Merriam and the Outlaw
As Merriam traveled through California, he had a few close encounters with a fugitive along the way. Merriam added a note to his journal of August 5, 1901 that reads:
Merriam went on his way, but so did the outlaw, who eluded justice that year. The next year Merriam writes on October 16, 1902:
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San Francisco Call
Thursday July 31, 1902 Despite the headline, the infamous James McKinney eluded justice in July 1902, leading to Merriam's run-in later in October.
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Merriam goes on to describe his travels without a second thought to the danger, seeing this only as a setback in the day's travel. In addition to newspaper clippings, Merriam adds this amendment to his journals:
Merriam had a tendency to state the facts and not dwell on danger too much in his writing. The casual way in which he presents his close encounter with a known murderer and outlaw speaks to Merriam's demeanor.
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