American Notes THE WEST

Crafty, elusive, quick enough on the draw to gun down two Idaho game wardens who tried to arrest him for poaching in 1981, Claude Dallas Jr. was a surprisingly easy catch last week. Unarmed and toting a bag of groceries, Dallas, 37, was surrounded by FBI agents outside a convenience store in Riverside, Calif., ending a manhunt that began when he escaped from an Idaho prison last Easter.

The captive barely resembled the mountain man who had become something of a legend. His shaggy beard had been replaced by a trim mustache, and agents speculated that he had undergone facial surgery. Authorities found him by shadowing Danny Martinez, a cowhand pal. "We set up a net around Mr. Martinez, and Dallas walked into it," said an FBI agent. In Idaho, Dallas faces an additional five years for prison escape, tacked onto his 30-year sentence for manslaughter.