On the 6th day of March, the Bruer posse ran onto five mounted men at the lower crossing of the Rio Penasco, six miles from the Pecos river. They fled and were pursued by Bruer and his crowd.
Two of the fleeing cowboys separated from their companions. The “Kid” recognized them as Morton and Baker, his former friends. He dashed after them, and the rest of the posse followed his lead.
Shots were being fired back and forth. At last Morton’s and Baker’s mounts fell over dead. The two men then crawled into a sink-hole to shield their bodies from the bullets.
A parley was held, and the two men surrendered, after Bruer had promised them protection. The “Kid” protested against giving this pledge. He remarked: “My time will come.”
Now the posse started for the Chisum home ranch, on South Spring river, with the two handcuffed prisoners.
On the morning of the 9th day of March, the Bruer posse started with the prisoners for Lincoln, but pretended to be headed for Fort Sumner.
The posse was made up of the following men: R. M. Bruer, J. G. Skurlock, Charlie Bowdre, “Billy the Kid,” Henry Brown, Frank McNab, Fred Wayt, Sam Smith, Jim French, John Middleton and McClosky.
After traveling five miles they came to the little village of Roswell. Here they stopped to allow Morton time to write a letter to his cousin, the Hon. H. H. Marshall, of Richmond, Virginia.
Ash Upson was the postmaster in Roswell, and Morton asked him to notify his cousin in Virginia, if the posse failed to keep their pledge of protection.
McClosky, who was standing near, remarked: “If harm comes to you two, they will have to kill me first.”