The Death of Sheriff Tom Logan
The Nevada landscape, often painted with hues of gold and ochre under the relentless desert sun, held a stark contrast to the events that unfolded on the morning of April 7, 1906. Nine years prior, Walter Amphiloque Barieau’s trajectory seemed set on a collision course with destiny, foreshadowing the tragic demise of an unarmed sheriff outside the Jewel House in Manhattan, Nevada.
A glimpse into Barieau’s past reveals a man often at odds with the law. An article published in the Sacramento Union on March 13, 1895, offers a window into his confrontational nature:
"Constable Faris had quite a scrimmage with the Barieau household at 1020 N Street on Monday afternoon when he attempted to take possession of some furniture in the house, which was attached by Ingram & Bird. The Constable put Thomas I. Acock in charge of the property as keeper, but Barieau and his wife refused to give up possession of the furniture until 4 o’clock. Faris waited until that time, and in the meantime, Barieau went away. No action was taken until 5 o’clock when Faris again demanded that Mrs. Barieau admit him, which she refused to do. He then broke into a window, crawled into the house, and unlocked the door. A truckman was at hand, and the property was carried off. By this time, Barieau returned, and he was wrathy. He saw a pistol which belonged to him in possession of Faris, and he told the officer that if he was present when he broke into the house, the latter would have paid dearly for his raid."
This Sacramento incident was not an isolated one. Barieau, a professional gambler by trade, developed a reputation for brushes with law enforcement. Ironically, during his subsequent murder trial, his defense painted him as a decent man with a clean record. This assertion, among other calculated strategies employed by his legal team, ultimately contributed to his shocking acquittal in the shooting of Tom Logan, a respected three-term sheriff, a husband, and a father of eight. The circumstances surrounding the death of Sheriff Tom Logan are a stark reminder of the complexities of justice in the Old West.
Tom Logan, a native Nevadan, was nearing his 45th birthday when he journeyed to the burgeoning mining camp of Manhattan, located approximately 40 miles northeast of Tonopah. His trip served a dual purpose: official business and a visit to May Biggs, the woman who ran The Jewel, described as "a house of ill-fame." The stage was set for the fateful encounter that would lead to the death of Sheriff Tom Logan.
As the first rays of dawn began to paint the sky, May Biggs was in the process of clearing the last lingering patrons from her establishment. She discovered Walter Barieau lounging in the parlor. Her testimony at the coroner’s hearing painted a vivid picture of the escalating tension: "I said he should not spoil the fun that they had by keeping me up any longer, or words to that effect. So he got up and when I started out of the door, he went back. His hat was on the table. I thought he would come out for sure. He told me to mind my own business…Then when he took hold of my wrists I went down on one knee and then I screamed. I thought he was going to hit me."
Sheriff Logan, clad only in a nightshirt, entered the parlor, inquiring, "What’s all this?" Biggs, followed by Barieau and then Logan, led the way toward the front door. Once outside, Barieau’s temper flared. He reached under his coat.
"Don’t pull that gun," Logan reportedly warned, but Barieau disregarded the plea. He fired, shattering the glass of the open doorway. Logan charged at Barieau, who then shot the unarmed sheriff five times. The Manhattan News reported on witness accounts in its evening edition: "Upon arising the people in that vicinity witnessed a struggle between two men, both of whom were wet with human gore…An eye witness states that the mortally wounded sheriff prevented a double tragedy in a manner that showed the temperament of the man who crossed the great divide. After Bering [sic] got Logan’s gun he returned and leveled it at the accused and would have pulled the trigger but for the sheriff who waved Bering away and told him not to shoot… [Deputy] Scott Hickey testified to having arrived upon the scene of the shooting while Logan and the man under arrest accused of the murder were on the ground. Logan, he declared, was holding Barieau down on the ground, having hold of his hands, in which the latter grasped a revolver. Hickey told of having taken the gun from Barieau and arresting him."
While Barieau was taken into custody in the newly opened jail in Tonopah, the impact of the death of Sheriff Tom Logan reverberated throughout the community. The April 7, 1906, evening edition of The Sun dedicated its entire front page to the tragedy. An excerpt from an editorial tribute captures the sentiment of the time: "A brave man has been laid low in the performance of his duty. All Nye County mourns over the loss of one who was universally loved for his loveable traits and the greatest of those being his bravery. Thomas W. Logan was a naturally constituted man for the office he held. He was without braggadocio. He never talked of his bravery or threatened. He merely performed his duty as it came to him to do and did it with conscientiousness and mere as a matter of course…When the most dangerous men were in the act of committing their crimes, instead of girding himself with weapons for a street parade and doing what some sheriffs do to attract attention, Tom Logan was a one of the quietest men in the whole camp and always did his duty quietly and well. He would look down the barrel of a loaded gun without a quiver and he never thought anything of it. A model sheriff, a good citizen, Sheriff Logan was a man who was a benefit to the world in which he lived."
The trial commenced three months later. Barieau was defended by two attorneys: Stephen Flynn, a seasoned litigator from Michigan, and Patrick McCarran, a young and ambitious attorney from Reno. They mounted a self-defense case, focusing on discrediting Logan’s character and the testimonies of the "red light district" witnesses. McCarran, according to a newspaper account, portrayed Biggs as an "enchantress who had wound herself into the life of a man inclined to do right and making him a slave to her every will and wish."
Juxtaposed against this character assassination was a poignant letter Logan had written a month prior to his three daughters attending Business College in Oakland, California: "My Dear Daughters: No doubt you think your Father has forgotten you, but I have not. I have been away far from home for a long time, after jurors and witnesses. This County is getting so lively now that it keeps me going day and night…I am trying to shape up for the rest of the family to come down by the middle of next month, although they don’t know it, as I expect $500 by the 10th of April and if it comes and will, I will give it to your mother to go and spend, and give her a chance to see something. Do not say anything to her about it because sometimes these things fall through but I don’t think that this will…We will come out all right—before this summer is over your Father has some chances to make money that he never had before. I enclose $50 and will send more before long with all kinds of love to you all, I am your affectionate Papa."
After seventeen hours of deliberation, the jury delivered a "Not Guilty" verdict on July 13, 1906. Barieau walked free, while the shadow cast by the death of Sheriff Tom Logan deepened over his family.
While Stephen Flynn served as lead counsel, it was Patrick McCarran who experienced a surge in popularity. He went on to become a prominent and controversial U.S. Senator from Nevada. In his unpublished biography, he attributed his rise to political power to the Barieau acquittal, which he dubbed "The McCarran Miracle." He did not mention Flynn, who tragically took his own life three years after the trial. A passage from his suicide note offers a haunting glimpse into his state of mind: "My frame of mind may be described as that of complete resignation to what I at this moment believe to be my fate, inevitable fate. Were I upon the scaffold with the black hood drawn over my head I could not be better convinced of the fact, and I believe that I am immeasurably more resigned than I would be if I occupied the latter position… and I am prompted to make my exit with a feeling of charity, if, not indeed, love in my heart for every human being."
Following his acquittal, Walter Barieau, along with his wife and daughter, boarded a steamship to Panama, leaving the country behind. Later accounts suggest he managed a casino in Mexico for Jack Dempsey, served as a bodyguard for Nevada political boss George Wingfield, and experienced both great gains and losses in the gaming industry.
Barieau, whose own father had been acquitted of killing his pregnant wife, died penniless and alone in San Diego on July 4, 1953, at the age of 84. Rumors persist to this day regarding a possible conspiracy behind the death of Sheriff Tom Logan, suggesting Barieau may have been hired to commit the murder. While the possibility remains, it is likely to remain an unsolved mystery.
On May 28, 2011, 105 years after the death of Sheriff Tom Logan, then Nye County Sheriff Anthony DeMeo posthumously awarded him a Purple Heart and Medal of Valor. He emphasized that regardless of the location of the shooting, Logan had acted in the interest of public safety and had made the ultimate sacrifice as an officer of the law.