Ab Saunders
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Ab Saunders (October 14th, 1851 - February 5th, 1883) was a cowboy and at times gunman best known for his association with Frank McNab, Billy the Kid, Doc Scurlock, Charlie Bowdre, and his cousins Frank and George Coe, when he was a member of the Lincoln County Regulators during the Lincoln County War.
[edit] Early move west, cowboy life
Born James Albert Saunders in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Saunders was called "Ab" for short by those who knew him. Saunders joins his cousins Frank and George Coe in Lincoln County, New Mexico in around 1875, after first settling in Colfax County, New Mexico. They all intend to settle and build a ranch together. At the time, the corrupt Santa Fe Ring was in full swing, and in Lincoln businessman and former soldier Lawrence Murphy has a monopoly on business, charging extremely high prices to ranchers and farmers for their goods.
Saunders begins working with his cousins on their ranch, and takes part in the defending of the herds against cattle rustling. In the Spring of 1876, Saunders, Frank Coe and George Coe meet and become friends with Doc Scurlock, Charlie Bowdre, and Dick Brewer. In March of 1876, Billy the Kid, known at the time as either Henry Antrim or William H. Bonney, begins working at a cheese factory owned by Doc Scurlock and Charlie Bowdre. Through them, he meets Ab Saunders and the Coe's.
In July, 1876, Frank Coe and Ab Saunders track down cattle rustler Nicas Meras, shooting and killing him in the Baca Canyon. That same month, on July 18th, 1876, Saunders, Frank Coe, Doc Scurlock, George Coe and Charlie Bowdre break into the Lincoln jail, freeing horse thief Jesus Largo from Sheriff Saturnino Baca. They then take Largo outside of town and hang him. When Bonney is fired by rancher Henry Hooker, he begins working as a cowboy for Saunders and the Coe's.
[edit] Involvement in the Lincoln County War
Through ranching, Saunders and his cousins become associated with large rancher John Tunstall, who in 1877 with the backing of the powerful John Chisum opens a rival business to the Murphy businesses, with partner Alexander McSween. This enrages Murphy and partner James Dolan, who hire members of both the Jessie Evans Gang and the John Kinney Gang, in addition to the Seven Rivers Warriors to goad Tunstall into a fight. Tunstall, in turn, hires gunmen of his own, to include Saunders, Dick Brewer, Charlie Bowdre, Doc Scurlock, both the Coe's, and William Bonney. On February 18th, 1878, Tunstall is murdered by Jessie Evans and members of his gang, sparking the Lincoln County War.
Saunder's remains allied with the McSween faction, and becomes an original member of the "Regulators", formed to counter the corrupt Sheriff's Office of William J. Brady, allied with Dolan-Murphy. On March 6th, 1878, the Regulators arrest Bill Morton and Frank Baker, who were present at Tunstall's murder. Three days later Morton, Baker and Regulator William McCloskey are killed by the Regulators at Agua Negra, with McCloskey believed to have betrayed the Regulators. On April 1st, 1878, Regulators Jim French, Frank McNab, John Middleton, Fred Waite, Henry Newton Brown, and Billy Bonney shoot at the Sheriff and his deputies through makeshift portals of the adobe wall they were behind. Bonney is wounded by Deputy Matthews while attempting to recover the rifle taken from him by Brady. Sheriff Brady and Deputy Hindman are killed.
On April 4th, 1878, the Gunfight of Blazer's Mills takes place, during which Buckshot Roberts is killed, along with Regulator leader Dick Brewer, in addition to Doc Scurlock, John Middleton, Billy the Kid, George Coe and Charlie Bowdre being wounded. Frank McNab is elected as the new leader of the Regulators following Brewer's death. On April 29th, 1878, while enroute to the Coe Ranch, Ab Saunders, Frank McNab and Frank Coe stop off at the Fritz Ranch to rest, where they are ambushed by members of the Seven Rivers Warriors. In the ensuing gunbattle, McNab is killed and Saunders is shot through the hip and badly wounded, with Frank Coe captured. Due to his injury, Saunders is left behind.
The following day, George Coe, believing his cousin Frank has been killed and knowing that cousin Saunders is wounded, shoots and wounds Seven Rivers Warriors member "Dutch Charlie" Kruling in Lincoln. Seven Rivers members Tom Green, Charles Marshall, Jim Patterson and John Galvin are killed that day in Lincoln, and the Regulators are blamed. However, it is believed just as possible that they were killed by other Seven Rivers members, as the gang had a lot of in-fighting among themselves by that point. Saunders, during that time, was just starting his recovery from his wound.
On May 15th, 1878, the Regulators storm Seven Rivers, New Mexico, killing gang member Manuel Segovia, who is believed to have shot and killed Frank McNab. By July, Saunders has made a fair recovery of his wound, but was not present during the Battle of Lincoln, during which Alex McSween is killed. That battle, for all practical purposes, ends the Lincoln County War. Several others will die in the next four years or so due to their involvement in the war, and Saunders moves with Frank and George to Colorado, then moves on to San Francisco, California to have surgery to correct ongoing problems he suffers due to the severe wound received when Frank McNab was killed. He died during the procedure on February 5th, 1883.
