce some of the rustling activities of the Seven Rivers Warriors and the Jessie Evans Gang.
July 8, 1877---Jessie Evans, Frank Baker, and Nicholas Provencio are arrested in Juarez, Mexico on charges of selling stolen cattle. All three are released that night.
July 18, 1877---David Shield is appointed a notary public. On the same day, warrants are issued for the arrest of Jessie Evans, John Kinney, and Frank Baker based on complaints made by Albert J. Fountain. Fountain, a writer for the Mesilla Valley Independent, had recently written articles denouncing the local rustlers, and in turn, Fountain got word that the rustlers were going to kill him on site. After the warrants are issued, Dona Ana County Sheriff Mariano Barela makes no attempt whatsoever to arrest Kinney, Evans, or Baker, since he is also a member or (at the very least) an associate of the Jessie Evans Gang or the John Kinney Gang. Even though Gov. Samuel Axtell offers a $500 for the arrest of Evans, Kinney, and/or Baker, no one goes after them.
July 19, 1877---The New York banking firm of Donnell, Lawson & Co. transfers all the money that remains from the Fritz insurance policy, $7,148.49 (the rest had been taken by the firm itself as payment for loaning $700 to the Speigelberg Bros. back in Nov. 1876), to McSween's St. Louis bank account. The firm writes a letter to McSween the same day advising him of this movement.
July 20, 1877---The Jessie Evans Gang raids the Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency and makes off with several horses.
July 24, 1877---Tunstall is at Kansas City on his buying trip.
July 30, 1877---Dolan is at Santa Fe to bid for the government forage contracts of Fort Stanton. Bidding against him are Pat Coghlan and Willi Spiegelberg.
Late July (exact date unknown)---Charles Fritz and Emilie Fritz Scholand petition Probate Judge Florencio Gonzales for an order that the Fritz insurance money be paid to them immediately. McSween hears of this and advises Gonzales against it, saying that Charles Fritz will use it all to pay off his debts to Jas. J. Dolan & Co., and thereby not giving McSween his fee.
Early Aug. 1877 (exact dates unknown)---The construction of both the McSween house and the Tunstall store is completed. The Lincoln County Bank is established in the store, as are offices for the firm of McSween & Shield. John Chisum is appointed bank president, McSween is appointed vice president, and Tunstall (still away in Missouri) is appointed treasurer. Around the same time, Wyatt Earp claims that Doc Scurlock, Charlie Bowdre, Pat Garrett, James Carlyle, and Billy Wilson are at Dodge City, Kansas. This is in all likely hood false, and, it should be noted, that Earp is far from a reliable source.
Aug. 1, 1877---Florencio Gonzales writes a letter to Donnell, Lawson & Co. requesting that they transfer the money from the Fritz insurance policy to the First National Bank of Santa Fe to the order of Charles Fritz. However, on the same day McSween receives the letter from Donnell, Lawson & Co. informing him that the money from the Fritz insurance policy had been deposited in his St. Louis bank account. McSween petitions the court, asking for an audit of the books of Jas. J. Dolan & Co. in order to discover the value of the insurance money to the company. The court does this and appoints three examiners, namely, McSween, Morris Bernstein, and Juan Patron. McSween then petitions Gonzales, asking him to be released from his duties as a bondsman. McSween believes that if he hands over the money, it'll go directly to Dolan, since Charles Fritz is in debt to his company, and that Fritz and Scholand will never get their money. For this reason, McSween decides to wait until the next term of court, in January, to be given formal instructions on what to do with the money.
Aug. 5, 1877---Charlie Bowdre and Frank Freeman, both Jessie Evans Gang members, get drunk and begin shooting up Lincoln. Freeman ends up shooting another black soldier in a saloon, but the soldier recovers. The two badmen go to the newly completed McSween house, where John Chisum is currently visiting the McSweens, and threatens to burn it down if Chisum doesn't come out, when Sheriff Brady arrests them both. That night, Freeman manages to escape from jail, while Charlie posts $500 bond and is released.
Aug. 11, 1877---The Jessie Evans Gang again raids the Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency, making off with even more horses this time.
Aug. 14, 1877---The Grand Masonic Lodge is formed at Santa Fe. District Attorney William Rynerson is appointed deputy grand master, Thomas Catron is appointed grand lecturer, and S. B. Newcomb is appointed senior grand warden.
Aug. 15, 1877---Frank Freeman is tracked by a posse to Charlie Bowdre and Doc Scurlock's ranch. Freeman resists arrest and ends up being killed by the posse. Around this time, Charlie pretty much quits the Jessie Evans Gang. After being arrested and seeing his friend killed apparently convinces him to stop riding with Evans. Around the same time, John Tunstall departs Missouri on a return trip to Lincoln.
Aug. 17, 1877---Kid Antrim shows up at George Atkins's cantina at Fort Grant. While there, the local blacksmith, Frank 'Windy' Cahill, who had previously attached shackles the Kid's wrists and ankles, begins bullying him, as he has done several times before. Cahill calls the Kid a pimp, to which the Kid responds by calling Cahill a son-of-a-bitch. Cahill then jumps the Kid, knocking him to the ground, pinning him there, and slapping him. Since Cahill weighs around 200 pounds and Antrim weighs about 130 or so, the Kid has no chance in a fair fight. He manages to grab his pistol with his right hand and stick the barrel in Cahill's gut. Cahill straightens up, but because he doesn't get off of the Kid, the Kid shoots him. Cahill topples over and the Kid runs out of the cantina, mounts a horse that's not his, and rides away. Later, the Kid ends up sending the horse back to its rightful owner.
Aug. 18, 1877---Windy Cahill dies of his gut wound. A coroner jury doesn't rule the killing as self-defense, but as pure murder, and warrant is issued for the arrest of the Kid. However, by this time, Kid Antrim is heading back towards his old home of New Mexico.
Aug. 20, 1877---McSween has Roswell postmaster Marshall Ashmun 'Ash' Upson hold his and Tunstall's mail at the post office in Roswell, since he believes that Dolan will read their mail if they continue to get it at the House's post office.
Aug. 24, 1877---A rumor begins going around that the Jessie Evans Gang was ambushed by a posse, and Jessie, along with most of his gang, had been killed. The rumor is soon proven to be false.
Aug. 29, 1877---Dolan, still deep in debt to Tom Catron and the Santa Fe bank, borrows $1,000 from McSween (acting for Tunstall) at the Lincoln County Bank. On the same day, the Jessie Evans Gang yet again raids the Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency, making off with several government mules.
Early Sept. 1877 (exact date unknown)---William H. 'Billy' Bonney (the name Henry 'Kid' Antrim is now going by) arrives at Shedd's Ranch in La Mesilla, Dona Ana County. There, he meets up with Jessie Evans and joins his gang. Billy and Jessie end up becoming good friends and Billy keeps his nickname of 'the Kid.'
Sept. 3, 1877---Tunstall is at El Moro, New Mexico on his return trip to Lincoln.
Sept. 9, 1877---Jessie Evans Gang members Frank Baker and Ponciano Domingues rob a store at Colorado, New Mexico, killing one Benito Cruz in the process. Eighty-three-year-old store owner Chaffre Martinetti is badly beaten by Baker and Domingues as well and dies a few months later from this attack.
Sept. 15, 1877---Tunstall gets sick with a case of smallpox while at Las Vegas. He will be laid up there for a while before continuing on to Lincoln.

Sept. 17, 1877---Ash Upson is appointed a notary public at Roswell.
Sept. 18, 1877---The Jessie Evans Gang raids the Rio Ruidoso ranch of Dick Brewer, making off with several horses and mules belonging to Brewer, Tunstall and McSween. Since the gang targeted this particular ranch and stole only the horses belonging to these three, none of who were on good terms with Jas. J. Dolan & Co. (to say the least), it's almost certain that Dolan and Riley hired the gang to steal them. The gang apparently drives the horses to gang member Jim McDaniels's Dona Ana County ranch after the raid. Later that day, after discovering the horses have been stolen, Dick Brewer and friends/neighbors Charlie Bowdre and Doc Scurlock saddle up and go off in pursuit of the thieves. A short time later, Dick separates from Doc and Charlie and rides as fast as he can towards Las Cruces, in Dona Ana County. Doc and Charlie meanwhile continue to follow the trail of the thieves.
Sept. 19, 1877---Dick Brewer arrives at Las Cruces and meets with Sheriff Mariano Barela. Dick asks Barela to issue warrants for the arrest of the gang members and/or to help him go after the thieves, but Barela, being a member of the gang himself, refuses to go. Dick, angry over Barela's unwillingness to help, decides to stay in Las Cruces and wait for Doc and Charlie to meet him there.
Sept. 21, 1877---Doc and Charlie arrive in Las Cruces and meet up with Dick. They tell him that they've discovered that the Jessie Evans Gang, and the stolen horses, are at Shedd's Ranch, not too far away. All three men then ride to Shedd's Ranch. At the ranch, Dick confronts Jessie by walking right up to him and demanding to have the horses back. Jessie laughs it off, but is amused by Dick's courage. He then offers to give Dick his own horses back, but won't surrender Tunstall's or McSween's. Dick then tells him that if he can't have them all, he (Jessie) can keep them and 'go to Hell.' Dick, Doc, and Charlie then ride off towards Lincoln, without reacquiring a single horse. On the way, the three encounter Rob Widenmann, who is himself on his way to Las Cruces to try to get the stolen horses back.
Sept. 22, 1877---Rob Widenmann arrives in Las Cruces and meets with Jessie Evans. Jessie also refuses to give Widenmann the stolen horses. Angry, but severely outnumbered, Widenmann has no choice but to turn back. Later that day, the Jessie Evans Gang leaves Shedd's Ranch and heads west.
Sept. 27, 1877---The Jessie Evans Gang steal some horses at Santa Barbara, then head for Mule Springs. They leave Santa Barbara with a six-man posse at their heals, which ends up catching up with them a short time later. However, the posse is greatly out numbered and out gunned and is forced to turn back. The gang continues on west, stealing another horse on the way. Billy Bonney is identified as riding with the gang.
Late Sept. 1877 (exact date unknown)---Riding west, the Jessie Evans Gang disposes of the horses belonging to Tunstall, Brewer, and McSween, possibly by selling them to the Clanton Gang. The gang then steals some more horses and begins riding back east, towards the Seven Rivers area.
Oct. 3, 1877---The Evans Gang exchange shots with rancher George Williams at his Warm Springs ranch. No one is hurt in the gunfight and the gang soon moves on. Later the same day, the gang steals some more horses and unsuccessfully attempts to rob a stagecoach. The gang then continues to head east.
Oct. 8, 1877---The Evans Gang pass through La Mesilla and arrive at Shedd's Ranch on their way back to Seven Rivers. While passing through La Mesilla, Billy Bonney steals a race horse belonging to the daughter of Sheriff Mariano Barela. The rest of the gang doesn't immediately know who the horse belongs to, but they soon find out and Billy is believed to leave the gang at Mesilla after Jessie himself expresses his anger over Billy stealing Barela's horse. Only one other gang member sticks with Billy, namely Tom O'Keefe.
Oct. 9, 1877---McSween files on 3,840 acres of land on the Rio Feliz on Tunstall's behalf. The same day, Jessie Evans and his gang arrive at Tularosa, get drunk, and begin shooting up the town. Later in the day, they move on and arrive at the Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency late that afternoon. There, the gang steals supplies then moves on. Around dusk, the gang sets up camp near the summit of the Sacramento Mountains. In the early evening hours, Johnny Riley and Jim Longwell (a employee of the House) arrive at the camp site as well. Throughout the night, the gang, Riley, and Longwell 'compare notes' and discuss much of their 'upcoming plans.' At some point during the night, Jessie himself congratulates his men on a 'job well done.' This meeting between the Jessie Evans Gang and Riley and Longwell seems to prove beyond any doubt that Jas. J. Dolan & Co. most certainly hired the gang to steal the horses of Tunstall, McSween, and Brewer. At the very least, it proves that Dolan and Riley have a close association with the gang.
Oct. 10, 1877---In the morning, the Evans Gang splits up into several parties. Some of the gang, including Jessie himself, continue on towards Seven Rivers. Others travel back to Tularosa. Probably on the same day, Billy Bonney and Tom O'Keefe leave La Mesilla and head east. They may have left due to Sheriff Barela finding out that Billy is the one who stole his daughter's race horse. It's possible the duo heads east because they hope to meet back up with the Evans Gang. That night, while riding through the Guadalupe Mountains, the pair is attacked by Apaches. Billy and O'Keefe separate and Billy runs for a river bank, where he hides in the surrounding brush. A short time later, after Billy no longer hears the Apaches, he comes out of his hiding place and discovers his horse, all of his supplies (except his canteen, which he had on him at the time of the attack), and O'Keefe are gone. Billy then has no choice but to continue to head east, but now must walk on foot. Sources differ on what happened to O'Keefe. Some say he was killed by the Apaches and never seen again. Others say he found his way back to La Mesilla.
Oct. 12, 1877---Jessie Evans and gang members Tom Hill, Frank Baker, and Dolly Graham/George Davis arrive at the Beckwith ranch in Seven Rivers. Alex McSween, in Lincoln, hears of this and meets with Sheriff Brady. McSween orders Brady to appoint Dick Brewer a deputy sheriff so he can go arrest the outlaws. Reluctantly, Brady complies and deputizes Dick. Dick immediately rounds up a posse of fifteen men, including Charlie Bowdre and Doc Scurlock, and prepares to leave for the Beckwith ranch. Just before leaving, Dick asks Brady to come along with the posse. Not wanting to look usurped by Dick, Brady reluctantly agrees to go along, although he is in cohoots with the gang. On the way to the Beckwith ranch, Brady proclaims that he's going to turn back to Lincoln. Dick, however, says he's going to continue on, by himself if need be. The other fifteen members of the posse all decide to go with Dick and Brady, thoroughly shamed and probably not wanting his association with the gang to become more obvious than it already is, also decides to continue on to the Beckwiths'.
Oct. 13, 1877---Billy Bonney, exhausted and in bad shape from three days of walking through the desert, arrives at the Seven Rivers house of the Jones family. Barbara Jones, the mother of the Jones boys (who are Seven Rivers Warriors), called 'Ma'am Jones of the Pecos,' brings Billy into her house, feeds him, cleans his sores and wounds, dresses him, and puts him to bed.
Oct. 14, 1877---Tunstall arrives back in Lincoln from Las Vegas. There, McSween brings him up to speed on the recent events, most notably the theft of his horses and mules by the Evans Gang and the fact that McSween filed on 3,840 additional acres of land on the Rio Feliz for Tunstall. McSween also informs Tunstall that he and his brother-in-law David Shield are now partners in a law firm and are keeping their offices in Tunstall's store. Early in the morning of the same day, Billy awakes at the Jones place and feels much better than he did the night before. He tells the Jones family of the attack he suffered at the hands of the Apaches and for the next several days, he works around the ranch and the house, helping with all he can. He also plays with the little Jones children and allegedly practices his shooting skills with the oldest Jones boy, John, with whom he quickly becomes good friends.
Oct. 15, 1877---John Chisum sends an order to Tunstall in Lincoln requesting several supplies from his not-yet-opened for business store. Tunstall begins putting together the supplies that Chisum requested and plans to travel to Chisum's South Spring ranch with the supplies in a few days. This makes Chisum the first customer of Tunstall's store.
Oct. 17, 1877---Before dawn, Dick Brewer and his posse (still including Sheriff Brady) arrive at the Beckwith ranch, where Jessie Evans, Tom Hill, Frank Baker, and George Davis/Dolly Graham are holed up inside a well-armed choza. The posse surrounds the choza, and at dawn, when the outlaws awake, they begin shooting at the posse through windows and portholes. The posse returns fire and several hundred shots are fired in total. According to Jessie, he was intent on killing Dick and fired three shots at him, each bullet missing him by only a few inches. The shooting eventually stops when it becomes clear that no one on either side has been hit. A standoff begins, with the outlaws refusing to exit the choza. However, some of the posse members who know the outlaws shout out that if they surrender, they will not by harmed or lynched. The outlaws apparently believe whoever said this (possibly Brady, Charlie Bowdre, and/or Doc Scurlock) and exit the choza with their hands up. All four are then disarmed, arrested, and put on horses. The posse with their new prisoners then begin riding back up the Pecos towards Lincoln. Billy Bonney is believed to still be at the Jones ranch a short distance away from the Beckwith ranch.
Oct. 18, 1877---Tunstall, driving a wagon, leaves Lincoln for Chisum's South Spring ranch. The wagon is loaded with the supplies Chisum requested.
Oct. 19, 1877---On his way to the Chisum ranch, Tunstall crosses paths with Dick Brewer, his posse, and the four captured outlaws. Tunstall shakes hands with Dick and most of the posse, then he and Dick begin joking about things. Jessie Evans then exclaims that Tunstall doesn't know if the posse has got the outlaws, or if the outlaws have got the posse. Tom Hill then asks Tunstall if he has any whiskey, to which Tunstall replies that he has very little. Tunstall then offers to meet the outlaws in Lincoln once they're in jail and to give them some whiskey. Hill accepts the offer. The posse, with the outlaws, then moves on, while Dick stays behind to bring Tunstall up on current events. Afterwards, Dick catches up with his posse and Tunstall proceeds on to the Chisum ranch.
Oct. 20, 1877---The Brewer posse throw Jessie Evans, Frank Baker, Tom Hill, and George Davis/Dolly Graham in the dungeon-like jail in Lincoln. The four outlaws have the opinion that they are very sure they won't be in the jail for long.
Late Oct. 1877 (exact dates unknown)---Billy Bonney leaves the Jones ranch and heads up to Lincoln, where he meets Sheriff Brady. Brady, feeling sorry for Billy, gives him a job working on his ranch east of Lincoln. After working there for only a few days, Billy quits and heads back to the Seven Rivers area, where he gets a job working on a Jas. J. Dolan & Co.-owned cattle camp, of which Billy 'Buck' Morton is the foreman. While working at the camp, Billy meets the Casey family and stays with them. Billy is soon fired by Morton for having taken a liking to Morton's girlfriend. Billy is bitter over his dismissal. He then follows the Rio Pecos north and may have acquired a very brief job working as a cowboy on the Chisum ranch. He soon after arrives at the Rio Ruidoso ranch of George Coe, who gives him a job and lets him stay there as well. George and Billy soon become close friends, and Billy also gets reacquainted with George's neighbors, Doc Scurlock and Charlie Bowdre. He also meets and befriends George's other neighbor, Dick Brewer, and George's cousins who visit frequently, Frank Coe and Ab Saunders. According to George, he, Billy, Frank, and others go hunting often and notice Billy's prowess with a gun.
Oct. 25, 1877 (approx.)---Dick Brewer hires John Middleton as a ranch-hand and gunman for the Tunstall Rio Feliz ranch.
Oct. 27, 1877---In the morning, the widow Ellen Casey has some Texas cowboys go to the Tunstall ranch and steal back all 209 head of her cattle that she lost at auction to Tunstall and McSween. The Caseys are planning to leave New Mexico behind and head for Texas. Around the same time, Tunstall and Brewer visit Jessie Evans, Tom Hill, Frank Baker, and George Davis/Dolly Graham at the Lincoln jail. The four outlaws joke (?) and say they sold Tunstall's mules to a priest in Mexico. Angry, Tunstall and Brewer leave, but apparently, true to his word, Tunstall sends a bottle of whiskey to the outlaws later in the day. Also later in the day, Tunstall and Brewer discover that the widow Casey stole all of Tunstall's cattle and is heading for Texas. Dick forms another posse that's made up of John Middleton, Fred Waite, Doc Scurlock, Charlie Bowdre, Rob Widenmann, and others. Tunstall himself supplies brand new carbines to each of the posse members. The posse then leaves Lincoln and goes off on the trail of the Caseys. After traveling several miles, Dick and another member of the posse realize they need fresh horses, so they depart from the rest of the posse to acquire some. Middleton then takes command of the posse and they press on after the Caseys. Just before reaching the Texas border, the posse encounters the Caseys and their large herd of cattle. Middleton demands 209 head of the cattle and Ellen gives them to him, probably out of fear. The posse then drives the cattle back to the Rio Feliz ranch, while the Caseys for some reason return back to their own Rio Hondo ranch.
Oct. 30, 1877 (approx.)---The Tunstall store opens for business in Lincoln, with Samuel R. Corbet serving as manager and clerk and David Shield's teenage boys working there as well. Now, the store, the bank, and the offices of McSween & Shield are all set up in the fort-like building. Tunstall also keeps a bedroom in the back of the store for him when he stays in Lincoln. After being opened for only a short time, the Tunstall store begins taking business away from the House, causing Jimmy Dolan to lose even more money, something he can't afford to let happen.
Nov. 1, 1877---In La Mesilla, John Kinney shoots and kills one Ysable Barela. Kinney and his gang then flee for Silver City, in Grant County.

Nov. 7, 1877---A drunken Sheriff Brady enters the Tunstall store and begins accusing him of giving credit for the arrest of the members of the Evans Gang to Dick Brewer rather than himself. Brady goes on to call Tunstall a fool, and Tunstall does the same to him. Brady then accuses Tunstall of trying to help Evans, Hill, Baker, and Davis/Graham escape from jail. Tunstall takes offense to this and states that Brady knows full well that the outlaws have cut holes in the logs over their heads and have filed down their shackles, but has done nothing about it. Brady then begins to pull his pistol, but McSween, who is also present, restrains him, saying that it wouldn�t look very good for the sheriff to kill and unarmed man. Brady apparently agrees and holsters his pistol. As he leaves, he tells Tunstall that he won't be sheriff forever and Tunstall doesn't have long to run.
Nov. 16, 1877---At dawn, a party led by Dick Lloyd and Andy Boyle and made up of around thirty Jessie Evans Gang members and Seven Rivers Warriors ride into Lincoln and to the jail. They break down the door of the jail and break out Jessie Evans, Tom Hill, Frank Baker, George Davis/Dolly Graham, and Lucas Gallegos, who is not involved with the gang but was in jail for another reason. The large party then rides to Dick Brewer's ranch, where they steal eight of Tunstall's horses. They tell the cook at the ranch that they are sorry to have to steal the horses, but that they need them, and they'll never again steal from Tunstall. The party then heads for the Beckwith ranch in Seven Rivers. Some have claimed that Billy Bonney was in the group of liberators, but this is unlikely. It's also been claimed that Tunstall helped to liberate the outlaws, but this is also very unlikely. The party's comment that they would never steal from Tunstall again was probably a way for them to cast unfounded suspicion on their enemy.
Late Nov. 1877---Dick Brewer hires Billy Bonney as a cowboy and gunman for Tunstall's Rio Feliz ranch. Brewer had recently arrested Billy at Seven Rivers when he'd heard that Billy was a former member of the Jessie Evans Gang and had possibly taken part in the theft of his, Tunstall's, and McSween's horses. Brewer had taken Billy to Lincoln and had Brady put him in the jail there. After being imprisoned for a few days, Tunstall himself visited Billy and the two talked, with Billy apparently convincing Tunstall that he didn't know the whereabouts of his horses. The conversation ended with Billy agreeing to go to work for Tunstall if he agreed to allow him to be released from jail. Tunstall did this, and immediately afterwards, Brewer hired him. At Tunstall's ranch, Billy becomes good friends with fellow cowboy Fred Waite and, allegedly, the two plan to start their own ranch eventually. Around the same time it's believed that Old John Chisum sends one of his cowboys, Henry Brown, to go work on the Rio Feliz ranch and to serve as a bodyguard for Tunstall and/or McSween.
Dec. 4, 1877---McSween deeds the east wing of his U shaped house to Elizabeth Shield.
Dec. 7, 1877---Charles Fritz files a petition with the Lincoln County Probate Court requesting that McSween be ordered to pay the insurance money owed to him. It's believed that Fritz did this under the influence of Jimmy Dolan. Tom Catron, head of the Santa Fe Ring, had recently thought up a grand scheme to get McSween and Tunstall, told Dolan the plan, and Fritz's filing a petition is the first step of his plan.
Mid Dec. 1877 (exact date unknown)---Alex and Susan McSween plan to take a trip to St. Louis, Missouri and vacation there for a few months. John Chisum plans to accompany them to St. Louis because he has matters to discuss with the Hunter & Evans firm. McSween plans to give Charles Fritz the insurance money before he leaves, and writes a letter to Fritz telling him this. When Dolan hears of this, he writes a letter to Fritz as well, telling him not to accept the insurance money from McSween. Dumbfounded, Fritz follows Dolan's advice and doesn't accept the money from McSween, but tells him to hold on to it.
Dec. 18, 1877---The McSweens leave Lincoln and head towards Anton Chico, where they are to meet with Chisum before moving on to St. Louis.
Dec. 21, 1877---Dolan, knowing that the McSweens are leaving the territory, races to the home of Emilie Fritz Scholand in La Mesilla and tells her that McSween is leaving the territory with her money permanently. He prompts her to sign an affidavit stating that McSween embezzled her money. Dolan and his friend District Attorney William Rynerson immediately telegraph Tom Catron in Santa Fe, who says he'll swear out a warrant for McSween's arrest based on Scholand's affidavit. Catron then telegraphs Sheriff Desiderio Romero of San Miguel County (the county Las Vegas is in) and tells him to hold the McSween party when they arrive in Vegas. Of course, if the warrant for McSween's arrest doesn't arrive before McSween does, it will be illegal for McSween to be arrested. Catron knows this, but it doesn't matter to him. This is all part of Catron's devious plan for Tunstall and McSween.
Dec. 24, 1877---Alex and Sue McSween and John Chisum are arrested by a posse just outside of Las Vegas. The party is then brought back to Vegas, where McSween and Chisum are thrown in jail (Chisum is being held on other charges). The warrant for McSween's arrest has not yet arrived in Vegas from Santa Fe, so the arrest is illegal. Sheriff Romero decides to wait forty-eight hours for the warrant to arrive. If it doesn't arrive within that time, he's going to release McSween.
Dec. 26, 1877---The warrant doesn't arrive in Las Vegas and Sheriff Romero lets the McSweens and Chisum leave. Shortly after the party leaves, the warrant does arrive in Vegas, and Romero sends a posse out to go after them again. A few miles outside of Vegas, the posse finds the party and McSween and Chisum are arrested again. Sue McSween is allowed to go free and she continues on to St. Louis by herself. McSween and Chisum are taken back to Vegas and are again thrown in jail.
Early Jan. 1878 (exact dates unknown)---Federal warrants are issued for the arrest of Jessie Evans and some of his gang for their theft of government mules from the Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency back in Aug. 1877. U. S. Marshal John Sherman for some unknown reason appoints Rob Widenmann a deputy marshal and hands him the warrants for the arrest of the Evans Gang.
Jan. 4, 1878---McSween is ordered for arraignment at La Mesilla. He leaves Vegas for Mesilla in the care of Vegas deputies Adolph P. Barrier and Antonio Campos. McSween plans to stop at Lincoln on the way to La Mesilla. Chisum is left in the Vegas jail. On the same day, the Jessie Evans Gang raids the Lloyd ranch on the Rio Mimbres. The gang makes off with several horses, but Jessie is shot in the groin during the raid. The wound is not serious, but Jessie can't ride on a horse for a while.
Jan. 9, 1878---McSween, Deputy Barrier, and Deputy Campos arrive in Lincoln. Word gets to Lincoln that La Mesilla's judge, Warren Bristol, is seriously ill at La Mesilla and cannot be at the courthouse for McSween's arraignment. For the time being then, McSween remains at his house under house arrest. Deputy Barrier continues to stay with McSween at his house, but Deputy Campos returns to Las Vegas.
Jan. 12, 1878---Dolan and Riley mortgage the House and everything else belonging to Jas. J. Dolan & Co. to Tom Catron and the First National Bank of Santa Fe.
Jan. 17, 1878---Tunstall writes a letter to the Mesilla Valley Independent accusing Sheriff Brady of embezzling $1, 545.13 worth of McSween's tax money. His letter is published by the Independent. Dolan is furious when he hears of this and writes a rebuttal.
Jan. 19, 1878---Judge Bristol is still very sick at La Mesilla and is laid up in bed.
Jan. 21, 1878---McSween, accompanied by Tunstall, David Shield, Deputy Adolph Barrier, and John B. 'Green' Wilson leave Lincoln for La Mesilla, where Wilson has business of his own to attend to. Dolan leaves for La Mesilla as well, accompanied by Charles Fritz, James Longwell, and several members of the Jessie Evans Gang. Jessie himself needs to ride in a wagon due to his groin wound.
Jan. 26, 1878---The McSween party arrives in La Mesilla. Dolan's party arrives around the same time and sets up camp at Shedd's Ranch.
Jan. 27, 1878---The Rudabaugh-Roarke Gang of rustlers (which is composed of Dirty Dave Rudabaugh, Mike Roarke, Dan Dement, Tom Golt, J. D. Green, and Edgar West) fails in their first attempt to rob a train near the small town of Kinsley, Kansas. The gang ends up having to flee the train without a dollar's worth of loot (although Dirty Dave does steal a nice coat from a passenger on the train).
Jan. 28, 1878---Dirty Dave Rudabaugh and Edgar West are arrested by Bat Masterson and a small posse for attempted train robbery.
Late Jan. 1878 (exact date unknown)---Dolan confronts Tunstall in La Mesilla and tries to goad the Englishman into a fight by calling him names. Tunstall, however, doesn't fight, angering Dolan further.
Feb. 2, 1878---Due to the fact that Judge Bristol is still sick at his home, McSween's preliminary hearing is held at Bristol's house. William Rynerson serves as the prosecution at the hearing, and, according to Deputy Barrier, throughout the hearing both Rynerson and Bristol insult McSween and show they are partisan to Dolan. It's decided that additional evidence is needed before McSween can go to trial.
Feb. 4, 1878---McSween's hearing is concluded at Bristol's house. McSween is bound over to the April term of court and his bail is set at $8,000. Rynerson, however, refuses to accept the $8,000 when it's offered. Deputy Barrier is given instructions to escort McSween back to Lincoln and to hand him over to Sheriff Brady when they get there.
Feb. 5, 1878---McSween, Tunstall, David Shield, Deputy Barrier, and John Wilson leave La Mesilla on their return trip to Lincoln. They reach Shedd's Ranch that night and set up camp. The Dolan party is still camped at Shedd's Ranch as well.
Feb. 6, 1878---Early in the morning, Dolan and Jessie Evans approach Tunstall and Dolan again tries to get Tunstall to fight. When Tunstall again refuses to fight, Dolan pulls out his Winchester rifle and is about to shoot Tunstall when Deputy Barrier steps in-between the two men and orders Dolan away. Dolan, angrier than ever, leaves Shedd's Ranch with his party and heads back to La Mesilla. At Mesilla, using affidavits from Emilie Fritz Scholand and Charles Fritz, Dolan, Bristol, and Rynerson work feverishly to issue a writ of attachment of $10,000 worth of McSween's property. The $10,000 figure is taken from the amount of the Emil Fritz insurance policy that McSween is accused of embezzling. However, by this time, only $7,148.46 of the insurance money actually remains. And, to top it off, McSween himself was owed a total of $5,115.50 for his services in the insurance matter, leaving only $2,032.96 of the insurance money left. So, basically, even if McSween had embezzled the money, he only embezzled around $2,000 of it, not the $10,000 it was originally worth.
Feb. 7, 1878---Bristol issues the $10,000 writ of attachment on McSween's property. After the writ is issued, Bristol gives it to Dolan, Tom Hill, Jessie Evans, and Frank Baker, who ride as fast as they can to Lincoln, bypassing the McSween party that is also on its way to Lincoln. Dolan wants to give the writ to Sheriff Brady as fast as he can so Brady can start attaching the property before McSween or Tunstall know what's going on. The real goal of this was not to get McSween's property, but Tunstall's. According to Bristol, Dolan, and Rynerson, McSween and Tunstall testified at the hearing that they were co-partners in the store business and in Tunstall's Rio Feliz ranch. Technically, however, they were not actually partners. David Shield, Deputy Barrier, and McSween said that neither McSween nor Tunstall ever testified they were partners, and Tunstall and McSween would have no reason to say they were. Deputy Barrier would likewise have no reason to lie for McSween and Tunstall if they actually had testified they were partners. Dolan, Rynerson, and Bristol did have a reason to lie and say that Tunstall said they were partners: that way, they could attach Tunstall's property as well. This was Tom Catron's plan from the very beginning.