The Scourge of New Mexico
by J. Young

 The infamous Jessie Evans was about 5 feet six inches tall with light colored hair and gray-blue eyes. Some say that Evans had some Cherokee ancestors.
It’s been reported that Evans attended college and graduated from Washington and Lee college in Virginia. 

Later in Elk City, Kansas, Evans and his parents were all apparently arrested for passing counterfeit money.
After, it’s been presumed that Evans had left home around this time and headed for Texas. While in Texas he worked at Burrowson and Griers Ranch. From here Evans went into New Mexico territory where he found a job working on John Chisum’s South Spring Ranch around 1872. Evans, like many other bachelors new to the territory, landed a job with Chisum. John Chisum supplied his team with guns, a horse and he paid well. It’s been told, including by Jesse Evans, that Chisum often paid for stolen or “lost but found” horses and cows.
But after Chisum complained to the government that Apache tribes were stealing from him, an investigation began. After the investigation, it turned out that Chisum had dozens of stolen Apache horses in his possession. Not sure if Jesse Evans stole these but it’s likely.  Either as a result of the investigation or of his own free will, Evans left Chisum’s ranch.
Evans, while wandering, joined a posse in pursuit to catch the Mes brothers, who stole 30 horses and were on their way south. Evans and posse tracked them south through Las Cruces and into Mexico. After they were apprehended and brought back into NM territory, they were near Shedds Ranch  which was on the Eastside of San Augustine pass of the Organ mountains and owned by John Kinney.
When the four prisoners tried to make an escape. All four were executed. This is possibly how Evans became acquainted with Kinney. Evans began working for John Kinney.
Kinney was an organized Mafia style cowboy. Kinney had organized a massive racket for stolen goods. Several gangs formed in connection with Kinney’s gang, The Rio Grande Posse. A gang formed in the East and was known as the Seven Rivers Warriors. This group was close enough to the Chisum Ranch where they could boost Chisum’s cattle and horses and take them to John Kinny’s for either butchering or for moving further east, to another connected gang, the Clanton gang in Arizona, or vice versa. With the recruitment of some of Chisum’s cowboys and other locals, Jesse Evans was able to form his own gang called the Jesse Evans gang.

This chain gang became a notorious organized crime syndicate, with plenty of connections to fence the goods.

The gang’s activity did not go unnoticed. A lawyer and newspaper man named Albert J. Fountain made it known to all who read the paper about their activities, names and locations, naming the Shedd ranch as homebase to all evildoers. Jesse Evans sent word to Albert Fountain that he would kill him on site for those words, but the articles continued to pump out also labeling Jesse Evans as captain of his gang and referred to them as “The boys”. The name stuck.

Just hours before the new year of 1875, The Boys were at a Las Cruces dance hall/saloon. Jesse Evans, John Kinney and Jim Mcdaniel. They became engaged in a fist fight with a group of soldiers from Fort Seldon and were badly beaten up.
Later that night around midnight the boys returned with a couple more men including Charles Ray AKA Pony Diehl and opened fire from the outside windows killing three soldiers and a civilian, as well as wounding a few others. No charges were ever filed, however it was noted in the Rio Grande Republican who the killers were, naming Evans.

Just two weeks later, on January 19th 1875, Quirino Fletcher was shot to death. His corpse lay out on the streets of Las Cruces all night with six bullet holes in him. The presumed killer was Jesse Evans. Although it was not proven, Evans was charged with murder, and about 18 months later in June 1877, he was acquitted. Judge Warren bristle ordered Evans not guilty and to be freed.

That next month, July 1877, Evans, along with Frank Baker, Nicholas Provincio and a couple others were arrested in Juarez, Mexico for stealing stock and bringing it to the USA. A U.S. customs agent named Soloman Shultz was able to get them freed.
The boys then rode the territory doing as they pleased.  The Boys stopped at Tularosa, became drunk and shot their weapons off terrorizing folks. The Boys then moved up the Tularosa river stopping at a Mr. Sylvestre’s home. He was once a witness in court against one of the boys. The boys began tormenting him. They shot his dog and filled the outside of the house with hot lead, before leaving the man and his children struck with fear. Next they stopped at a store somewhere and walked out with supplies without paying, and there was no objection. While Jessie was busy leaving a trail of terror, Billy the Kid had been staying with the Jones family.
The Jones boys were also known members of The Seven Rivers Warriors. Billy became acquainted with the Jones family after he was found on their porch nearly dead from starvation. Billy had returned from Arizona with nowhere to go. He had been left stranded whensome Apache took his horse and shoes, leaving him to die. But he finally found refuge at the Jones home. Billy became good friends with John Jones and began riding with him. 

This is about the time Billy met Jesse Evans and it was likely through the Jones family as they were pals with Jessie. The two became great pals. Very soon after Billy began camping out with Jessie Evans and “the Boys”.
Tensions were getting tight back in the Bonito valley at Lincoln. Mr John Tunstall took some land near the Feliz river and opened a store in lincoln. The store and its stock supply put James Dolan in a bad situation. Dolan had recently just taken over business for LG Murphy and was already going bankrupt. Dolan cut a few corners and hired Evans and the Boys to help him fill a beef contract using stolen cattle raking in a huge profit. The stolen stock was fenced through Kinney’s chain gang.

Billy the Kid had been riding and camping with Evans for about a month. He had been engaged in lots of thievery with the boys.
The boys began raiding Tunstall’s property for loose stock. In the darkness of the night on September 18th 1877 the boys crept onto Richard Brewer’s Ranch and stole a bunch of horses including Tunstall’s racing buggy team.

Richard Brewer was working as a foreman for Tunstall. He was sworn as a deputy by the justice of the peace to round up the stolen property and arrest those who did it.

Brewers neighbors Doc Scurlock and Charlie Bowdre, told Brewer that they located the horses at Kinney’s Shedd’s ranch. The trio rode up to the ranch although out-numbered and out-gunned,  Brewer courageously rode in and demanded the horses to be returned which were in plain sight in the corrals. Jesse Evans refused, but because he admired Brewer’s courage, he told him that he could have his own horses back, but not Tunstalls.
Brewer responded, “if you can’t give me the Englishman’s you can keep them all and go to hell.”
It may have been here where the Kid recognized his old friends, Doc and Bowdre whom he had met in Arizona years earlier, and worked in their cheese factory operation on the Gila river. He probably did not know he was actually stealing from old friends at the time, or expected to ever see them again.

Brewer was eventually appointed a deputy constable in order to get the thieves. Brewer and a couple others, including Sheriff Brady, who at the time was still relatively neutral, or so people believed, armed themselves with provisions from Tunstall store to pursue the boys to Seven Rivers where they were hiding. After a little resistance from the then “neutral” Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady, he agreed to go along. On October 12th, 1877, Brewer/Brady and posse headed south to Seven Rivers, where the suspects surrendered.

With their prisoners; Jesse Evans, Frank Baker, Tom Hill and George Davis, the Posse took them to Lincoln and placed them in the Pit jail. A crude dark hole in the ground about 10 feet deep were two long rooms surrounded by rough log timber-wood. Above this hell-hole was disguised, a long adobe house to shelter the guard. Some sources say the above was also made of Log timber wood.

During their stay in the pit Jesse Evans and company were warming up to Tunstall. John Tunstall decided to try to win over Evans and the Boys. Tunstall bought the prisoners new suits and sent over a bottle of whiskey. After a month in the pitt, liberation came to town, well after dark.

On November 17th A rescue party including Billy the Kid crept into town. They knocked down the door to the jail with guns drawn and retrieved Jesse Evans and company. Not a shot was fired. After being freed Evans and the gang stopped over at Bowdre’s home where they helped themselves to a few blankets and took a rifle. From there they galloped over to Brewers ranch and had breakfast before leaving with some of Tunstall’s fresh horses. As they left, the Boys promised not to steal from Tunstall again, and a few days later Tunstall’s horses were returned.
Later after investigating the interior of the pit, it was evident it had been dug out and prisoners had filed their chains…Did Tunstall supply them with what they needed to escape? Did Evans make a pact with Tunstall?

Just after their departure, Billy the Kid was arrested for having possession of one of Tunstall’s stolen horses and was tossed into the pit. When Tunstall went to see Billy in the pit, he was saddened to see such a young, polite and educated boy going down the wrong path. Tunstall gave Billy a chance. He gave him a job, and a place to sleep,(Brewers home) a new suit, rifle and horse. Billy had not yet been treated fairly and like an adult, but now it was official, Billy the Kid was riding for Tunstall.
But it was just a little taste of an honest living that Billy was able to get, as Tunstall was murdered a few months later in February 1878.
Robert Widenmann was not only Tunstall’s closest friend, he was also a U.S. Marshall and he in fact held warrants for Evans, Baker, Nicholas Provencio, and George Davis for stealing government horses and mules. He tried on more than one occasion to apprehend them but was discouraged by Brewer who said it would only escalate things for Tunstall as he was still trying to get settled and comfortable in the area.
In January 1878 Evans and some of the boys stole some horses and were chased down, shots were fired. During the chase and shootings, Evans was hit in the groin, but managed to escape. The wound was minor but left Evans hurt just enough to where it was difficult for him to ride a horse for a while after.
Whether Jesse Evans was present during Tunstall’s murder remains a mystery. Several accounts were given to investigator Frank Angel. At least one account actually names Evans as the killer. Mr Albert Howe’s account is also interesting. His account of Tunstall’s killing is of a testimony from George Kitt; “As Tunstall approached, Morton and Hill placed the butts of their rifles on their knees. Morton had assured Tunstall that he would not be harmed, but when Tunstall had ridden in close, both men fired.”
Howe also stated that Tunstall did not even unholster his weapon. It is also interesting to note that in the Howe affidavit, the use of the name “the Boys” was used. Probably because it was two men from the Jesse Evans gang that actually pulled the trigger, and not necessarily Evans. Keep in mind Evans was also wounded in the groin less than a month earlier, he may not have been able for that type of ride while still recovering.
Regardless he would be named and a warrant was sworn out for his arrest.

Two weeks after Tunstall was killed Evans and Hill were near Alamo Springs which is near present-day Alamogordo. They noticed a wagon load of goods stopped near the spring. While the owners were out grazing their sheep, Evans and Hill rode in and told a lone man to throw his hands in the air. The man reached for a Winchester rifle and Evans or Hill shot him in the leg and he went down. The man crawled up slowly, still alive and was able to shoot Hill with the rifle killing him. He next turned the rifle towards Evans and fired. The bullet went into Evan’s wrist, shattering it. Evans dropped his pistol to the ground and escaped. Apparently Evans left a blood trail for miles and was thought to be dead. Evans headed for Shedd’s Ranch to seek help from John Kinney. As he got there, he was apprehended along with Nicholas Provencio, by a railroad constable named Dave Wood and US Marshal John Sherman Jr. He was escorted to Fort Stanton where he was placed under arrest and hospitalized.

While Evans laid in Fort Stanton recovering, The Regulators were cleaning up the house. They had planted many of Dolans henchmen in the dirt. In return the Regulators lost a couple men as well.
On April 13th, 1878, Evans was charged with Tunstall’s murder.

Ten days later the jury had also indicted Evans for larceny.

For the robbery of the camp where he was shot in his wrist, the charges were dropped due to the witness leaving for Texas with his flock of sheep.
But six weeks later the military escorted Evans to Mesilla. Evans was in good hands here with district attorney Rynerson and judge Bristol. Evans was acquitted due to insufficient evidence that he was actually there.
Evans pleaded to the court that he was with Dolan more than 25 miles from the scene.

The Court decided to carry the case on to the next term of court. The court set Evan’s bond at $6,000 and Evans had no trouble getting bailed out. He had been laid up for most of the Lincoln County War.
Where Evans went directly after he posted bail is unknown but it’s likely he ended up back in Lincoln just on time the end of the 5-day battle, or the looting of the Tunstall store after Mcsween’s death.
But the question is, did Evans take part? Was Evans a friend or foe?

After Mrs. McSween’s home was burned and her husband killed, the widow Mcsween, hired an attorney named Huston Chapman to investigate, and to pursue charges against Dolan and the others responsible. Chapman was also working toward amnesty for the Regulators. On February 18, 1879, one year to the day after Tunstall was murdered.
A meeting instigated by Billy was set forth. It was a meeting between Evans, Dolan and Bill Campbell. The goal was to call a truce. Billy and Evans met in the street. After a few words the rest of them came out and hands were shaken and drinks were poured in a truce. 

A little later in the middle of the street Mrs Mcsween’s lawyer, Mr. Chapman walks by. Bill Campbell stops him and harasses him and then the gun goes off… Chapman was shot and killed. The truce was broken and Billy and his pals walked away. 

Later promises were made to Billy the Kid of leniency or a pardon in exchange for his testimony for what he saw that night, by the new territorial governor, Lew Wallace.
Evans and Campbell were arrested and held at Ford Stanton, but managed to escape with the help of a soldier known as Texas Jack (a recruit) . Wallace placed a $1,000 bounty out for their recapture. Evans and some of his gang decided it would probably be better to get out of New Mexico and headed to western Texas. They quickly got back to work rustling. Their movements were also being tracked by the Texas rangers.
On July 3rd 1880 the Texas rangers caught up to the boys. A gun battle began when Evans stepped out and killed Ranger George “red” Bingham. In return the boys member John gross was killed and after a long standoff the boys finally surrendered.

While being held at Fort Davis, Evans wrote to his trusty pal Billy the Kid, (See text in photos for more) in hopes that Billy would spring him free as he was being transported for prison.
Jesse Evans was found guilty of participating in the robbery of the Sender & Siebenborn store, and found guilty for the murder of  Ranger George Bingham.
Evans was sentenced to 10 years on each count and was received at Huntsville on December 1st 1880 as prisoner number 9078.

On May 23rd 1882, Jesse Evans escaped from a work crew and disappeared…