b'he was involved in the murder of Fountain, his son, and their horse. The authorities ordered Garrett and a posse to go after Lee and another associate. They cornered the two suspects in a box canyon, but Lee managed to get off a shot that wounded Garrett\'s deputy. Garrett, more concerned about his deputy, agreed to a cease-fire that saw the two fugitives escape. They turned themselves in, but without the damning evidence of an initial capture, and circumstantial evidence is circumstantial evidence.Lee had the legal services of his brilliant but rogue friend and fellow antagonist of the doomed judge, Albert B. Fall. Fall argued that without the concrete evidence proving that Lee and his associates were guilty the jury had toJudge Colonel Albert acquit Lee and his associate. Fall, who was not on the scene of Garrett\'s near capture of Lee, was also a suspectJennings Fountainwho bore great animosity towards Judge Fountain. The jury was swayed by Fall\'s convincing arguments and the lack of evidence and thus they did acquit.Garrett never forgave himself for letting go of the chief suspects of the murder of the Fountains when he possibly had the evidence, and he never forgave Albert B. Fall for his crucial role in the release of Oliver Lee. Garrett then, like more recent Old West historians, strongly suspected that Fall too was up to his armpits in the crime. For his part, the ruthless and cunning Fall took his measure of the skilled, though aging lawman, and bided his time, letting Garrett\'s foibles and pitfalls contribute to his downfall.According to Hurd "Garrett had had enough of law enforcement. Between the public criticism and the danger,Oliver Leehe decided to pursue his many business opportunities. Unfortunately, he still had the same gambling habits and poor business instincts, which meant more hard times, increasing debts, and unpaid back taxes. What he needed was a steady paycheck, and he found it in his newest benefactor, none other than President of the United States Teddy Roosevelt" (Hurd, After the Fact, p. 113).It was no secret that the new president was infatuated and captivated by the Old West and its real and mythical figures, so after meeting Garrett at a dinner in San Antonio, the two men became fast friends. Roosevelt\'s admiration of the Old West lawmen took hold of him, and he almost immediately offered his new ex-lawman friend the prestigious job of customs inspector in El Paso. While many politicians in both New Mexico and Texas vouched for Garrett\'s character and asserted he was the right man for the job, Roosevelt did have real concerns about Garrett\'s drinking and gambling habits. When Garrett accepted the position with genuine gratitude, the president wished him well, and alluding to the former sheriff\'s gambling habits, then said: "Mr. Garrett, I am betting on you. Garrett replied, "Mr. President, you will win that bet" (Ibid.). But it was a bet both Garrett and Theodore Roosevelt were born to lose.Things went south almost from the start. The pompous and (as he aged)irascible lawman would take no advice from his nominal superior, Leslie M. Shaw, Roosevelt\'s secretary of the treasury, and when Shaw overruled Garret and sentout an independent appraiser, Garrett fired the appraiser, whereupon the appraiser sought out Garrett and punched him out in public on an El Paso street! Still, Roosevelt retained faith in his former frontier sheriff-turned neer\' do well customs inspector. That is, up until Garrett, perhaps unaware of Roosevelt\'s Dutch puritanical streak, brought a friend whom he claimed was a prominent Texas cattleman to one of Roosevelt\'s Rough Rider gatherings in San Antonio. The friend, Tom Powers, may have been a cattleman, but he was better known as the owner-proprietor of the notorious Coney Island saloon and gambling hall. Powers had a dubious reputation at best, but Roosevelt unaware of this, allowed himself to be photographed, smiling, between Garrett and Powers. When he learned of Powers\' notoriety, the furious Roosevelt stripped Garrett of his custom inspector position, (Ibid, p. 114). Roosevelt however never terminated his ties with Garrett, mentioning him as a friend in his autobiography, but it was now a friendship from a distance, to be terminatedby Garrett\'s untimely and sad demise almost a year before Roosevelt left theWhite House.The final act in the triumphant then tragic life of Pat Garrett came three years after he was let go of that plum customs inspector position. Deeply in debt, drinking heavily, with his properties being auctioned off, Garrett deserted his family and ran off to El Paso.New Mexico Territorial governor-elect and former Rough Rider George Curry then offered Garrett a position as superintendent of a state prison. When Curry found out that Garrett had a dalliance with an El Paso prostitute named Mrs. Brown, he withdrew the offer.continued on page 46ArizonaRealCountry.com October 2020 45'