OCR Text |
Show PENDER LEAVES A In tho retirement of James F. Pender Pen-der from Ogden's dctecthe force tho city is losing one of tho most efficient crook-takers that the intermountaln country has ever produced, the cleverness clever-ness of his work having received rocognition from Scotland Yard and the greatest detective Institutions in this country. No other man who ever held a position in the police department depart-ment of this city has been so successful suc-cessful Jn the capture of lawbreakers or has left the city's servlco leaving behind him a better record for gen-oral gen-oral efficiency. , j Mr. Pender began life as a plains- man when he was but sixtcon years of age. For nine years ho followed tho hazardous career of Indian scouting, scout-ing, serving part of the time with General George A Custer. In 18C8 he was with Papoon's scouts and was in the massacre of Black Kettle Indians In-dians in tho panhandle of Texas. Blnck Kettle's braves had been pil-lnglng pil-lnglng the caravans on tho Santa Fo trail and had become the terrors of the plains. Tho Santa Fe trail was marked with tho hones of tho rod-skins' rod-skins' victims at the time Papoon's scouts weie ordered to hunt them down. Troops and Indians mot and there was no quarter asked or given. The entire band of savages was annihilated. anni-hilated. During this campaign Pender Pen-der met some of the most noted Indian In-dian fighters of the plains. At tho time of tho fatal battle of tho Llttlo Big Horn, In which General Custer lost his life. Pondor was on duty many miles to tho south of tho battleground, battle-ground, the fates apparently having ordninod in his bohnlf. While leading the wild lifo of the plains Pender became a personal friend of Wild Bill Hlckok and of California Joo, made famous by the romantic historians of the west. Ho also had an intimate acquaintance with Buffalo Bill Cody, whose western career has been so ably exploited by press agents. 1-ender finnlly married in Colorado and left tho life of the plains for the more ptosaic ono of the city and homo. He moved from Colorado to Utah and was appointed to the police force in this city in 1894 during the administration of Mayor H. H Spencer. Spen-cer. Since that time Ponder hns been the undoing of many noted crooks. One of these who fell foul of the ox-Indian ox-Indian fighter's sasaclty was Sir Henry Cooper, a noted forger, whoso criminal oporations wero international, interna-tional, Cooper had defied the police of South America and of nearly every country in Europe. His capture by Pender called for congratulations from the loading thief-catchers of Englaud nnd America. Pender not only captured Cooper, but wrung a completo confession from him and turned him over to tho authorities of California, where he served time In the state penitentiary In the capture of three members of the notorious Maybray gang, whoso swindles amounted to more than a million dollars and who had operated in nearly every 3lute in tho Union, Ponder achieved another of his most remarkable captures, The many cases which Pender brought to a successful suc-cessful olose vould make a volume o" interesting reading for those whojloye dotectlvo tales. The detective, however, how-ever, has always been qf a taciturn |