Burton C. Mossman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Burton C. Mossman
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| Born | April 30, 1867 Near Aurora, Illinois
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| Died | September 5, 1956 (aged 89) Diamond A Ranch (Roswell, New Mexico)
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Burton C. Mossman (born April 30, 1867 – died September 5, 1956) was an American lawman and cattleman. He lived during the last years of the Old West. He is best known for capturing the famous bandit Augustine Chacon in 1902. Mossman was also a successful businessman. He owned the large Diamond A Ranch in New Mexico.
Biography
Burton C. Mossman was born on April 30, 1867. His family lived on a farmhouse near Aurora, Illinois. In 1873, his family moved to Missouri. Then, in 1882, they moved again to New Mexico.
After 1884, Mossman became a cowboy. He worked for the Hashknife Outfit. This was a very large cattle company in northern Arizona Territory. Mossman was well-liked and respected. By age twenty, he was the ranch foreman. In 1897, he became the superintendent.
During this time, Mossman often fought cattle rustlers. These were people who stole cattle. He also started his own businesses. Mossman and a partner ran a stagecoach line. In 1898, he was elected sheriff of Navajo County. That same year, Mossman and three friends built an opera house in Winslow. He later sold his share. He then built a store in Douglas, which he also sold for $13,000.
It is said that Mossman joined Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders in 1898. He may have fought in the Spanish–American War. However, some historians do not mention this. Mossman was very busy managing the Hashknife Outfit and serving as sheriff. He also had many personal business interests.
By 1901, there was a lot of banditry in Arizona. The territorial governor, Oakes Murphy, decided to bring back the Arizona Rangers. Because Mossman was popular and had done brave things, he was chosen. He became the first captain of this new police unit.
Brave Encounters
Mossman was involved in at least five dangerous situations. These happened while he was a rancher or a lawman. The first one recorded happened in the summer of 1896. The Aztec Land & Cattle Company was having problems. So, Mossman took a herd of cattle south to Mazatlan, Mexico, to sell them.
While in a restaurant in Mazatlan, Mossman argued with a Mexican Army captain. The captain challenged him to a pistol duel. Mossman accepted. The next morning, they met. They each loaded their guns with one bullet. Then they walked fifteen steps away from each other. The captain had a German Luger. Mossman had a short-barreled Colt .45. Both men fired at the same time. The captain missed. Mossman's shot hit the captain's shoulder. Mossman spent a month in a Mexican jail. He escaped with help from a friend.
On March 17, 1898, Mossman was sheriff of Navajo County. He was looking for cattle rustlers with Deputy Sheriff Joe Bargeman and a guide. In Walter Canyon, they found a cabin and a cow that had been killed. The guide tried to run away on his horse. Mossman chased him and knocked him off his horse with his Winchester rifle. As he got off his horse, three other men started shooting at Mossman. One bullet grazed his nose. Another hit his saddle. A third cut his reins. Deputy Bareman started shooting back. With this help, Mossman was able to capture the guide. They took him to the cabin. The outlaws tried to attack the cabin for a short time. But they soon left. The lawmen made it safely to Holbrook.
Mossman had another dangerous event that year. One night, he was getting ready for bed in a hotel room in Springer. A bullet came up through the floor near his chair. As he started to roll up his mattress for protection, a second shot came in. Mossman got his rifle. He started shooting through the floor into the bar below. The bar quickly emptied. No one was hurt. But one bullet went through a man's hat. Another broke a glass in someone's hand.
Mossman was in two more dangerous situations in 1901. This was after he became captain of the Arizona Rangers. The first happened in Paradise Valley. Mossman was chasing an outlaw named Salivaras. The trail led him to a water hole. As Mossman got closer, Salivaras was hiding. He shot Mossman in his right leg. Mossman quickly figured out where the shot came from. He pulled up his rifle, fired one shot, and jumped off his horse. Later, Mossman found that his shot had hit Salivaras.
Later that year, Mossman learned about six suspected train robbers. They were hiding south of the border, near the Colorado River in Sonora. Mossman and three of his men found the outlaws in an adobe house. They used dynamite to force them out. After four explosions, the outlaws tried to shoot their way out. The rangers dealt with five of them. A sixth man escaped on horseback. None of the rangers were hurt.
Capturing Augustine Chacon
In 1902, Mossman decided to catch the bandit Augustine Chacon. Mossman came up with a clever plan. He pretended to be an outlaw himself. He planned to get help from the train robber Burt Alvord. Alvord was a friend of Chacon. Mossman hoped Alvord would help him catch Chacon. In return, Alvord would get a lighter sentence and the reward money for Chacon.
On April 22, 1902, Mossman found Alvord's hideout in Sonora. It was a small hut far from San Jose de Pima. Mossman approached the hut without a weapon. By chance, he found Alvord standing outside alone. The rest of Alvord's gang was playing cards inside. Mossman introduced himself. Alvord was surprised to see a police officer. But he agreed to feed Mossman and listen to him.
Mossman convinced Alvord that he was serious. The two men agreed to work together. Billy Stiles would be their messenger. It would take time for Alvord to find Chacon. He also had to convince Chacon to cross the Arizona border. Someone needed to warn Mossman when the bandits arrived.
Over three months later, Alvord found Chacon. They first went to the Yaqui River to sell stolen horses. Then they headed back to the border. As they got close, Alvord sent Stiles ahead. Stiles told Mossman to meet them just south of the border, at the Socorro Mountain Springs.
Mossman and Stiles missed Alvord and Chacon in the Socorro Mountains. But the next night, they found the bandits at Alvord's wife's home. Mossman and the others agreed to cross into Arizona the next day. They planned to steal horses from Greene's Ranch that night. But it was too dark. So the group went back to their camp. It was less than seven miles north of the border.
Just before dawn on September 4, 1902, Alvord was getting ready to leave. He quietly told Mossman: "I brought Chacon to you. You need to be very careful, or he'll kill you. Remember, if you catch him, the reward is mine. And you'll help me at my trial if I surrender."
When Chacon woke up, he noticed Alvord was gone. After breakfast, Stiles suggested they steal horses in daylight. But Chacon was not interested. He said he was going back to Sonora. Mossman knew he had to act now.
Chacon and Stiles were sitting on the ground. Mossman stood up. He asked Chacon for a cigarette. As he dropped the twig he used to light it, Mossman pulled out his revolver. He aimed it at Chacon. Mossman said: "Hands up, Chacon." Chacon asked: "Is this a joke?" Mossman replied: "No. Throw your hands up or you're a dead man." Chacon then said: "You're going to kill me anyway, why don't you shoot?" Mossman had Stiles take Chacon's weapons. Then he put Chacon on a horse. They rode to the railroad and took a train to Benson.
Several times, Chacon tried to escape. He would throw himself off his horse. He tried to do this in places where Mossman could not easily follow. But Mossman's plan worked perfectly. Chacon was later killed in Solomonville on November 21, 1902.
Later Life and Legacy
After capturing Augustine Chacon, Mossman left his position in July 1902. He wanted to focus on a peaceful life as a businessman in Bisbee. Some people said he did not want to work for the new governor, L. C. Hughes.
Mossman later returned to the cattle business. He bought the Diamond A Ranch, near Roswell, New Mexico. He passed away there from old age on September 5, 1956. Mossman was buried at Mount Washington Cemetery in Independence, Missouri. The Diamond A Ranch is now a historic site. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A historian named David Leighton says that Mossman Road in Tucson, Arizona, is named after Burton C. Mossman.
The actor Rory Calhoun played Mossman in a 1963 TV show episode. It was called "The Measure of a Man" from the series Death Valley Days. In the story, Mossman convinces Burt Alvord (Bing Russell) to help catch the bandit Augustine Chacon (Michael Pate). Mossman handcuffs Chacon. Chacon is later killed.
In 1960, Burton C. Mossman was honored. He was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
