Ketchum Goes Out Alone
Tom "Black Jack" Ketchum vs. Frank Harrington.
By: Bob Boze Bell 02/01/2009
Ketchum’s Final Run
Born in Texas in 1863, the youngest of three boys, Tom Ketchum fled to the Pecos Valley of New Mexico where he cowboyed until joining his brother Sam in 1894. The duo went on a crime spree: robbing stores, stagecoaches and trains. During their escapades, the press tagged Tom as “Black Jack,” but it’s likely that his fellow gang members never called him that. Tom’s final chapter included:
September 3, 1888
Four men (including both Ketchums), all riding bay horses, rob the Texas Flyer in a shallow cut, south of Folsom, New Mexico, on the Colorado & Southern Railroad line. They steal a repoted $3,000. Historians speculate that a fight over splitting the spoils results in Tom being kicked out of the gang.
July 11, 1899
Two outlaws, Elzy Lay and Sam Ketchum, commandeer Train No. 1 south of Folsom. Sam tells the engineer to “stop where the last holdup was.” This time, four outlaws ride off with some $70,000. Tom Ketchum is not with them.
July 16, 1899
A Cimarron, New Mexico, posse attacks the Folsom train robbers in Turkey Creek Canyon, badly wounding both Elzy Lay and Sam Ketchum. Outlaw Will Carver holds off the posse, killing two. The outlaws escape, although Sam is captured the next day and dies of blood poisoning on July 24. (Elzy Lay will be captured four weeks later, on August 16.) Tom Ketchum is not with them.
August 16, 1899
Unaware of the train holdup and the gunfight in July, Tom Ketchum fails to rob the Colorado & Southern Railroad near Folsom. The wounded outlaw makes it back to his camp, but he cannot mount his horse.
August 17, 1899
In the morning, Ketchum flags down a northbound freight, carrying Sheriff Saturnino Pinard, who arrests him. At Folsom, a railroad physician bandages Tom’s shattered arm while an angry mob threatens to lynch the outlaw. The mob is dispersed, and Ketchum is taken to the nearest hospital, located in Trinidad, Colorado.
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