Jim Miller

Jim Miller

Jim Miller - one of a number possible suspects for Pat Garrett's murder. For anyone in the Southwest wanting to hire an assassin, "Deacon" James P. Miller was a good selection. He was a real pro, effective, and clever in arranging his alibis in advance. His "cover" was as manager of a small but respectable hotel, and he was noted for his fervor when he joined in the hymn-singing at the church services which he attended regularly when not away from home practicing his favorite trade. His luck was uncanny; he was repeatedly acquitted on those occasions when he was caught and tried. After the Garrett killing, however, his luck ran out; at almost exactly the same time Wayne Brazel was tried and acquitted for the murder of Pat Garrett, Jim Miller and some of his fellow exterminators were lynched in Ada, Oklahoma. Concerning Jim Miller's role in the killing of Pat Garrett, Dee Harkey, Pecos valley rancher-lawman, had this to say: "I am certain in my own mind that Miller killed Pat Garrett, because he went to my ranch in Roosevelt County, N.M. and borrowed one of my horses from Joe Beasley, who was working for me, and rode the horse into Otero County where Pat Garrett was killed that night. He then rode the horse back to my ranch. The trip killed the horse. "I asked Beasley, 'What killed this horse?' and he told me about lending the horse to Jim Miller. He said 'Miller rode over and killed Pat Garrett, and told me what he had done. He said if he was ever indicted for it, he was going to expect to show by me that he was here at your ranch at the time Pat Garrett was killed." Dee Harkey's account may well be essentially true but some flaws are apparent. The killing was not in Otero but in Dona Ana County, and occurred in mid-morning, not at night. No horse that ever lived could have left the Harkey ranch and reached the Las Cruces neighborhood, three hundred miles away, the same day. The Harkey account sounds entirely probable, except for the time element. Miller had been seen on the streets of El Paso a week before the shooting, and in the First National Bank and the Park hotel at Las Cruces thereafter. He was not a hard man to notice and remember; his garb was that not seen every day in these towns, "a cross between a preacher and a dandy." It has been pointed out that his favorite weapon was a shotgun; it seems reasonable, though, that a man would have chosen a rifle if he expected to pick off, from some distance away, one particular man in a group of three. Jim Miller was around at the time all right, but was it he or was it someone else who left those cartridge shells behind the rim of Alameda arroyo?

Área: Out of Area / Out of Area

Fuente: El Paso County Historical Society.

Cargado por: El Paso Museum of History

Comentarios

Hacer un comentario
Gracias por su comentario

Reportar esta entrada

Elige la razón más importante para este reporte

Tu nombre

Tu correo electrónico

Detalle opcional

Gracias por su reporte

Más sobre la misma comunidad-colección

Elephant Butte Dam

The Elephant Butte Dam in New Mexico was completed in 1916. The ...

J. J. Armes and J. J. Armes III

J. J. Armes and his son on vacation. Jay J. Armes was born ...

J. J. Armes, Chuck Norris, J. J. Armes III

J. J. Armes, Chuck Norris, J. J. Armes III in the year 1985. ...

J. J. Armes Being Interviewed

I had met Marlon Brando in my younger years when I was working ...

Marlon Brando, Linda Armes y J.J. Armes

J. J. Armes, Linda Armes, and Marlon Brando. I had met Marlon ...

Pancho Villa and The Columbus Raid

Pancho Villa and The Columbus Raid, by Larry A. Harris. ...

Brick Kiln

This is believed to be a brick kiln out in the desert. El Paso ...

Adobe Buildings

These buildings might be located on either side of the river. ...

Barrio

This community appears to be built on the flat land near the ...

Irrigation Canal.

There appears to be a number of ruined adobe walls in this ...

Horno

The central feature in this photograph is the horno, the outside ...

Corral de Cabras

Goats provided milk and meat, but do not eat as much as cows. ...

Outside of Adobe Home - Circa - 1900

Girls in front of adobe structure and water pump. Note the bird ...

Irrigation canal

Irrigation canal somewhere in the El Paso/Juarez area.

Irrigation Canal

Irrigation canal somewhere in El Paso or Ciudad Juarez.

Burros Transportaban Madera

Burros carrying firewood could be found in both Ciudad Juarez ...

Espectáculo de Danza de la C. I. A.

Rosa Guerrero dancers performing for the CIA - Washington, D.C. ...

Braceros leaving for El Paso

The image shows braceros on a truck, leaving Chihuahua City for ...

Skydiving promo for Nabisco over White Sands, NM

Allowed access to take off from Holloman AFB in Alamogordo, ...

End of skydive over White Sands, NM

Skydiver tracking away from formation after a jump by White ...

1st Lt. Micki Duran with USMC

My daughter Micki Duran flying a helicopter. So proud of our ...

El Capitan

Scenic aerial view of El Capitan peak in the Guadalupe Mountains ...

home.search_collection