Murder victim. He owned a saloon in Taos and, on the night of March 26, 1909, he was shot to death from a rifle fired through a window of his saloon. A man named Alvin (spelled Alvan in court records) Potter, known by the sobriquet "Pack Saddle Jack," was arrested and charged with first degree murder in the case. Pack Saddle Jack, so called because he was a thief who rode his horse atop a pack saddle with his stolen goods secreted under the saddle, was a character who had earlier been tried in Colorado for being a participant in robbing the Denver & Rio Grande train at Parachute on July 7, 1904. This was the same train robbery in which Harvey Logan, aka Kid Curry, the "mad dog killer" of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, participated and, when cornered in a field by lawmen, shot himself rather than be captured. Potter was acquitted of the robbery charges due to perjured testimony from his pals who said he was with them in Cedaredge that day and could not have been in Parachute. Famous Colorado lawman Doc Shores had investigated the case and was convinced Pack Saddle Jack was one of the train robbers. In the Taos case, Potter was convicted of second degree murder in the death of Robert Pooler and sentenced to 99 years in the New Mexico State Penitentiary. He died in prison sometime in the 1920s.
Murder victim. He owned a saloon in Taos and, on the night of March 26, 1909, he was shot to death from a rifle fired through a window of his saloon. A man named Alvin (spelled Alvan in court records) Potter, known by the sobriquet "Pack Saddle Jack," was arrested and charged with first degree murder in the case. Pack Saddle Jack, so called because he was a thief who rode his horse atop a pack saddle with his stolen goods secreted under the saddle, was a character who had earlier been tried in Colorado for being a participant in robbing the Denver & Rio Grande train at Parachute on July 7, 1904. This was the same train robbery in which Harvey Logan, aka Kid Curry, the "mad dog killer" of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, participated and, when cornered in a field by lawmen, shot himself rather than be captured. Potter was acquitted of the robbery charges due to perjured testimony from his pals who said he was with them in Cedaredge that day and could not have been in Parachute. Famous Colorado lawman Doc Shores had investigated the case and was convinced Pack Saddle Jack was one of the train robbers. In the Taos case, Potter was convicted of second degree murder in the death of Robert Pooler and sentenced to 99 years in the New Mexico State Penitentiary. He died in prison sometime in the 1920s.
Gravesite Details
Woodman of the World
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