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Ironically, Roberts and Brewer were buried side by side.

    The gunfight at Blazer’s Mill only served to further tarnish the image of the Regulators; some felt that Roberts had been ambushed and appreciated how he continued to battle despite his fatal wounds.  The Regulators went back to San Patricio to plot their next move. In the spring, a grand jury handed down indictments in the Tunstall murder, as well as indictments in the killings of Brady, his deputy, and Roberts. William H. Bonney was one of the men wanted for the murder of Sheriff Brady and Buckshot Roberts.

    George Coe in later years, clearly missing his trigger finger

Chapter 4: The End of the Lincoln County War

    With Brewer dead, the Regulators elected Frank McNab, a former cattle detective, as their new leader. Meanwhile, John Copeland was appointed the new sheriff to replace Brady, which was a bit of a stroke of luck for the Regulators since he was friendlier to them than The House. The new sheriff was often seen out in the saloons and gambling halls with the Regulators, never getting around to serving the warrants that he had for their arrest. McSween also returned to town when the embezzlement charges were dismissed.

    During this time, the Kid preferred to go to McSween’s house instead of the saloon. On many nights, Mary Early, the preacher’s wife, played the piano in McSween’s parlor, and the Kid liked to go there and sing. Early recalled that the Kid and any of the other Regulators that joined him sang with enthusiasm, “They stood behind me with their guns and belts full of cartridges; I suppose I was off tune as often as on it as I felt very nervous, though they were nice and polite.”

    On April 29, 1878, the Seven Rivers Posse, Dolan’s new posse, headed to Lincoln to join up with Dolan’s other men. The group stopped for a break at the Charles Fritz Ranch on the Rio Bonito, about nine miles out of town. The Fritz family passed the word that Frank Coe, McNab, and another of the Regulators, Ab Saunders, would be by that day to get water for their horses. The posse waited and they shot at the Regulators as they passed by on their way to the spring. When it was over, McNab was dead, Saunders was wounded and captured, and Coe’s horse was killed, forcing him to surrender. Coe was taken to Dolan’s store when the posse rode back into town.

    When word got back to the Regulators about the new posse, they scattered throughout the town. Another gun battle broke out, allowing Frank Coe to simply walk back to his crew. Sheriff Copland had had enough and finally called out the army for assistance. Buffalo soldiers were sent into Lincoln with orders to arrest anyone involved in the war, resulting in the arrest of 30 men, who were taken back to Fort Stanton.  Copland asked that the men be remanded to his custody, but when the men were released to him, he could do nothing other than to order them to stop fighting.

    However, neither side was willing to quit yet. By early May 1878, the Regulators had replaced yet another killed leader, this time with Josiah “Doc” Shurlock, who was deputized by Sheriff Copland. Meanwhile, the partnership between Dolan and Riley was also in the process of formally ending. On May 14, a group of Mexican-American and white riders, with Scurlock and Josefita Chavez in the lead, swept into the Seven Rivers area and overtook a camp of Dolan’s men, killing their cook, Manuel “Indian” Segovia. Two of Dolan’s men were also wounded but managed to escape. The Regulators also took a couple dozen of the horses and mules from the camp and set the cattle free.

    What the Regulators did not realize was that the cattle and horses did not belong to Dolan and Riley anymore. They were the property of Tom “Boss” Catron, one of the most powerful men in the region, who was not at all pleased about his cattle being scattered into the plains. He sent an angry letter to Governor Axtell insisting that law and order be restored.