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The Ruby Murders is the popular name for three separate incidents involving the deaths of six American citizens near the town of Ruby, Arizona. The first incident occurred in February 1920 when Mexican bandits robbed and killed the two owners of the Ruby Mercantile. A second attack happened in August 1921 when Mexican bandits robbed and killed the store's new owners. Two of the bandits were arrested for the crime, but they briefly escaped custody in July 1922 after killing another two men, which led to the largest manhunt in the history of the Southwest.


Background

The mining town of Ruby was established in Bear Valley during the 1870s and was a haven for cattle rustlers and other criminals for most of its Old West history. Ruby was very small and its one general store was the sole business other than mining. The store was called the Ruby Mercantile, built sometime in the late 1880s, and it also served as the post office when it opened in 1912. In 1914, the mercantile was purchased by Philip C. Clarke, who later built a larger store a short distance from the original. The second building was an adobe structure, the remains of which have been preserved. The
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...
erupted in 1910, and the town's proximity to the international border meant that it was harassed by bandits and rebels on many occasions. Rebels loyal to
Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...
were active throughout the Mexican territory opposite the Arizona border. The area was one of the hardest hit during the civil war, which fueled the lawlessness. By 1920, the town was declining, but it was still considered quite dangerous; the inhabitants were instructed to be heavily armed at all times. Clarke felt that the area was so dangerous that he kept either a pistol or a rifle in each room of his house and the store.


Murders

;February 27, 1920 In February 1920, Clarke sold the mercantile to John and Alexander Frazer before moving his family to the nearby settlement of Oro Blanco. Eleven days after closing the deal with Clarke, on February 27, 1920, the Frazer brothers were both shot during a robbery of the store.Dolan, Samuel K. ''Cowboys and Gangsters: Stories of an Untamed Southwest'' (TwoDot Books, 2016) . Alexander was found lying on the floor near the
cash register A cash register, sometimes called a till or automated money handling system, is a mechanical or electronic device for registering and calculating transactions at a point of sale. It is usually attached to a Cash register#Cash drawer, drawer fo ...
. He had been shot twice; one bullet wound was found in Alexander's head and the second in his back. John was found nearby. He was still alive, but unconscious, having been hit in the left eye by one bullet. He died five hours later without regaining consciousness. An investigation by police found that the bandits, later identified as Ezequiel Lara and Manuel Garcia, had robbed the place and cut the wires for the town's only telephone, which was located in the store. The police discovered two sets of footprints and also learned from the townspeople that two unknown Mexicans had been seen in the area. A local rancher reported that two of his best horses and eight of his cattle had been stolen at or near the same date, making the police assume the incidents were related. The Nogales
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
''Weekly Oasis'' said that the
tragedy is nothing new over there. In the wild and rugged region south from the Atascosa Mountains and the Bear Valley region, there has been always a harbor for a bunch of desperate characters, whose depredations have been felt by American cattlemen and ranchers through many years.
A posse led by Sheriff Raymond Earhardt was sent south along the bandit's trail, but they failed to catch up with the suspects. Months passed, during which time very little progress was made in the investigation. Finally, in October 1920, Garcia was killed during a gunfight with Pima County deputy sheriffs near Twin Buttes. Lara was eventually arrested in Mexico and jailed for crimes south of the border, but was never called to answer for his role in the Fraser killings. ;August 26, 1921 The second incident occurred in August 1921 following the transfer of the mercantile's ownership to a Mr. and Mrs. Frank Pearson, who lived in the store with their three daughters. Although Mr. Pearson was told about the previous killings and the situation on the border, he felt that a second attack on the store was unlikely to happen. However, on the morning of August 26, Frank and his wife Myrtle took a horseback ride into the surrounding hills and while doing so they spotted a group of seven Mexicans riding towards the town. The two thought that the Mexicans would likely want to visit the mercantile so they rode back to serve them. When the Mexicans entered the store they asked for
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
and as soon as Mr. Pearson turned around to get it the bandits drew their pistols and fired into his back. Pearson was mortally wounded by two bullets, but he managed to grab his pistol under the counter and fire three shots wildly before dying. After that the murderers turned their attention to Myrtle, who had five gold teeth. First, one bandit shot Myrtle in the neck to stop her screaming, then knocked out her gold teeth with his pistol. She was then shot a second time in the head and killed. Frank's daughter Elizabeth was also grazed in the arm, but other than that the three young girls were left unharmed. The Mexicans left after they emptied the safe and destroyed the telephone. They then rode out of town yelling and firing their guns in the air. When the Mexicans were gone the Pearson girls fled eight miles away to the nearest neighbor. This time when authorities were called for an
ambulance An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to ...
was sent from Nogales, which tended to Elizabeth's wounds. Meanwhile, a large posse of citizens and lawmen began searching the surrounding desert. A
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
from the
garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...
at Nogales was also dispatched to participate in the search and it became the first aircraft to be used for a manhunt in the history of Arizona. A $5,000 bounty, dead or alive, was also authorized for each of the seven Mexicans, partly due to the fact that the gang was suspected of being responsible for the first robbery. ;July 13, 1922 A few months later, after the manhunt had ended unsuccessfully, the authorities received news that two men in a
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
cantina A cantina is a type of Bar (establishment), bar common in Latin America and Spain. The word is similar in etymology to "canteen (place), canteen", and is derived from the Italian language, Italian word for a Wine cellar, cellar, winery, or Vault ...
had bragged about being responsible for robbing the Ruby Mercantile. American police investigated the claim, but it wasn't until April 1922 that any arrests were made. By chance, an Arizona
deputy sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is commonly ...
overheard a conversation between the
bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the Bar (establishment), bar, usually in a licensed bar (establishment), establishment as ...
and a customer at a cantina in Sasabe, Sonora; the bartender was trying to sell five gold teeth he had acquired sometime earlier by an outlaw named Manuel Martinez. When the deputy saw the teeth, he was sure they belonged to Myrtle so he bought them and took them back to the United States. Martinez was known for associating with a Mexican named Placidio Silvas, who lived near Oro Blanco, so the two were arrested and put on trial for murder in May 1922. Both were found guilty of murder by the court of Santa Cruz County. Martinez was sentenced to
death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
by hanging and Silvas received a life sentence to be served at the state prison in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
. However, on July 13, while they were being transported in a police car, the two prisoners managed to break free after Sheriff George White wrecked the car he and deputy L.A. Smith were transporting the prisoners in. The police car was found later that day, rolled into a ditch near Continental, with the bodies of White and Smith nearby. White was killed at the scene, but Smith was still alive and taken to a hospital, where he died of his wounds. The men who found White and Smith trailed the outlaws across the
Santa Rita Mountains The Santa Rita Mountains ( O'odham: To:wa Kuswo Doʼag), located about southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the Patagonia Mountains, trending northwest by sout ...
, but they lost track of them near Ruby due to a
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
. The Arizona public was shocked about this latest double homicide so over 700 volunteers from Pima, Pinal,
Cochise Cochise ( ; Apache: or , ; later or , ; June 8, 1874) was the leader of the Chiricahui local group of the Chokonen and principal nantan of the Chokonen band of a Chiricahua Apache. A key war leader during the Apache Wars, he led an upri ...
and Santa Cruz counties formed posses for the largest manhunt in the history of the Southwest. Initially, Martinez and Silvas evaded the search parties, but, six days after escaping, search dogs uncovered a blood stained file, which put the posses back on the bandits' trail. That same day, Martinez and Silvas were found hiding under some brush in the Tumacacori Mountains, about seventy miles from the site where the two had escaped custody. The two Mexicans were re-tried in court and found guilty again, but the Mexican
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
appealed the court's decision and obtained a
writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...
, which delayed the case. Finally, the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
intervened and the matter was settled. Martinez was sentenced to death and executed by hanging on August 10, 1923. Silvas was put into prison at Florence, but he later escaped in 1928, never to be seen again.


Further reading

The Ruby Murders have been covered by a number of historians, including Al Ring, Bob Ring and Talia Cahoon in their 2005 history of Ruby, ''Ruby Arizona: Mining, Mayhem and Murder.'' Samuel K. Dolan's non-fiction history of law enforcement in the Southwest during the 1920s and 1930s, ''Cowboys and Gangsters: Stories of an Untamed Southwest,'' also includes a chapter on the Ruby murders and the manhunts for the killers of the Frasers and Pearsons.Dolan, Samuel K.
Cowboys and Gangsters: Stories of an Untamed Southwest
' (TwoDot Books, 2016) .


See also

*
Battle of Bear Valley The Battle of Bear Valley was a small engagement fought in 1918 between a band of Yaquis and a detachment of United States Army soldiers. On January 9, 1918, elements of the American 10th Cavalry Regiment of Buffalo Soldiers detected about th ...
* Power's Cabin Shootout * Bandit War


References

{{reflist History of Arizona American frontier Mexican Revolution Murder in Arizona Deaths by firearm in Arizona 1920 in Arizona 1921 in Arizona 1922 in Arizona Arizona folklore Combat incidents 1920 murders in the United States 1921 murders in the United States 1922 murders in the United States Crimes in Arizona History of Santa Cruz County, Arizona Mexico–United States border