Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1851-02-04
The Shot in ii le Ese:
a True story Of Texas Border Life
BY { |, WILKINS |EIM,I.

4 My word for it, red del, | SHOULD
never have ventured to construct ;
professed romance out of incidents ST
wild and strange as those pf this mar
ration. 1t isonly with the hope thar
you will accept in good faith the as
surance givenin the san ne spirit, that
these things yealy did Iocfv while
was in the country, and most of them
within my personal knowledge that
| venture to relate them at all. Re.
member, the scene is laid in frontier
county of Texas, and If you haFe
even remote conception Of the his
tory of that Republic aRd the gene.
raj character of its social elements.
you will be prepared for h good deal
But, though you might even haFe
visited its cities and Older settle
ments, you would still find it diff
cult to realize all that Is true bf
frontier life, unless by exteh ehded tray
el and experience your filth should
be fortified. When you fd On have TO
say, as l can, 97what mine yes have
seen and ears heard, "114+on that
ground alone you will be 'ft audiend de
though few, to receive as matters Of
course, relations which would doubt
less, for the moment, shock Others as
nlonstroas iii improbable if not ill-
deed impossib bilityI III e m4 IN Of high
civilization will find great difficulty
in understanding haw stlc4 a deed as
/ am about TO relate, requiring
months to consnm mate, RbpldI have
been carried THROUGH in4th4 open face
Of law and the l9cdl authorf ties-but
the man who knows this frbntier will
tell him that the|riile and bpwie-knif9
are all the Ii W and local authority
recognized. Witness the answer
President Houston gave wh EN-, appli4
cation was first made to him for bis
intRrposition with the civil force I'd
'quell the bl loody Regulator wars1
which afterwa sprang uP in this
very same country--Eiglt it out
yourselves and be d-,l to you'll
a speech entirely CHARACTERISTIC of
the man and the country at it thenIj
was! 1t was I'M he earlier $tages off
the organization of this sahe 'Reg-II
ulator' association that o4r storyII
commences. |
Shelby co unity, lying inIWesternE
Texas on the border of the Red |
Lands, was rather thinly sFttled in
the latter part Of 80. Whit popu.
lation it had was generally the very
worst caste Of border life. lfhe bad |
and desperate men who had been driv-
en- over our frontier formed alrallying
ground and head quarters here 4
seemingly with tile determination to |
hold the cou unty good against the in
trusion Of all honest persons and as
d sort of 'Alsatia of the West for |
the protect on of outlaws andlvillians
of every grade. Indeed,t to such an ex-
tent had this pros sfription befn car
ried that it had become notoriduslY as
mucha as mans life or conscieh nee was
worth who settled among them with 7
any worthy purpose in view; for he
must either fall into their coHfedera- +
3y-leave-or die This WIS per-
ectly understood; and the objects of
his confederacy MAY be readily APP
when it is known that
very now and then a party Pf men
would sally out from this settlement, 4
painted and equipped like Com hnches
With the view Of carrying OFF the {
lorses, plundering, or mulI Herring q
ome marked man of a ,neighboring d
county; then retur urning with great
peed, they would re-brana their Is
resume their accustoni led ap- !
,earance, and defy pursuit or inv es- /
igation, Not only did They'll ba nd S
ogether for their operations ih this .
iay, but single man would carry Il
# a fine horse OF commit a murder q
18th the most open audaeity, hnd if h
e only succeeded in rescapingI here, L
as publicly protected, | DIP not f
lean to have it understood thAt the t
hole population at this timd were h
len of such stamp avowedly. v
There were some few whose Wealth 6
, a degree protected them In the OBJ e
srvances Of more seemly life tho s.
ley were compelled to at least wink f
the doings of their ruffianlyI and il
'ora numerous neLghbors; while /