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Show Kitty Burwell By J. G. WEAVER In the late sixties and early seventies the wild sections of northwestern north-western New Mexico and Arizona was infested with a band ot outlaws. out-laws. Brigandage was carried on and train robberies and bank Holdups Hold-ups followed each other with astounding regularity. After each of these the band fled to the fastness of their wilderness wilder-ness home to emerge in a short time in some of the far away centers of population wherein they dissipated their ill-gotten gains in all manner of luxurious living. They even went so far as to own homes in quiet and staid eastern communities, where they were looked up to as solid citizens, and where their liberality, at church building and charities, endeared them to the people. That they often disappeared for months at a time, was thought nothing of by their neighbors, as they always had the probable story of the western mine, or cattle herd, which needed their attention atten-tion at certain times. Thus leading a dual life, they never paused in their wild careers, until the bullet fired by the pursuing posse, or the gray walls of the prison, ended them for years or forever ; in each case a tragedy. Among these lawless bands none were bolder, more dreaded in the border towns or successful in escaping the just reward for their lawlessness than that of which Red Vic was the leader. It is his wife, who for years led a three-ply career, that is the subject of this sketch. She was born on a plantation near the old southern town of St. Johns on the Mobile Inlet, Alabama, her family being one of the most respected and best established in that part of the state. It was to the old town and hacienda-like plantation home she ever returned at stated periods throughout her strange career. The war had just closed when Victor Burwell appeared in St. John. He gave out that he had been the leader of a band of rangers, who had been raiding the western settlements, in the interest of the lost cause, and that he sought the quaint old Alabama town to recuperate recu-perate from wounds he had received in a skirmish during his last expedition. The tale was half a truth. He had been raiding the border towns, and the wounds were present to speak for themselves. The whole truth, however, was that the raid had been a robbing expedition, ex-pedition, and the wounds had been inflicted in an encounter with a sheriff's posse, lie. had deemed it safe to seek some quiet country place in the Southeast, where the return of the veterans from the four years of strife were common, and where the presence of strangers could be easily accounted for, than to run the risk of capture in the wilderness ; the war having freed from active duty a great number of intrepid spirits, to whom a man hunt would be a fitting finale to years of campaigning. He was well supplied with money, for he had the lion's share of a bank robbery in northern Texas, for which he had been chased over half a state ; barely escaping with his life to the swamps of Arkansas. He was a man of courtly manners, not yet in middle life, being the possessor of that rare ability of taking on and putting off at will the exterior appearance of the bandit and the gentleman. It was an easy matter to find entrance to the best social circles of the community where he found himself. It was not long before Major Burwell was the very life of the most exclusive set in that part of the country, and when it became apparent that his attentions were especially turned to pretty Kitty Vincent, she was the most envied young lady of the country side. The girl, upon her part, was completely fascinated by the supposed sup-posed ex-confederate leader. There was a dash, a brilliancy about his love making which took her heart by storm. Throughout the remainder re-mainder of her life the glamour never wore off, and though she soon lound out the manner of life he led, a life into which he later plunged her headlong, he still was her idol and she remained true and steadfast. stead-fast. The marriage took place with all the eclat of a southern society wedding, and the young couple at once set up in an establishment in St. Johns. Their home became the center of the society of that portion por-tion of the state and their entertainments were lavish in the extreme when compared to the impoverished condition of the South. A year passed by and though Red Vic had taken several trips to the wilds, the same conditions held good. There came a time, however, how-ever, when the proceeds of the bank robbery became dissipated. During the year Kitty had learned much of the manner of life of her husband. It was a time of bitterness in the South, and the Vincent Vin-cent family was of the kind which could not readily be "reconstructed." "recon-structed." She had lost two brothers on the battlefield, and her heart was filled with bitterness and resentment for the conquerors. It was easy for Burwell to foster this feeling, and when he proposed to take her with him on his expedition against the enemy, she forgot that Lee had given up and surrendered at Appomalox, and she gladly accepted his offer. Thus it was that the high spirited young Southern girl was initiated initi-ated into the life and career of a bandit queen, and took part in a scries of adventures wilder than fiction ever dreamed of. '9 Arrived at the camp of the bandits in Arizona, it was not long before she had every member of the band at her feet. They swore by her and she ruled them as Red Vic even in his palmiest days never subjected them. With her it was a species of patriotism, and she urged them to bolder deeds than they had ever attempted before. The band had been recruited from the ranks of those turbulent spirits who would not return to private life after the close of the great conflict. Those who for four years had lived off of the spoils of northern raids and who would not cease to plunder now that the war was over. From pillaging the enemy, they took the step of pillaging pil-laging all alike, and had thus quickly placed themselves without the law. The first enterprise of any magnitude attempted since Kitty joined the band and in which she took a hand, was the holdup of the pay car in broad daylight on the Texas Central Railroad. The road was just being constructed and Red Vic had legalized the enterprise to his wife's satisfaction by pointing out that the capital which was building the line come from the North and was thus their natural prey. Her part was to stand at a curve on the line waving a red flag. When the train came to a stop she disappeared in the bushes beside the track. The train, which was heavily guarded, was taken by complete com-plete surprise. The place had been chosen well. The track was fringed with bushes where the members of the band concealed themselves. them-selves. When the unsuspecting crew went around the curve whither the woman had disappeared, they found the track' torn up. But before be-fore they suspected treachery they were overpowered and gagged. When the guard appeared they were met by levelled rifles. To attempt at-tempt battle was useless and they surrendered without firing a shot. The paymaster alone showed fight, but he was killed after wounding two of the bandits, and the train was at the mercy of the bandits. After rifling the pay car of its treasure and binding its defenders,, defend-ers,, the engine was started and the entire train hurled headlong into the ditch. The wires had been cut and a portion of the track blown up five miles each way from the scene of the exploit by other members mem-bers of the band. It was several hours later before the robbery was discovered. Of course the usual stir occurred in official circles after the robbery, rob-bery, and the country was scoured for miles by sheriffs' posses. It all i came to no account, for the band after dividing the booty which 1 mounted up into the tens of thousands of dollars, scattered to the ' four winds. ! Red Vic, with his wife disguised as a boy, made his way to San i Francisco. It was at the Golden Gate City that she was first initiated into the mysteries of the gaming table. ! J Play was high in those days at the California metropolis. Bur- I well, himself disguised, took his disguised wife to the gambling J houses more to throw off suspicion as to her sex than for any other reason, but found that she took to the life as if to the manor born. 1 She had a most wonderful run of luck and her winnings mounted up into the thousands. So much was this the case, that she was attracting too much attention and they quietly withdrew from the city. Several months later they appeared in St. John and took up their old life where they had left it off. Not a soul suspected or dreamed I that the talc they told was untrue. They were welcomed by all and , 'became more than ever the leaders of the social set. Not satisfied with the quiet life of the old town they ventured to Mobile and New Orleans. Their social credentials from St John were accepted without a question and they were quickly in the smart set of those centers. Gambling had got into the woman's blood and the private games of the south had her for a constant patron. Steamboat traffic had not ceased on the great river and she even sat in games on the boats while making up river trips, but as it was done in a half social way it caused but little comment. The life the pair led, however, required the expenditure of large sums of money, and it was not long before they came to the end of their resources. Again they disappeared from among their unsuspecting friends sid made their way to the outlaw camp. Again they assumed the leadership and Red Vic's fertile brain began to plan for refilling their exhausted coffers. This time a bank robbery was planned. A railroad town near Albuquerque, New Mexico, was chosen for the exploit. I Riding into the town at an early hour in the morning they halted i ! i I before the bank, and while one portion of the band held the street, a number of the bravest entered the building. The officials were ready for them and opened fire as they entered. Red Vic was the leader of this party and at the first shot he was wounded. It was then that Kitty iiurwell showed her mettle and at the same time her devotion to the man. She had been left with the band outside, but when she saw her husband fall she sprang from her horse and ran frantically into the bank. She seemed like the very spirit of the fray. When she had emptied her revolver she picked up that of Red Vic and continued in the fight. It was all over in a moment and while the vault was being blown open and rifled she helped her husband to his feet and on his horse. She sprang up behind him and when the bandits left town at break-neck speed she was holding him upright with one hand and firing right and left from a revolver held in the other. This time the militia was called out and the soldiers scoured the country far and near. The hunt became so hot that Red Vic deemed it best that he and Kitty should separate. He hid himself in the mountain fastness until his wound healed, while she made her way again to California. Left to herself she again took up the life of a gambler. This time she did not disguise herself, but appeared as a woman in the high class houses of the Coast under the name of Kitty Victor. She was fast becoming noted as a female gambler, when she heard of her husband's arrest and incarceration in New Mexico. On winged feet she flew back to the wilderness. Gathering the band around her, she at once began planning his release. With a boldness unheard of she entered the town and took up her residence near the jail, from which place she perfected her plans. She passed herself as a widow who had come West to search for a brother, and so perfect was her acting that it was not until the jail delivery had been carried out and Red Vic safe in Mexico was she suspected. After the jail was broken open and the prisoners gone it was quickly noised about that some of the men who were aiding the supposed widow in search of her brother had acted in a suspicious manner. This led to her arrest for the first and only time in her checkered career. When her trial came on she appeared so much of a lady, and the case made against her was so flimsy that she was acquitted, and a short time later joined her husband in Mexico. In the southern republic she again indulged her penchant for play. Red Vic passed himself off as a wealthy American, and gained an entrance into some of the most exclusive circles. They had both made themselves proficient in the language, not knowing when this knowledge might stand them well in hand. Play was the rule among the higher classes in which they moved, and Kitty had acquired nerves of steel. Fortune was with her again and her winnings mounted up into the thousands. After a stay below the Rio Grande of sufficient length of time to allow the search for the band robbers to subside, they again returned to St. John, reaching home by way of Europe. It was during this stay at home that her child was born, and it seemed as if her wild career was over. The little girl, however, only lived three years, and again the wild life called her to the West. The last exploit of this strange pair was at the hold-up of a train on the Santa Fe railroad. The enterprise had been planned in somewhat some-what the same manner in which the first one in which she had been an actor was carried out. The outcome, however, was very different. In the battle which ensued the bandits were driven off, leaving a number of their dead behind them. Kitty no longer took a passive hand in the fray. She was of the attacking party. Red Vic was killed at the outset of the fight, and seeing her beloved husband fall she refused to leave his dead body and was shot to death while fighting over it. It was years after when it became known at St. John why Kitty Burwell did not return, and even then her old friends refused to believe be-lieve that the dashing major and his pretty wife they knew and loved so well, were two of the most noted characters in the West. 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