Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1876-09-23
ON THE SHOOT
incidents of Border Life :
Pistols without Coffee.

1
Incidents of Border Life -
Pistols Without Coffee.
]. B. Stillson's Letter to World. /
Denver,a territory's length south
of Cheyenne, at the western terms
linus of the Kansas Pacific railway
is a city of twenty odd thousa nd
inhabitants. IT sits on the south
fork of the Platte river, tw Give
miles east of the Rocky Noun tain
range, and views, through the
clear atmosphere of that region, a
moun3ain panorama extending
from north to south Ole hundred
miles. Itlooks like Paradise to
the traveller, from the Missouri
across the desola.e plains; for its
streets and suburbs are shaded by
trees whose roots, like those in
Salt Lake City, are nourished by
constant irrigation. Now it has
q dozen thriving hotels, In the
old times, just after its settlement,
| it had but q few slah-sided re u
rants. That was when NJ ri
and Kansas had their historical
"border war" aud when Missou-
rians and Kansans, journeying
across the plains westward in
serrch of gold In the mountains;
used to meet anywhere with fe-
r0sity.
One morning a Kansas gentle
man, having arrived at Denver the
previous night, sat breakfastirg
from q greasy plate upon q dowdy
tablecloth which covered pine
table in a pine saloon. While he
relished his ham another gentle
man, evidently a Missourian, en-
tered the doorway. He wore
high boots outside his trousers, and
into one bootleg a knife was
thrust. He was "heeledp with
revolving six-shooteS, one on each
hip. Sunburnt to that extent
that his nose was peeliDg,
unshaven and unkempt, he adj
vanced, and discovered and accost-
ed the Kansan thus:
"a, ha! You're one O. them
id Kansas sneaks; are you? /
reckon I'll take shot at you ~
But, before he could shoot, the
Kansas person had his pistol out
of its leathern socket and began
blazing away. The assailant es-
capped from the door unhurt and
returned, while our Kansas friend
was picking the fat out of his teeth
with bowie-knife. Exposing
half his face and q deprecatory
hand through the doorway he
said:
II beg your parding, stranger,
but really | didn't know you were
on the shoot!'
"All right said the Kansan.
Come in and have a blind.n
And so the two become AMIGA
BILE.
There used to be a little old tay-
ern halfway between Denver and
the mountains. One November
afternoon two or three sleepy
loafers, roasting their soles at the
stove therein, were aroused by q
mountain bravo, who, coming in.
cooked his pistols and began firing
between their heads at the sur.
rounding walls. While the noun
taineer was engaged in this sport
a six-ox team stopped at the door,
and the "bullwhacker" (driver) at
tached to 1t entered, walked up to
the bar and called for liquor. AS
lie raised the glass towards his
lips il was shattered by the last
shot from the mountain mans
pistol. Not even looking aside
the guest dropped the pieces and
said to the barkeepel;
"Give me another glass"
Then, suddenly graspinr his
pistol from his right holster, he
turueu and shot his assailant dead.
Viewing the body after he had
taken his refrsshment he remark
ed.
"That --- might have hurt
somebody pretty soon mightn't
he ?"
And was off with his team and
the "Woa, haw; honp la ~ that
you may hear whenever you ap-
proach a wagon-train on these re-
- -.