By Parker Anderson
The murder trial of James Parker was one of the most notorious criminal cases in late 19th-century Prescott. To this day, the story of Parker (no relation to the present author) is still told and retold, with varying degrees of accuracy, by old-timers and magazines devoted to Western lore. James Parker, commonly referred to as Fleming Parker in more recent times, was born in 1865 in Visalia, California. He had three sisters. His mother died while he was still a child, and his father reportedly went insane a few years later. Parker was then raised by his grandfather, who valiantly carried on the impossible task of keeping the wild young man out of trouble.
While still in California, Parker served two terms in San Quentin Prison on theft charges, in 1885, and again in 1891. Following his early release on the last charge, Parker saddled up and headed for Arizona, where he sought work as a ranch hand. Parker's skill with horses led him to be a much sought-after cowboy on the ranches of Northern Arizona.
It has often been said that during this time, Parker befriended another young cowboy named George Ruffner. There is evidence to support this contention. Parker and Ruffner are said to have drifted around from ranch to ranch together, but they would later part company. George Ruffner settled down to become a respected businessman in Prescott, where he later became Sheriff. Parker, on the other hand, was interested in obtaining his money through quicker and less scrupulous methods.
Jim Parker headed further north, where he took up with the Abe Thompson Gang, a group of thieves and cattle rustlers who had terrorized the ranchers and country settlers near Peach Springs for several years. The Thompson Gang, who holed up at a hideout rather ominously known as "Thompson's Cabin" (not Robber's Roost, as is commonly reported), consisted of Thompson, Parker, Love Marvin, an unknown man often referred to as Jim Williams, and several Mexicans.
It was February, 1897. The Thompson Gang apparently tired of cattle rustling and made plans to rob an overland Atlantic & Pacific train that went near Peach Springs. While Thompson and Marvin went into town to be conspicuous and give the gang an alibi, Parker and Williams forced the track watchman to flag the train in a rock-cut, after which they demanded, at gunpoint, for the fireman to uncouple the engine and the mail car from the rest of the train, and to take it down the track to Nelson siding.
In the confusion of the ill-planned robbery, an Express Messenger managed to shoot Williams, who died instantly. Parker, who was rifling the mail car, was apparently unaware of this. It is not clear what the robbers thought was on board, the mail car was a strange target for a robbery. Several pounds of dynamite and blasting caps were found on Williams' body, indicating that the bandits were somehow expecting to find a safe or a vault.
After finding very little worth stealing, Parker rode off and soon found himself being pursued by posses from three counties, Coconino, Mojave and Yavapai. He was eventually snuck up on and apprehended by his one-time friend, Sheriff George Ruffner, who took him to Prescott and lodged him in the Yavapai County jail. But Parker didn't stay there very long.
In May of 1897, jailor Robert Meador responded to cries for water from the prisoners. When he opened the cell door, he was overpowered by a Mexican inmate, Cornelia Sarata, who was in jail for attempted murder. While Meador and Sarata were struggling, Parker and Louis C. Miller, an ex-Prescott Constable turned forger, ran to a storeroom and picked up several rifles. When the three escapees started to flee the jail, they were confronted by Deputy District Attorney Lee Norris, who came down to investigate the commotion. Parker shot him down on the spot.
The three escapees proceeded to run across the street to Sheriff Ruffner's livery stable, where they grabbed the first horses they saw. By happenstance, Parker took Sheriff Ruffner's prize white gelding, Sure-Shot, and this caused as much controversy in old Prescott as the murder of Lee Norris. The three armed men rode out of town.
Posses were instantly formed. Louis Miller would later surrender to authorities in Jerome, while Cornelia Sarata was never seen again, dead or alive. As he was wounded, it is thought he may have crawled away and died somewhere. Others believe he made it to the Mexican border. There is no evidence either way.
Parker led his pursuers on through the Kaibab-Williams area, where he had many friends among the country settlers who distrusted "city folk," and who were willing to help him elude the posse. Parker's luck eventually ran out. He made it as far as a trading post on the Navajo Reservation near Tuba City, where he stopped for supplies. The white trader, Samuel S. Preston, recognized Parker from his wanted poster, and rounded up several Indian trailers. They snuck up on Parker while he was sleeping and that was it.
Back in jail in Prescott, James Parker was convicted for the murder of Lee Norris and sentenced to hang. An already lengthy appeals process delayed the execution by over a year, but on June 3, 1898, Parker mounted the gallows on the east side of the Courthouse, the Cortez street side. In his last words, Parker stated that he bore no ill will toward anyone. His old friend, Sheriff Ruffner, pulled the switch and drove the hearse to the potter's field, which is actually a row of unmarked graves in the old Citizen's Cemetery on Sheldon Street.
The story of Jim Parker continues to fascinate the historians of old Prescott and devotees of western lore. For years afterward, old-timers would boast that THEY were the ones had captured Parker. Numerous myths and legends have grown up around his memory. This is a shame - the story is spellbinding on its own. Prescott was a much different city in those days.
On the evenings of July 14,15,16 and 21,22,23 the Sharlot Hall Museum's Blue Rose Theater will relive those days of Parker and his relationship to Ruffner in the play UNTIL THE LAST DOG IS HUNG. Contact the Museum at 445-3122 for times and admission.
Parker Anderson is an active member of the Blue Rose Theater. He is the author of the play UNTIL THE LAST DOG IS HUNG, based on the story of James Parker. He ultimately plans to write a detailed book on the case.
Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number: (h104pf). Reuse only by permission.
Jim Parker and George Ruffner are said to have drifted around together before Ruffner became a respectable citizen of Prescott and eventually Sheriff. Later Parker had been arrested for train robbery, broke out of jail, and killed a man. The final time they were together was on the gallows for Parker's hanging on June 3, 1898.