103:, then known as William Bonney, becoming the first lawman to do so. The first offense was for stealing cheese, and the second for stealing laundry. Whitehill would later state Bonney was an extremely likeable young man, and that his acts of theft were more due to necessity than him being a criminal, since his mother had recently died at the time. Also, Whitehill put to rest the legend that Bonney left Silver City due to having killed a man there, with Whitehill stating the killing was a rumor and never happened. He personally knew outlaw John Kinney, and evidently was well respected by both the citizens and the outlaw element. In 1882, a year after being credited with killing Billy the Kid, lawman
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being wounded himself, hence escaping. Then, all of the escaped prisoners surrendered. Usually, those who had survived a shootout were to be taken back to the jail, but instead
Whitehill and his posse hanged them on the spot. Only one prisoner, Charles Spencer, who though armed, proved by showing them his pistol and confirming he had not fired, was spared. Joy was later shot and wounded, a wound that caused the amputation of his left leg, by rancher Erichos "Rackety" Smith, near the
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prisoner, Carlos Chavez, who had escaped with them, was killed next, while the others dismounted and scampered for cover. Lee was mortally wounded a few minutes later, and
Taggert, with no ammunition left, surrendered. Joy was able to make a break, shooting and killing posse member Joe Le Fur, while
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A short time later, Whitehill tracked down the other robbers, Mitch Lee, G.S. Collins, Frank
Taggert, and Kit Joy. Less than two weeks later, while under guard by Deputy Dick Ware in the Silver City jail, Taggert and Lee overpowered Ware, while Joy took his guns. They then freed any other prisoners
129:. Whitehill convinced Cleavland his fellow robbers had all been captured, and that they had implicated him as the shooter of the engineer. Believing this, Cleavland denied he had killed the engineer, and made a full confession, detailing the robbery and his fellow robbers.
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in 1882. Although lesser known than many other lawmen of the Old West, Whitehill is credited by many historians as having been more effective in that role than many who would ultimately become better known, to include his former political rival, Pat
Garrett. He died in
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took place at a way station called Gage, near Silver City, with $ 830.60 being stolen. During the robbery, the train engineer, T.C. Webster, and the messenger, T.G. Hodgekins, were both shot and killed. Whitehill immediately set out for the robbers, leading a small
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present, including
Cleavland, took all guns from the jail, and fled. Whitehill again organized a posse, and went in pursuit. Receiving information from a citizen of the escapees' direction of travel, Whitehill set up to capture them at a pass near the
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ran against
Whitehill for the office of sheriff. It was ironic, in that Whitehill was the first lawman to arrest Bonney, whereas Garrett was the last. Garrett, who was not well liked in the area, was defeated by Whitehill in the election.
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Whitehill would serve a total of six terms as sheriff of Grant County, marrying his wife
Harriet, and fathering twelve children. His terms were not consecutive, as he left the office to serve one term in the Territorial
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by Robert K. DeArment, describing Tucker as one of the twelve most underrated gunmen of the Old West.
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in the mid-1860s, and he took part in those. In 1874, Whitehill ran for and was elected sheriff of
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Six-Guns and Single-Jacks: A History of Silver City and
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following court convictions. Tucker would later be a subject in the book
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Robert
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Author Bob
Alexander, Reputation for being Factual and Thorough
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185:"Sheriff Harvey Whitehill; Silver City Stalwart"
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171:on September 14, 1906, and is buried in the
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210:Billy the Kid jailed by Sheriff Whitehill
242:Southwest Crossroads, Gage Train Robbery
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368:People from Silver City, New Mexico
225:Masonic Cemetery, Harvey Whitehill
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205:Arrests of Billy the Kid
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116:On November 24, 1883, a
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230:The Gage Train Robbery
79:"Dangerous Dan" Tucker
58:about the time of the
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135:Pinos Altos Mountains
260:Police appointments
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86:John Kinney
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60:Apache Wars
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233:Archived
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