Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1845-04-03
From the Democratic Review for February.
THE SHOT In THE EYE.
A True Story Of Texas Border Life
BY c. WILKINS EIsII.

BY c. WILKINS EIaI
My word for it, reader, should ne
yer have ventured to construct pro-
iessed romance out of incidents so wild
and strange as those of this narration.
1t is only with the hope that you will
accept in good faith the assurance Civ
en- in the same spirit, that these things
really dad occu7 while | was in the
country, and most Of them within my
personal knowledge-that | venture to
relate them at all. Remember, the
scene is laid in a frontier county of
Texas, and if you have even remote
conception Of the history Of that Repub-
lie and the general character of its So
cial elements, you will be prepared for
a good deal. The man of
high civilization will find great difficult
ty in understanding how such deed
as lam about to relate, requiring months
to consummate, would have been car
ried thro' in the open face of the law
and the local authori,ies-but the man
who knows this frontier will tell him
that the rifle and bowie-knife are all
the law and local authority recognised
Witness the answer President Houston
gave when application was first made
to him for his interposition with the
civil force to quell the bloody 'Regula-
tor Wars which afterwards sprung up
in this very same county--'Fight it out
among yourselves and be ID to you =
A speech entirely characteristic Of the
man and the country, as it then was
1t was in the earlier stages ofthe orga-
nization of this same Regulator asso-
citation that our story commences.
Shelby county, lying in Western
Texas on the border Of the Red Lands
was rather thinIy settled in the latter
part Of '39. What population it had
was generally the very worst caste of
border life. The bad and desperate
men who had been driven over our
frontier formed rallying ground and
headquarters here-seemingly with
the determination to hold the county
good against the intrusion of all honest
persons, and as sort of 'Alsatia' of
the west, Cor the protection Of outlaws
and villains of every grade. And in
deed to such an extent had this pro-
scription been carried that it had be-
come VIGOROUSLY as much as mans
life or conscience was worth who set
, tied among them with any worthy pur.
pose in view; for he must either fall
into their confederacy-leaye-or dien
Not only did they band to-
gether for their operations in this way,
but single man would carry off fine
horse or commit a murder with the
most open audacity, and if he only
succeeded in escaping here, was pub
licly protected.
There were some few whose wealth
to degree protected them in the OBJ
servance of a more seemly life-whiie
there was yet another, but not large
class of sturdy, straightforward emf
grants, who, attracted solely by the
beauty of the country, had come into
it, settled themselves down wherever
they took fancy-with characteristic
recklessness neither caring nor inquir-
ing who were their neighbors, but
trusting in their own stout arms and
hearts to keep footing. OF course all
such were very soon engaged in des-
perate feuds with the horse thieves and
plunderers around them; and as they
were not yet strong enough to make
head efficiently, were one after another
finally ousted or shot, 1t was to ex-
terminate this honest class that the more
lawless and brutal Of the other associa-
ted themselves and assumed the name
of Regulators They numbered from
eight to twelve-and under the organ
ization of rangers, commanded by a
beastly wretch named Hinch, they pro-
fessed to undertake the task of purify
ing the county limits of all bad and sus-
picious characters; or in other words,
of all men who dared refuse to be as
vile as they were-or ifthey were, who
chose to act independently of them and
their class. Their hate was
entirely ruthless, and never stopped
short Of accomplishing its purposes
and in many a bloody fray and cruel
outrage had the question Of their supre-
MACY been mooted, until at laat there
werefew left to dispute with them, and
they trannised at will
Anhplg .hese few was Jack Long,
, as he VS. called, who neither recogni-