From "The Plain Dealer" 1898, December 22, there is an article about the body of John White discovered in an old well. "The Plain Dealer" stated in an article on December 29, 1898 that (Norman)..." Newman was captured at Cheyene City Friday..."
We were having a discussion on James Wright's board about The killing of one "Reed"
at W.W. Cox's San Agustin ranch in the Organ mountains of New Mexico, October 1899.
“Neither Garrett, Espalin, Blaylock or Smith ever collected the reward money. When the body of the man killed at Cox’s ranch reached Oklahoma, the authorities there refused to pay the reward offered for Newman. In the minds of many New Mexicans this raised a question—a question which will now probably never be answered: Was the man killed at the Cox ranch in October, 1899, indeed Norman Newman, the Oklahoma killer?”
This is the question posted. None of us have the answer. Was Reed identified as Norman Newman? Can/Will y'all please help us out, either on the "Oklahombres" board, or James's board: (or both boards!)
http://disc.server.com/Indices/206425.html

where I'd love to see any of your group post!
Thanks a million. Martha.

There are three of us "hooked" on this story, & still searching. At the risk of being anoying, I thought I'd post everything we have, which isn't much. If anyone knows anything, we'll gladly read it on Oklahombres! Thanks, y'all, Martha.
Two Forgotten Killings, part two

by Robert N. Mullin.

“The Last – 1899
“The last killing in which Pat Garrett was named took place the first week in October, 1899, at W.W. Cox’s San Augustin ranch in the Organ Mountains of New Mexico, slightly more than eight years before Garrett himself was killed.

"It all started one day some months before when Mr. Cox was branding calves in the old rock corral near the springs. Bill McCall was roping and tieing (sic); Jim Heston was marking; Mr. Cox was direction operations and lending a hand to the others when necessary. A dust covered rider on a weary horse rode up to the corral, observed the proceedings briefly and then, without a word, jumped over the fence and pitched in to help.

“The stranger was a wiry fellow of not more than medium height, who looked to the others to be about twenty years old. (Mrs. Irene Cravens McNelly told this writer that as a young girl, she, as a visitor at the Cox home, was present when the stranger was killed, and that he looked to be about sixteen years of age. Newspaper accounts of his death estimated his age as twenty-three. Bill McCall, who was working in the corral when the stranger arrived, told Mr. Jim Cox and this writer that the newcomer appeared to be not more than twenty years old.) When the branding was finished, the young man told Mr. Cox that his name was Reed and that he was looking for work. W.W. Cox was known for never refusing a helping hand and, though he needed no more ranch hands at the time, he told Reed he could go to work around the house. Mrs. Cox was expecting a baby and could use some extra help in the housework. Besides, Mr. Cox was impressed with the cut of the young fellow’s jib.

“During the two or three months he was at the Cox ranch, Reed did his work well and minded his own business. Employees at the ranch wondered why a fellow who’d obviously had experience with cattle, was content to work as a houseboy, but he seemed content with his job, and they asked him no questions.

“Meanwhile, officials in Greer county, Oklahoma, were looking for one Norman Newman, charged with robbing and murdering his partner and hiding the body in a ‘shallows,’ in November, 1898. Attracted by the substantial reward offered, many men were on the lookout for Newman. One of these, J.B. Smith of Amarillo, Texas, picked up a rumor that Newman was hiding out in Dona Ana county, New Mexico. Proceeding to Las Cruces in September, ostensibly ‘looking for grass,’ he secretly interest Sheriff Pat Garrett in the search. Garrett recalled that a stranger answering Newman’s general description was employed at the Cox home.

“Sheriff Blaylock of Greer county was notified and arrived in short order. Although one local account names Smith as accompanying Garrett when he went to apprehend the suspect, it was Blaylock, according to newspaper reports, who went with the sheriff and deputy Jose Espalin to the Cox ranch on October 7th.

“Espalin rode horseback, while Garrett and his companion drove the sheriff’s buckboard out the old dirt road through Alameda canyon and across the San Augustin ‘saddle’ to the Cox ranch, some 27 miles distant. Mr. Cox was absent in Old Mexico at the time, and the other men folk were all away from the ranch house when the Garrett party approached. Espalin’s horse and the buckboard were left behind a rise in the ground, well out of sight of the house, as Garrett and Espalin went forth to reconnoiter. Their companion did not accompany them.

“After carefully looking over the ground, the two men entered the gate in the high adobe wall which enclosed the patio and the west side of the house. Crossing the patio with guns drawn, they entered the open door of the kitchen. Reed was washing dishes and Mrs. Cox was busy nearby.

“At Garrett’s command, ‘Throw up your hands or I’ll kill you,’ Reed whirled as if to escape, and was knocked down by a pistol blow on the head. As the officers were trying to handcuff the prostrate man, the noise of the struggle aroused A.B. Fall’s pet bulldog which had been sleeping on the porch outside. Jumping through the open French window, the dog sprang to attack the intruders. As they were fending off the dog’s attack, Reed made a dash for the door leading to the ‘butcher shop,’ a kind of roofed-over breezeway where fresh meat was hung. The ‘butcher shop’ connected the main building with a small wing which housed the ranch commissary—where a pistol usually reposed on a shelf behind the counter.

“Reed never made it. Two shots rang out almost simultaneously. One missed, lodging in the wall just to the right of the door. The other found its mark.

“Reed’s body was placed on the bed of the sheriff’s small buckboard, the head resting under the seat and the lower legs dangling behind. Here a gruesome touch was added. When the party reached Las Cruces it was discovered that the dead man’s feet and lower legs had been badly cut and bruised by the ridges of the high center road.

“On October 9th the coroner held an inquest at Las Cruces. Significantly, this was the day after sheriff Blaylock had taken the body to El Paso for embalming and shipment back to Oklahoma. The question of whether the fatal bullet had been fired by Garrett or by Espalin was settled, at least for the official record, when the deputy assumed the blame. No charges were filed against either man.

“Neither Garrett, Espalin, Blaylock or Smith ever collected the reward money. When the body of the man killed at Cox’s ranch reached Oklahoma, the authorities there refused to pay the reward offered for Newman. In the minds of many New Mexicans this raised a question—a question which will now probably never be answered: Was the man killed at the Cox ranch in October, 1899, indeed Norman Newman, the Oklahoma killer?”

____________________________

Probably not and whether or not he was, the manner in which Garrett and/or Espalin killed him without first identifying whom they were shooting was unjustifiable homicide. There can be little doubt that Garrett was shooting at Reed. Besides, since Garrett was the sheriff and Espalin only a deputy, Garrett was aiding, abetting and inciting. According to New Mexico’s law, that constituted first degree murder.

Betty Jay
Old Greer Co. OK - From the Plain Dealer - 1898

DECEMBER 22, 1898
The body of John White, aged about twenty four was discovered in
an old well on Louis Ealum's claim just across Salt Fork west of town,
Wednesday morning. He and a young man by the name of John Newman had
been living together on the claim during the past winter and up to the
time White was missed about six weeks ago. Newman and White made a trip
to Quanah about six weeks ago. Newman returned to the claim near
Victory, but was not accompanied by White. The neighbors asked Newman
the where abouts of the missing man and he replied that White had gone
down in Texas to visit relatives, but this story has been blotted out by
freighters who say they saw Newman and White camped together at night on
their return trip. From all stories gleaned White was killed on the
return home trip. Newman, after staying in the community several weeks
departed one day last week for the Cheyenne country and would remain
over Saturday night in Mangum. Neighbors thought is wise to search the
place which they did coming cross this well freshly covered with dirt.
They had only dug down a few feet when the body was discovered, and
wagon tracks near the well leading to the feed lot were found. The body
was removed from the well and the coroner immediately summoned, but as
we go to press no inquest has been held and as the remains were in such
a horrible condition it could not be definitely told whether he was shot
or not only for the blood that appeared on the blankets the dead man was
wrapped in. It is thought White was killed for money. Newman left a
bad record in the Cheyenne country. The Sheriff and posse are in hot
pursuit of Newman and if captured a warm reception may be tendered him



DECEMBER 29, 1898

We were misinformed as to Newman's surname. He is Norman Newman
instead of John. The inquest was held over White's body late Thursday
evening and it was found he came to his death by a blow on the head over
the right ear administered by an ax or blunt instrument of some kind.
White was buried in Victory cemetery Friday. Newman was captured at
Cheyenne City Friday while engaged in a game of cards in a gambling
house. Sheriff Overton, of Mangum, walked into the gambling house and
threw down two guns in Newman's face and ordered to go with him, which
he did after cashing in his chips. Overton lodged him in jail at Mangum
Saturday. Not a word of what his arrest was for was told Newman until
he was safely caged in the jail when the narrative was related to him.
He wilted to some extent and claims his innocence of the crime. The
case is expected to be a knotty one and is looked forward to with much
interest.
another Newman

Aug. 2, 1899, Mangum Star
A. West shot and killed L. Newman, in SW Greer County, Sunday.
Partners in cattle, conducted a large ranch.
Family trouble - improper overtures to the wife of West. (Third attempt)

http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ifetch2?/u1/data/ok+index+1104364340100+F

http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ifetch2?/u1/data/ok+index+1047159715167+F

Another Newman:

Today in Old West History
June

June 9
1898- Coleman, Texas- Texas cowboy Pierce Keaton fell in with Bud Newman and Bill and Jeff Taylor, who had been robbing banks and trains in Texas. Keaton participated in several robberies, and on this date he, the Taylor brothers, and Newman stopped a train outside of Coleman, Texas. Lawmen who were on the train, as well as armed crewmembers, put up a fierce fight; Newman was wounded in the arm and Keaton in the leg. Keaton fired a wild shot when he was struck by a bullet; this wounded fireman Lee Johnson, who died a few hours later. The outlaws fled on horseback, but a posse tracked them down four hours later, capturing all but Jeff Taylor. Bud Newman and Bill Taylor were given lengthy prison terms. Keaton was convicted of killing Johnson and sent to prison for life. Pierce Keaton was paroled in 1915, and he later settled in Bisbee, Ariz., where he died in 1931.


Who were these Newmans? Thanks, Martha.

Here is a link to the Bud Newman story.

http://www.geocities.com/rkubacka/edwards/edpst.html


Edwards County Memories
Home

Historic Markers

Cemeteries

Scrapbook

Bibliography

Links
Guestbook
Pioneering in Southwest Texas
by Frank Gray

Chapters 29 & 30. Pictures included.
Thanks y'all, still looking for "Norman. Martha

I'm still looking for Norman Newman. I'm not in any hurry! I haven't "had much luck" trying to find particular old newspapers.
I did find where a Ben Newman was pardoned in 1902, on the following site. Have no clue if he was related to Norman. Thanks, Martha.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~oklawmen/clippings/pardons2.htm

Citizenship Pardons Granted in 1902

Ben Newman Larceny Pawnee County Lansing 12-1901 10-31-1902

http://www.zianet.com/sunny/html/51.html

According to Rob Cox, "Reed" who was killed at W.W. Cox's San Agustine ranch was the wrong man.
_______________________________________________
COX TRADITIONS INCLUDE TALES AND CHILE TREATS - Sunny visits the historic San Augustin Ranch, where Rob and Murnie Cox share Wild West tales and homemade chile fare.

- Frontier Texas was a haven for gangsters.
- W.W. Cox lived in a cave and became a sheepherder.
- San Augustin Ranch is purchased on credit
- Grandson Rob Cox purchases ranch.
- Sheriff Pat Garrett makes an unexpected visit.
- Rob meets Murnie and falls in love - not only with Murnie - but with her wilted salad.
- The future of the San Augustin Ranch lays with J.R.
- Murnie Cox's Jalapeno Hot Cheese Grits

In the late 1800s, frontier Texas was a haven for gangsters, chief among them John Wesley Harden. U.S. Marshal J. W. Cox was hot on his trail when Harden's gang outwitted Cox, killing the lawman and his deputy in 1873. Cox's ten-year-old son W.W. discovered their bullet-pierced bodies in the desert near his Dewitt County home. And perhaps to leave the sad place behind, W.W. journeyed west ten years later in a covered wagon to start a new life with his wife and newborn. The Cox's became sheepherders, living in a cave at the southern point of the San Andres Mountains, not far from where W. W.'s grandson Robert "Rob" C. Cox, 76, lives today on the San Augustin Ranch.

"It was kinda tough traveling that stretch (from Texas to New Mexico). No roads, and no nothing, and it took many days," says rancher Rob, a handsome, well-built cowboy who still wears a Stetson, old worn Levis, and cowhide boots.


"Granddad and 'Gammy' lived in the cave for four years and when the [San Augustin] ranch was put up for sale, they bought it on credit and changed from sheep to cattle. And we've had cattle every since," he said, sipping cowboy coffee in his favorite chair in the ranch house that once served as a fortress to ward off renegade Apaches.

Over the years, says Rob, his grandfather procured adjacent property that included homesteads and railroad lands. By 1910, W.W. ranched 150,000 acres and he and his wife had 10 children. The rambling home bears three foot thick mud walls enclosing 15 rooms reinforced by vigas - heavy wooden ceiling beams. The dwelling now sets on a 15,000-acre desert spread where tumbleweeds toss over creosote and cacti and coyote and lions roam freely amid the Organ Mountain foothills. (In 1945, the United States government expropriated much of the Cox land for the White Sands Missile Range.)


Visiting Rob Cox and his sprightly petite wife Murnie at the San Augustin Ranch is always a memorable occasion that predictably includes one of Rob's storytelling sessions and Murnie's homemade treats: Colossal size peanut butter cookies and on my last visit, chin-dripping fried tacos stuffed with bits of ground beef topped with a tongue-tinglin' green chile laden sauce that Murnie and a friend can annually.

During one visit, Rob recounts his father's story of the morning Sheriff Pat Garrett, then notorious after dispatching gunslinger Billy the Kid, appeared unexpectedly at the ranch. "Dad was only three or four years, maybe five years old at the time, but he remembered it clearly. He must have told me the story 40 times." A young drifter, about age17, appeared at the ranch. "He just got off his horse and went into the corral and just started working with everyone else. When granddad asked him where he was headed, he answered that he was 'just drifting through the country looking for a job'. 'Well, we've got a job if you want one,' granddad told him. So he stayed. And he started out just being a gopher for my grandmother - getting wood, hauling ashes and did the chores. Then one early morning, Pat Garrett showed up and kicked the door open and said to the boy, 'You're under arrest'. He knocked him to the floor with his six-shooter. Of course, the kid was stunned pretty good. There were no screens in those days and the windows were all open. The old dog jumped in there and started chewing on Pat Garrett's leg, and he was trying to kick the dog loose. The kid recovered enough to try to get from the kitchen into this room, which had been the bunkhouse, and he had a gun, and he was trying to get his weapon, and they shot him going through the door, and killed him. And I still got the bullet up in my office that the family dug out of the wall. What Dad remembered most was when Garrett loaded this kid in the buggy on his back and his legs were hanging over the tailgate, and his feet were flopping and everything. Well, it turns out this guy wasn't the same guy Garrett thought he was."

Now I'm wondering
If the boy was identified? Who he was?
What happened to Norman Newman, after he escaped?
If he was ever found, caught, went to trial, convicted, or
if he disappeared?
Thank you everybody for allowing me to post this story here. I'm still "hooked" on it. Martha.

1899 Oct 9 – Jim (or Billy?) Reed, 7o A.M. was killed inside the Cox ranch house by Garrett and his deputy Jose’ Espalin.
Garrett in the living room could see Reed and went to the kitchen, and demanded “hands up, you are under arrest.” Hands did not go up, Reed started to flee, and Garrett hit him over the side of his head with a pistol and Reed fell dazed. A dog jumped in the window and attacked Garrett, growling and nipping at his legs. Reed roused, rose and again started to flee to the bunkhouse, not twenty feet from the main house. Garrett with dog nipping at him, and Deputy Espalin both fired .... and possibly both hit Reed. Reed fell dead Stories vary, fell dead in the kitchen or outside. Rob did not say.

Hough in 1907 had known Garrett for many years. He states that Garrett did not fire a bullet, that Espalin was outside, heard the commotion and came running inside ... saw Garrett and Reed fighting, and he shot Reed who was headed for his pistol in the bunk house
.
Rob, in his hand shows two bullets dug from the kitchen wall, each a different caliber. Caliber not stated.
See bullets in Rob’s had, and see Garrett ranch site at:
http://www.zianet.com/dachs/garretttour.html

Sources: Herman Weisner, Rob Cox, The Story of the Outlaw by Emerson Hough 1907

I'm still interested in this story, but I've come to a standstill, as far as I know, unless sometime this year I go to Greer County, & look through whatever I can find there.

Thanks, Martha

http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ok/greer/obits/gre...mtexobits/newman.txt

Murderer Killed

Deputy Sheriff Brings Down Much-Wanted Man

Norman NEWMAN, the cook at Cox's Ranch was killed last week
by Deputy Sheriff ESPALIN While Resisting Arrest.
Newman was a wanted on the charge of murdering and robbing
his partner in GREER Co. OK, last year. Sheriff GARRETT
was given papers for the arrest of Newman, and with Deputy
ESPALIN repaired to the ranch for the purpose of placing
their man in custody. They found him in the kitchen and
when GARRETT started to handcuff him, he made a break for
liberty. The pair followed him through a window opening on
the porch and GARRETT hit him on the head with the handcuffs
which was followed by a blow with a six-shooter from ESPALIN.
They knocked their man down and while they were struggling,
a bulldog on the ranch got hold of ESPALIN's leg and bit him.
He released his hold on the man to fight the dog and
the prisoner managed to get away from GARRETT. He started
for his gun, but before he could reach it, ESPALIN shot him
in the neck. The Coroner's Inquest exonerated the officers
from all blame.