Summer 1880Joe “Pony” Sawyer
Outlaw and Informer
Excerpt from His Confession
Deposition taken by P. D. Haeffy, Police Commissioner, Kansas City, Mo., this twenty-ninth day of March, 1882.
Haeffy: You don’t remember any dates concerning the murder of Everett Russell?
Sawyer: No. But I remember I was at Billy Drury’s when Ev was killed. I hid out in the barn and Billy brought me beans. He’ll vouch for me. I never killed anyone. It was Tot and Jess. Not me.
Haeffy: Tot being Tot Rhawn.
Sawyer: Yes. Jess’s cousin. Old Man Rhawn’s boy. His real name was something else, but everyone called him Tot because he was so big. It was a joke, you see. Like you call a little kid a tot, but Tot, see, he was big.
Haeffy: We understand, Pony. You don’t have to explain.
Sawyer: Jess and Tot caught u
