In 1881, two men were hanged in Shakespeare, New Mexico. One for what could be called a justifiable reason. The other, maybe not justifiable on paper, but, frankly, a reason all of us can understand.
William Rogers Tattenborn was a Russian immigrant who wandered around the Southwest. His body contained scars from gun and knife fights. Although he wasn’t a true cowboy, he did hang around some of the cowboys who were rustlers and desperadoes. Picking up the obvious nickname of Russian Bill, while in New Mexico he became friends with Sandy King. Now, Russian Bill and Sandy engaged in some minor outlawry in the Deming, New Mexico area. It just so happened that also operating in that area was a very active vigilante group.
Dakota Livesay is the editor of the Chronicle of the Old West. For more information about the Old West, visit www.ChronicleoftheOldWest.com You can hear Dakota 10 a.m. each day on KZUZ 93.5 in Show Low and KZUA 92.1 in Holbrook.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd or racist language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Be brief Comments longer than 300 words will not be approved.
Don't Threaten.Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.