On Halloween night of 1905, Arizona Ranger James T. “Shorty” Holmes confronted a bootlegger in Roosevelt who was suspected to selling liquor to the Indians. The suspect tried to fight his way past Holmes, which ultimately proved fatal. It was one of three shootouts Holmes took part in during his seven-year Ranger career.
James T. Holmes originally hailed from Denmark. He became a trombonist in Michigan until he “got something wrong with his lip and had to go to work at something else.” Holmes was attracted to Arizona, where he worked as a cowboy for a time. In 1902, at the age of 30, he was enlisted into the Arizona Rangers at Bisbee by Captain Thomas Rynning; it was Rynning’s second day in the position.
In 1905 Holmes was stationed at Roosevelt, where the dam was under construction. On October 31 he intercepted the bootlegging suspect, Bernardo Arviso. A pistol duel broke out when Arviso tried to fight his way past the Ranger. A government teamster named Bagley tried to aid Holmes but caught a bullet In the arm from Arviso. The Ranger fired back, killing Arviso on the spot.
Holmes would serve as a Ranger until 1909. He was there when the Rangers were sent to Morenci during the 1903 mining strike. During that assignment, on June 11, 1903, they posed for group photographs taken by Rex Rice, who managed the Phelps Dodge mercantile.
The most pressing Ranger business of early 1904 was the capture of former Ranger Billy Stiles and his fellow escapee, Burt Alvord. A few years earlier Stiles, Alvord and Augustin Chacon had received aid from Henry Wood, who helped run the Ashburn Ranch near the border. Questioned by Holmes, a second Ranger and a third man, Wood proclaimed his innocence. The Rangers then confiscated and penned an Ashburn Ranch steer. Wood went after the animal, tore down the gate of the pen and drove the steer back to the ranch.
The company soon confronted Wood, who was unarmed and seated on a horse, demanding he return the steer. When he refused, they shot his horse four times and rode away. The officers demanded that the steer be given back to them. When Wood refused, they shot his horse four times and rode away, leaving him pinned under the horse. He was able to crawl free with the aid of the rancher’s wife, who came out and lifted the dying horse’s head. Wood asked her to bring him his gun, but she demurred. The Rangers brought Wood before Judge Henry Marsteller, who not only released him but admonished the Rangers for an improper arrest. In this admonishment, the judge was joined by Sheriff Charles Fowler.
He came into some scrutiny for using excessive force on a double murder suspect. Holmes captured the suspect after beating him on the head with a frying pan and then tethered him around the neck and dragged him into town. The locals took notice and were not amused. The suspect “was fortunate he had not been shot.”
On Dec. 6, 1904, three Rangers including Holmes apprehended Antonio Nuñez, regarded in some quarters as “about the most notorious uncaught desperado in Arizona and Sonora.” A longtime rustler who frequently boasted he could never be taken alive, Nuñez surrendered tamely.
On Feb. 18, 1906, near Roosevelt, Holmes clashed with an Apache outlaw known as “Matze Ta 55.” The Apache was shot to death, but Holmes won complete exoneration by a coroner’s jury. In 1907 Holmes was in action again, this time trading shots with smugglers. Holmes never suffered a wound and was cited for distinguished service in the 1906 and 1907 engagements.
In April 1907, however, Holmes was criticized in some quarters for rough treatment of a prisoner. A black man named Baldwin had murdered a Mrs. Morris and her daughter near Roosevelt on Jan. 31, 1907. Holmes finally apprehended Baldwin just outside Roosevelt. Baldwin wisely surrendered, but Holmes – never kindly disposed towards murderers – beat him over the head with a frying pan. Then he tied a rope around Baldwin’s neck, mounted his horse and spurred away, dragging the prisoner “for a considerable distance.” Holmes stopped long enough to tie Baldwin’s hands, then dragged him on into town, where residents took notice and were not amused.
