Carr had started to build a reputation of his
own. He was a suspect in the Peg Leg Stage
holdup at the crossing on the San Saba River.
The Peg Leg station was a favorite for outlaws
because of its geography, and had been hit mul-
tiple times.
With only one of the gang behind bars, citi-
zens prayed for safety. That safety finally
arrived in the form of 10 Texas Rangers led by
noted Indian fighter and outlaw tracker
Sergeant Ed Sieker, Jr.
Apprised of the situation, the Rangers set
about to first secure their only prisoner and sec-
ond, to catch the others involved. The town had
been so much in fear of the outlaws that no one
would help guard the jail. The Rangers found
that part of their duty would be protecting the
jail from being controlled by the prisoner.
Soon Sieker worried that even his men
would fall victim to the former Seven
Rivers Gang member—if not to
violence, then to bribery. In fact,
bribes had already been
made
for
Carr’s
release. The uncer-
tainty eventually
led the Rangers to
transfer
the
prisoner
to
Fort Stockton
in an attempt
to deceive the
outlaws.
Meanwhile,
the search for the
Seven Rivers Gang contin-
ued. After close to a month of searching Sieker,
along with George “Red” Bingham, L. B.
Caruthers and four others, including a Mexican
guide, tracked the outlaws to the Chinati
Mountains southwest of Fort Davis.
The Rangers approached the men cautiously
but their advance was answered with gunfire.
After a gun battle on horseback stretching over
two miles, the outlaws dismounted. The gun-
fight was fierce and according to Sieker the
Rangers finally got the upper hand after charg-
ing the bandits and taking their stronghold,
eventually forcing them to surrender.
Private Davy Tom Carson’s horse took two
shots and his hat took one, but not before he
brought down George Graham with his rifle. By
the time the smoke and dust had settled on the
foothills of the Chinati Mountains, all the out-
laws had been disarmed. Only then did
Sergeant Sieker realize that he too had lost one
of his men. George R. “Red” Bingham, 28
years old, received a fatal bullet through the
heart while trying to reload his Winchester.
Sergeant Sieker revealed that had he known one
of his Rangers had died he would have killed the
whole bunch. Bingham was buried in a tearful
ceremony on the side of the mountain. The out-
law was left high on the mountain, perhaps so
he could meet his maker and his judgment a lit-
tle sooner.
The other prisoners and Rangers spent a mis-
erable night near the rocky battle site in the
Chinati Mountains. The outlaws spent the next
few months bouncing from one courthouse jail
to another. Jesse Evans received a murder
charge for the death of Red Bingham. Even
though no one saw Jesse take the fatal shot, he
received the reward.
Later, when Evans was in
prison, the Rangers intercepted
a letter he wrote to an old
acquaintance. In it he asked
for his pal to spring him
out of jail. The letter was
headed to New Mexico
Territory. The only name
on the address line was
“The Kid.”
What happened to
Evans after that is debat-
able. In 1882 he was sent
to Huntsville to serve his
time in the penitentiary,
inmate #9078. One story
has it that he walked off of a
work detail while on “the
farm.” Since then he has van-
ished from history.
Because of the trouble
that plagued Fort Stockton
and Fort Davis in the years
surrounding 1880 and the
Fort’s distance from El Paso,
Company E was established in Fort
Davis under the direction of Lieutenant Charles
L. Nevill to offer greater protection to the area.
But the story of the marauding Seven Rivers
Gang and their subsequent defeat at the hands
of the Texas Rangers became the stuff of legend,
and has taken its place in the annals of our own
Wild West history.
The Annie Riggs Memorial Museum is open six days
a week, Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. Admission is $3.00 a person or $2.50 for
seniors. Located at 301 S. Main, the Museum sits adja-
cent to the county courthouse and the Grey Mule Saloon
in downtown Historic Fort Stockton.
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Fourth Quarter 2013
21