Search the Encyclopedia Mavericana:   ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

sheriff

Sheriff of Silver Springs,[1] in New Mexico Territory in 1878. (April 10, 1842 – September 16, 1924).[2]

In July of 1878,[2] the sheriff heard gunshots from Carl Jimson's office and rushed to the scene. he found Bret Maverick with a gun in his hand kneeling over the unconscious body of Donna Seely, who had been shot in the chest. The sheriff knocked Bret out with the butt of his gun as Jimson rushed up, accusing Bret of shooting Donna in cold blood. When Bret came to in the sheriff's office, he tried to set the record straight by explaining how Jimson had shot Donna. With Donna unconscious from shock and loss of blood, she could not testify as to who shot her, and the sheriff was disposed to believe that Jimson would not shoot his own fiancée. He put Bret in jail, pending Donna's recovery and stated that if she were to die without clearing Bret's name, he would be tried for murder. When Bret heard that Jimson had fled Silver Springs, he broke out of jail to track Jimson across the desert. Donna recovered and named Jimson as the man who shot her. When Bret returned to town with Jimson, the sheriff felt he should jail Bret again for breaking out of his jail. But he was glad Bret had brought Jimson back and let Bret go free.[1]

See: Relic of Fort Tejon