The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1872-04-05
WILD BILL

: = AlnOuGtGG VnlE6 scouts were mum
] bered some of the most noted fol
their class. The. most prominent
man among them. was ssKVild Bill, ,
I whose highly varied career was made
the subject of an illustrated sketch
in one of the popular monthly peri
odicais a few years ago. ssWiId
Bill was a strange character, Just
the one which a novelist might gloat
! over. Hewas a PlsinsInan in every
{ sense of the word, yet unlike any
other of his class. In person he
was about six feet one IN height,
I straight as the straighest of warriors
whose implic&ble foe ne was; broad
! shoulders, well-formed chest aEd
limbs, and face striking handsome;
a SHARP, ,selear blue eye, which stared
! you straight In the face when in con-
versation; a fnely-shaped nose, in
clined to be aquiline; a we1-turned
| mouth; with lips only partially con-
cealed by q handsome moustache.
/ His ha!r and complexion were those
of the perfect blond. The former
was worn in uncut ringIets, falling
carelessly over his powerful formed
shoulders. Add to this figure a
costume blending the Immaculate
neatness of the dandy with the ex~
| travagant taste and styleof the from
tiersD an, and you have ''Wild Bill, d"
then as now the most famous scout
on the Plains.
Whether. on foot or on horseback,
| he was one of the most perfect types
! OF physical manhood I ever saw. OF
his courage there could be no cues
ton. it had been brought to the test
on too many occasions to admit of a
doubt. His skill IN the use of the
rife and the pistol was unerring;
while his department was exactly
! the opposite of what nighJ be eX-
pected from man of his surround
ings. It was entirely free from all
i'blus6er or bravo Co. a- He seldom
spoke of himself unless requested to
do SO. His conversation, strange
to say, never bordered either on the
vulgar or blasphemoUs. His indu-
| ence with the frontiersman was un-
bounded, his word was law; and
many are the personal quarrels and
disturbances which he has checked
among his comrades by his simple
announcement that 'this has gone
far enough" if it need be followed
by the ominous warning that wheu
persisted in or renewed the quarrel
| Ter "must settle it with me. " -
''Wild BilP' is anything but a
quarreIsome man; yet no one but
himself can enumerate the many
conflicts in which he has been en-
gagged, and which have almost inya-
riably resulted in the death of his
adversary. I have a personal
knowledge of at least half dozen
men whom he has at various times
killed, one of these being at the
time a member of my command. !!
Others have been severely wounded, !
yet he always. escapes unhurt. On
the Plains every man openly carries
his belt with It's invariable appen-
dages, knife and revolver, Cfte two |
Of the latter. ''YYild Bill" always |
carries two handsome ivoTy-handled |
reVolvers of the large size; he was
never. seen without them. Where |
this Is the com mon custom, brawls |
or personal difficulties are seldom if |
ever settled by blows. The quarrel |
is not from a word to o blow, but |
rom a word to the revolver, and he |
who can draw and fire first is the
best man. No civil law reaches
him; none is applied for. In fact
there IS nolaw reconized beyond the |
frontier but that of "night makes
right" Should death result from the
quarrel, as it usually does, no coro- !
ner's Jury is impanneled to learn
the cause of death, and the s-suryivor
is not arrested Bat instead of
these Old-fashioned proceedings, a /
meeting Of citizers takes place, the
survivor is requested to be present,
when the circumstances of the hom-
icide are inquired into, and the un-
failing verdict of sjusti6abIe," "s5If-
defence" etc, is pronounced, and
the law stands vindicated. That /
Justice is often deprived of a victim |
there is not q doubt. Yet in ali ofi
the many affairs of this kind in
which 'TWild Bill" has performed a |
part, and which have come to my !
knowledge, there is not a single ain-
stance in which theverdict Of twelve
fair-mindea men would not be pro- /
nounced IN his favor ny Ljte on !
The Plains" by Gen, g. d. Cltsier, an
APrl GalaGy.- azaf e. aaE 81 assas
- sg-----a----
A CRY DESTROYED DY. An EARTH |
oUAKE.-On the 16sh of January an
earthquake destroyed the city Of
Schemacba, in Russia. According |
to the official report one hundred
and eighteen persons were killed I
and forty-four wounded, but all the