End of Watch
by J. Young
You may have read a few different accounts of this event, this one I wrote up is based off an account told by George Coe, enjoy!
Just a few hours after sunrise, The Lincoln County Regulators were gathered behind an adobe wall on the side of Tunstall’s property, towards the rear. Among them were Henry Brown, John Middleton, Fred Waite, Jim French and Billy the Kid. They waited for Sheriff Brady to come into town as he did every morning, passing by the Tunstall store, but he never appeared. It was eventually discovered that he was already in town, so the group quickly devised a plan to draw him out. As it was April Fools Day, and perhaps saw it as an opportunity for a bit of fun; little did Brady know that danger was lurking around the corner. The men supposedly sent someone over near Ike Ellis’s house to cause a scene, which successfully grabbed Brady’s attention and led him towards the Tunstall store where the group was waiting. Sheriff Brady was accompanied by Deputy George Hindman and circuit court clerk, Jacob (Billy) Matthews, with reports suggesting that George Peppin and Jack Long may have also been present that day.
Along the way Sheriff Brady stops to speak with a woman and chuckles. Perhaps they were having an April Fool’s Day laugh. Sheriff Brady then trots to catch back up to the other men.
As the lawmen pass by in front of Tunstall’s store the boys can hear Brady ranting;
“That little devil, cow thief Billy Bonney is getting more daring every day! He is headed for a hanging and it can’t happen too soon to suit me and…”
A moment later a couple shots erupt. Brady drops to the ground and moaned,
“Oh, Lord.”
As Sheriff Brady tried to stand up the men raised up from behind the wall and showered the corrupt Sheriff and his men with bullets, killing Brady with over a dozen balls of hot lead. Deputy Hindman and Billy Matthews were both wounded. Other then the sounds of dogs barking, a quiet moment went by. Suddenly Deputy Hindman cries out for help. Mathews begins crawling away down the street to cover. Ike Stockton tried to get water in his hat for Deputy Hindman. As he tried to help the deputy get up, he was shot again and fell silent. Stockton fled for safety.
When the smoke cleared Billy the Kid and Jim French emerged. Billy walked over to Sheriff Brady’s lifeless body to retrieve something. Perhaps it was his Winchester that Brady had confiscated earlier. As he attempted to take possession of the sheriff’s firearm, disorganizing the remains of Brady, with the intent of procuring documents or potentially desecrating his badge, a bullet was narrowly discharged by court clerk Billy Matthews. The bullet was rumored to whiz by the Kid’s hip just barely grazing it and through Jim French’s thigh. The two manage to retreat back to the wall. The boys climbed onto their horses they had been waiting in Tunstall’s corral. Except for Jim French, who’s leg wound would not permit him to climb onto the animal. The boys rode out of town and Jim French retreated to Tunstall’s store. Dr. Ealy tended to French’s wound and hid him in the back living quarters under a floor board, until things calmed down.
George remembers that day;
“When Frank Coe heard of the event, he left immediately for my place on the upper Ruidoso to investigate rumors. While on the road he accidentally fell in with the kid and his bunch. Conditions were getting so desperate that one had to line up on one side or the other. Frank Coe came on with the outfit to my home, adding recruits as they journeyed, until they numbered 14 men.
When they entered my house, Billy called out to me…
“come across, George, and pay me the five cents you bet me. I’ve won it.” (George and Billy had previously bet who would get Brady first, as revealed in George’s book)
“I handed it over to him, for I knew he had it coming and that more was to follow.”
Two surviving deputies from the ambush on Brady were George Peppin and Billy Matthews who sent a man to Fort Stanton to get military support. In the meantime McSween along with John Chisum, Montague Leverson and two others arrived in Lincoln by carriage. They passed by the two bloodied bodies that were still laying in the road a few hours after the shooting. The carriage came to a stop at The Ellis home.
Not long after their arrival, George Peppin, appeared at Ellis’ place and demanded that McSween come outside on an arrest warrant. Peppin was accompanied by Captain Purington and a small detachment of soldiers from Fort Stanton. McSween refused to comply because Peppin was no longer legally a Lincoln County deputy now that The Sheriff was dead.
While McSween was resisting at Ellis’ place, deputy Billy Mathews, backed by a few of his guys and some soldiers, arrested Robert Widenmann and wanted to look in the Tunstall store for a Regulator who was wounded during the Brady killing. Chisum, a well respected man, talked to Captain Purington and asked if McSween surrendered that he be protected by the army. After some hesitation he agreed and McSween went along peacefully.
Mr. Levenson had previously wrote a letter about the disaster unfolding to President Hayes…
“Two more of Mr Tunstall’s murders have been killed, the sheriff who employed the ruffians his Posse and a noted cattle thief who was also one of the sheriff’s deputies on the occasion of Mr Tunstall’s murder. More Bloodshed will follow unless the governor is at once removed. He is the Mainstay of the thieves and murderers.
I again urge on your excellency the fact that the native element had nothing to do with these troubles and it is of no use looking on it as a Mexican anarchy. This country alone ought to have a population today of 30-40,000 persons and would have it but for the thieves being supported by the government. Chisum had been refused all Aid by the sheriff, by the military and by the governor to protect him from the bandits who in bands of 20 and 30 were stealing the cattle of his partners Mr Hunter of St Louis. I am informed that Mr Elkins the ex-delegate offered to pay him $5,000 if Mr Hunter would give up a contract to him for supplying beef which had been awarded to him and would guarantee him that none of his cattle should be stolen to supply that contract. Mr Hunter had only tendered and self-defense, because the year previous, his cattle had been stolen and the Indian agent Godfrey had knowingly received such stolen cattle from the contractors.”
Levenson also advised Ike Ellis to allow no one access to The Tunstall store, as Ellis was still technically the administrator yet for a tiny bit longer. Levinson reminded Peppin that the constitution would not allow any illegal searches without a warrant. McSween also wrote to President Hayes that night as well.
Sheriff Brady and Deputy Hindman were buried at The Brady Ranch just east of Lincoln. Brady was survived by his wife Maria and six children.
To book your stay at The Brady Ranch click the link!
https://walnutgroveranch.com/
Below is an interesting theory that Brady was shot off of his horse in the event of his murder, from our PAL Steve Sederwall
An account by Dr. Ealy.
After the shooting Dr. Ealy wrote the following:
“There was great danger everyday on account of the war. Any day or night a fight might take place. In fact, these fights often did take place right near our house and on the main street. In spite of everything, I tried to carry out my mission in Lincoln, namely to preach Christ. Services were held each sabbath. Of course the war kept many away who would have come. During all this time, from february, until july, we worked against great odds. Sometimes we could not even go outside of our house for water out of fear of being shot. Pearl kept her dolls on the floor under the windows, as she said, so that they would not get shot. One day a bullet came flying through our kitchen. I was shot at frequently. I wanted to remain perfectly neutral, and in order to do so, I moved my family from The Shield house to the drug store at the end of the large building in the Tunstall store. But before that change happened a death occurred which had serious repercussions. I saw some men pass our house, and just opposite the house Sheriff William Brady stopped to talk to a woman. I took it to be Mrs. Ham mills. He was laughing and then he hurried up to overtake the posse. At the eastern end of the large house (Tunstall store), which then was unoccupied, but where we afterwards lived, a wide door into the Corral swung open, a shot ring out, and the sheriff fell mortally wounded. I did not hear him groaning but the women said they did. At the same time George Hindman fell. He called for water and someone helped him up and as he was being helped towards Stockton’s Saloon he received another wound and fell dead. Two of the men in the coral Jim French and William Henry McCarty aka Billy the Kid, ran out to pick up Hindman’s or Brady’s gun and was shot as he stooped over, likely by Jacob B matthews. The report was that Jim French was shot through the bowels but it was a mistake, as I dressed his wound when he came walking in our back door. The ball passed through his left thigh. I drew a silk handkerchief through the wound and bound it up. He was taken in charge by Sam Corbet. The Murphy-Dolan men were soon hunting for the wounded man. They searched the house, for they said they tracked him by the blood. I learned later that Sam Corbet had sawed a hole through the floor under a bed, and as there was not a cellar, he laid the wounded man under there on a blanket with a revolver in his hands. These shootings aroused everybody.
A messenger flew off to Fort Stanton with the news of sheriff Brady’s death and in the quickest possible time Colonel George A. Purington and Captain George Nesmith dashed into town and halted in front of our house. Captain Purington called me out and in the presence of the black soldiers and Captain Smith said “I believe you know all about this murder.” My answer was that I did not, and that I was as innocent as the little baby in my wife’s arms. they arrested five men; McSween, Widenmann, Shield, George Washington, and George Robinson.”
Watch below our PAL Lucas at the site.
For the full story of Sheriff William Brady, including legal documents and photos, follow the link below!
https://palsofbillythekidhistoricalsociety.com/william-brady/
