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Show SELECTED. A CALIFORNIA BANDIT. The romantic auventurL-d of Ciauie Duval, Sisteen-strirj Jack, Diet Tur-pin, Tur-pin, and Robin Hood, the hero of Sherwood forest, and other famox knights of the road, who made highway high-way robbery almost iascinatins by theii daring exploits and thriiiing adventures, adven-tures, are rivalled, and bid fair to be outdone, by the desperate outlaws now infesting certain portions of California. Monterey county seems to be the headquarters head-quarters of an organized band of robbers rob-bers and cut throat?, under command of ''Red Dick," aliis Thomas Kodun-do, Kodun-do, alias Procoplo, alias Muriata; and we are enabled to give some particulars of the antecedents of this thoroughly heartless and unprincipled wretch and FOtne of his unprincipled coadjutors. He is a nephew of the infamous Joaquin Joa-quin Muriata, whose deeds of crime constitute so prominent and bloody a chapter in the history of California, being a son of Joaquin's sister. Jyan Soto, who was killed by Sheriff Harry Morse, of this county, in a desperate hand-to-hand 6ght in a secluded valley anioog the Panache mountains lasi spring, was leader of the bandits until his death, and it was him, in company with Bartolo Sepuiveda (now at largej who robbed the store of Supervisor rieott in the Sunol valley, and killed the book-keeper, Ludovict, last March. FORMER CRI1IES. j I'rocopio, or "Red Dick," began to 1 attract attention by his picturesque moral character about ten years a.20. ' About 1SG1 or 1SG2, a family by the name of Golding, living at Corral hoi-' low, San Joaquin county, near the Alameda county line, had a misunderstanding misunder-standing with a ferocious Mexican named Chano Ortego about some money, and incurred his hatred. Soon afterwards the- "WHOLE FAMTLY WERE MURDERED, The house was burned to tho ground, and a vaqucro in its employ was found hanging to a treo on the premises, dead. It was supposed lliat ho witnessed wit-nessed the murder, and his life was taken to prevent his giving information. informa-tion. Suspicion rested on Ortego, Procopio, Narcisso Bnjorques, and a fourth party, whoso name has escaped our memory, and they were arrested and tried. Ortego proved an alibi, and tho whole party were discharged for want of sufficient evidence. Procopio Pro-copio and Bojorques, from thai time until 1S63, travelled together and committed com-mitted many robberies, and, it is supposed sup-posed murders. Some time in the latter lat-ter part of 1SG3, a large number of cattle cat-tle were stolen from Mr. Pope, who now owns a sheep ranch in tho Arroyo Vaya. Tho parties wero traced into . the villago of Alvarndo, in this county, coun-ty, whero they had sold their cattle to a butcher. Tho local officers were notified of the fact, and posted as to the timo when the rascals were to come to get their money. Pope went to San Leandro and procured a warrant for the arrest of Procopio, and placed it in tho hands of Constable Wood. As Procopio was in the act of receiv ing bis money, ood stepped into the apartment, covered him with his revolver, revol-ver, nnd ordered him to bold up his hands. He surrendered at once. As Wood put up his six-shooter to get out a pair of handcuffs, Procopio quickly drew his own pistol, shot and wounded the officer, escaped into the street, and ran swiftly toward tho bridge. A crowd of citizens pursued, with ail sorts of weapons, from pistols to shot-guns. Being hunted off from the bridge, he jumped into tho creek and swam to the opposite bank, carrying his pistol between his teeth as he swam. Ho was pursued into the marsh, and there brought to bay and finally captured. Narcisso was soon afterward arrested for tho same offense. On the trial Procopio took tho entire blame upon his own Bhoulders, was found guilty and sentenced to nino years' imprisonment impris-onment in the State prison. His term expired on the 1st of March, 1ST 1 . During this period Nurcisso continued his course of ROBBERY AND MURDER Until 1SGG. Lie was known to have committed several murders, and suspected sus-pected of being guilty of many others. Ho kept away trom Alameda county most of tho timo. Efforts wero made by yhonn Morse to procure a warrant for his arrest from abroad. Among , other atrocities, Narcisso shot and wounded a butcher named John Gunnel, Gun-nel, of Alisal, now Plca?onton, and 1 robbed him of $200. Ho always covered his tracks bo well in ihis county that it was never found possible to procure sufficient ovidence to convict con-vict him; accordingly, Sheriff Mores wroto to tho authorities of several counties for warrants on which to arrest ar-rest Narcisso, and finally received a warrant from Los Angeles county for his arrest for grand larceny. He at onco took measures to secure him. Somo time in September 1SGG, Morse encountered hiiu, and in a desperate rencontre shot and wounded him at Foscalini'B storo in Sunol Valley, now kept by Thomas Scott, Murray township, town-ship, in this county. -Morse concealed himself in tho rear of the storo, and tho robber galloping up soon afterward, was invited in. lie declined, being evidently afraid of arrest. Mores then stepped quickly forward, but was detected de-tected at a glance, and before he could put his hand before him, Narcisso had bim covered with a six-inch revolver, tho distance between the parties at this time being loss than six feet. The pistol missed fire, fortunately, and be-tore be-tore Narcisso could repeat tho attempt Morse drew a six-shooter and fired. A second shot took effect in tho robber's aide, causing him to throw up his arm and utter an expression of pain. Dropping Drop-ping his piatol, Narcisso put spurs to his horse, cleared a fence and started for the hills. Unablo to jump the fence on the opposite side, he dismounted dis-mounted and started for a ravine, followed fol-lowed by Morse afoot, Narcisso se-creatcd se-creatcd himself in the chaparral. He was traced next day fully a mile by drops of blood, to a point where he had evidently rested during the night, for there was quite a pool of blood, lbc Sheriff's trophies consisted of a hi ise, a new saddle and bridle, and a six-inch revolver. BOJORQUES KILLED BY "ONE-EYED JACK." After Narcisso"? escape he managed, notwithstanding his wounded condition, to reach Copperopolis. lie there shortly afterwards got into a deadly quarrel in a bar room with another desperado named Williams aha "One-eyed Jack," and a duel was mutually agreed upon. One of them was to go out the back door, and the other out of tho front door; both were to pass around the south side of the house and shoot at sight. The hall from Narcisso's pistol struck Williams j squarely in the forehead and penetrated I the scalp, underneath which itburrowed i after the fashion of a mole, not con-i con-i f-iderinc it worth its while to enter the skull. Narcisso was :hot throngh I the body and inuntij killed. PROCOPIO'S SENTENCE EXTIRES. Meanwhile Procopio was dragjinc out the weary years of his imprisonment imprison-ment at San Queotin. As son as he regained, his liberty he located in Li vermore Valley, and after pasicg a month quietly, h.2 returned to his old practice as a dog to his vomit. Sherifi Morse had visited him in prison for the purpose of studying his features for future identification; and while there the prisoner used to inquire and otherwise other-wise manifest a corresponding interest in Morse. His first exploit, on resuming resum-ing his life of crime, was the stealing of two cows from the ranch of John Arnett. in the Sunoi Valley, about the 1st of May last. It seems that he made his headquarters at the house of a notorious tapaticro (.Spanish for "fence," or receiver of stolen goods) named Jaun Camargo, Arnett, accompanied ac-companied by Deputy Sheriff Smith and Constable Faville tracked the missing animals to Camargo's house, aud alter a close search discovered the head and horns buried in ashes, the meat and bide having been disposed of. They took Camargo to Pieasontoo for examination. A party of fifty masked men entered the building wht-re FaviLie I had charge of the prisoner, fastened 1 the constable in, and took Camargo (Outride and treated him to a lorctaste i of his 1'uture doom by hanging him by the neck to the limb of a tree, with 11 j view of eliciting from the wretchinlbrm-atiou wretchinlbrm-atiou as to who the robbers were. Al ter I haosiug a lew moments he was let down, and the question solemnly propounded pro-pounded to him. "Wilt thou confess?" and he wilted, ne charged the robbery upon Procopio and another man. Tho rascals, however, got wind of the transaction, and prudently vamostd. Morse, Faville and More-house searched in the hills, but they failed to overhaul them. Procopio has located in Monterey Mon-terey county, where he caries on a system of . ORGANIZED ROBBERY, And has associated with five as desperate desper-ate men as ever infested the State of California. All of them are cx-cou-victs among them the notorious Tiburelo Vasqucz. Ona of their latest exploits was the robbery of the Visalia stago-coach, near Soap Lake, by Pro-copio,Lcpulvcda Pro-copio,Lcpulvcda (ono of the murderers of Ludovici, at Scott's store), and as-quez, as-quez, last month. They first captured a Mr. Moore, delegate to Santa Clara Democratic Convention, who was riding rid-ing in a buggy-. They took him into a field, bound and blindfolded him, and relieved him of 5jj gold coiu. Tho robbers next charged upou the two-horse two-horse stage-coach and turned it into the field. Tho passengers were four men aud a woman. They were all compelled to alight and keep their eyes on tho grouud while they were tocureiy bound. The lady was not molested. One or two gold watches were secured, aud $.j00 in gold coiu. They then left, with tho admonition, "Don't move until we come back, or wo will murder everyone of you!" They souu returned re-turned with a picket teamster, whom they bound aud searched, and left him with tho stage party. They again started off, leaving the same threat. Subsequent to THE NEW DEPARTURE The robbers overhauled an old man nauiud Chuwell, on thu road aud robbed rob-bed him of six dollars, inspected his silver watch and handed it fuck and then escaped to the mountains. Sheriff Harris, ol Santa Ciara, left Gihoy with tt strong party, having heard they were in tlie vicinity of the scenes ot Harry Morse's rencontre with Juan Soto. He searched for them in the chaparral region between QUI EN BABE VALLEY 1 And Santa Anna Peak, and then struck over to Gavillau Rauge, when he learned he had cleaned out a bore-gcro bore-gcro named Patterson, 1'rom whom they got $2 50, overlooking 100 in his boot-leg. They aro believed to be now in Monterey county. The same gang recently rolled the Salinas stage station in Salinas Plains. They are splendidly mounted and equipped, wear good clothes and sport gold watches. Procopio was in company with Soto the day before the killing of tho latter. Hu hails from San Luis Obispo county, and his ambition is to become more notorious if possible than his uncio, Joaquin Munata to out-llerod out-llerod Herod. Alameda Oaztttt. |