As they pushed along in their flight, Crawford declared repeatedly that he would put an end to his life rather than be taken prisoner; and when the soldiers surrounded them he drew his revolver and tried to blow his brains out. One of the soldiers, however, was too quick for him, and struck the weapon out of his hand. After the capture Crawford vainly tried to bribe the guards to let him escape, offering them as much as ten thousand dollars. When the large package was opened, it was found to contain bundles of bills sewed together with black thread, and with about a dozen rubber bands wrapped around them, and a stout covering of buckskin under the oiled paper. The money amounted to thirty-two thousand five hundred dollars, all in United States bills--fives, tens, twenties, fifties, and hundreds, but mostly fives. Ultimately the money was returned to the American Exchange Bank.
When organizing the pursuit of Crawford, detective Hotchkiss had arranged with the Honduras government that any letters and telegrams that might come addressed to the absconder should be delivered to him. Several letters were thus secured from the young man about town in New York who had befriended Crawford so constantly in the past, and who seemed now disposed to stand by him even in adversity and disgrace. The letters contained counsel and reproaches, and seemed to indicate that relations of unusual familiarity had existed between the two men. Besides these letters, two cablegrams were intercepted from the same source, both being sent through an intermediary. The first was dated March 15, 1890, and read: "Tell Crawford go back. Papers bluff. No treaty exists." The second, sent two days later, read: "Inform Crawford will meet him in Puerto Cortés."
It is needless to say that the young man did not carry out his intention of joining Crawford in Honduras, for the same mail which would have brought him Crawford's reply carried the startling news that his protégé and friend was under arrest in Santa Barbara, a self-confessed bank robber.
The government of Honduras consented, thanks to their friendly relations with the Pinkertons, to deliver Crawford over to one of the representatives of the agency, and superintendent E. S. Gaylor, who had meantime replaced detective Hotchkiss, took him in charge. A guard of Spanish soldiers brought the prisoner to Puerto Cortés, where he was placed in a hotel pending his transfer to a vessel sailing for the United States. Superintendent Gaylor himself was present to see that everything was managed properly, and he was seconded in his oversight by the former Pinkerton employee, the head of the secret police in Honduras. The final arrangements had been made, the government having taken advantage of a law authorizing the expulsion of "pernicious foreigners" in order to get rid of Crawford. The superintendent had actually taken passage for himself and Crawford, and selected berths, on an American vessel that was to sail on the morning of May 2, 1890; but the night before Crawford made his escape from the hotel, going without the money, which remained in the detective's keeping. How he escaped is still a matter of conjecture. The hotel stood on the water's edge, and from a balcony to which Crawford had access he may have managed to spring down to a wall built on piles. From there he may have reached the hotel yard at the back, and escaped over one of the picket fences that separated the hotel from the adjoining property. There is also a possibility that the Spanish soldiers were bribed; but this has never been proved, and is scarcely probable, as Crawford at the time of his escape had not more than seventy-five dollars in Honduras bills in his possession.