The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1879-11-20
A Tragic Episode of the Sage Brush.

| encounters ana continuous drunken
bouts. a4 nooiae-s-r
Half-dozing one day in saloon,
was aroused by the remark most EN-
phatically delivered: "It's fourteen
inches between my eyes, and | smell
like wolff" The speaker, q large,
magnifcently proportioned ruf1ian, sup
plemented the peculiar description of
himself with: I" Pards, come and drink. y
With the exception of myself every man
in the room gathered around the bar,
addressing the powerful stander of treats
as Joe. The glasses were filled and
| tipped, when he turned and noticed me.
saw the quick, wicked flash of anger
in his eyes. After a momentary survey
| he broke the silence, and this terse dia-
logue followed:
"Yer from the city, amt yer?"
81 am"
:" Yer don't know me, do yer?"
81 don't.'' ~
"Take a drink and git acquainted,
then"
"Don't drink"
+" Smoke, then" ua,f.ssa.
Don't smoke. a.. -.e :,
4" Do yer shoot?'' '{ '.s.i le
Not worth continental"
My years of assurance acquired as a
correspondent, and my knowledge of
aggressive characters, did not prevent
me from feeling some uneasiness as l
observed my interrogator's dexterous
fingers slide to his belt and grasp the
hilt of his " whistler An unpleasant
termination of the conversation was
avoided by the strange appearance of a
woman who stepped from the overland
train, just then arrived, and directed her
steps towards the saloon. She was
rather a comely looking female of SO or
more, and evidently Ill and suffering
from the effects of an extended debauch.
Joe stared at her as one looks at the
arisen dead for moment, and then
walked quietly to the door, threw HIM
self into the saddle and rode awy. AS
he passed the woman she lifted her
hands imploringly towards him and fell
to the earth unconscious. She was borne
to the hotel, and the kind woman of the
village did what they could for her. She
spoke no word when she recovered from
her swoon, but lay quietly, unmindful of
her life fast ebbing away. ....g. .s,s.5.
During the day inquired of Broken
nosed Charley, who knew every body
and every thing about the farm, regard
ing the man Joe. Charley said that lit
tie was known of him, except that he
mined some, gambled some, drank like
mad, and altogether was a bad lot. He
had killed two or three men, and had
been shot and cut himself several times.
He invariably preceded an invitation to
imbibe Or the shooting of man, by the
expression: "It's fourteen inches be-
tween my eyes, and smell like a wolf"
From this idiosyncrasy and his blood
thirsty disposition he was known and
dreaded as The Wolff Prudent peo-
pie, however, addressed him as Joe.
The Wolf returned to town the next
day, and ON entering the saloon from
which he had made his hurried exit
quietly asked:
elias that ar woman gone?'
He was told that she was sick and
could live but very short time. A
great change came over his face; the
hard burrows of dissipation and crime
were transformed to the pitiable lines of
sorrow. Not noticing the dram prof
fered by the bar-keeper, he fastened to
the hotel and made his way to the bed
side of the dying woman. Abruptly he
questioned: si5.e.st.-..I
J" Was yer follering him?'
az" No, Joe; | was hunting him." 80 I
ss Sure?o ''' Fat
3. 6 So help me God!,'
The poor, white face, SCARED and
deep-seamed by excuses and sin, grew
radiant with gladness as Joe kneeled
down and kissed her. With a seal of
forgiveness, with the pressure of his lips
but half returned, she sank back dead.
Through the service at the simple
burial the following day Joe stood with
uncovered head, but his bronzed and
immovable features betrayed no emo
ton, nor vouchsafed any clew to the
mystery that enshrouded the coffined
outcast and himself. zII
The evening of the funeral the Wolf
called on me at my rooms. Seating him
self, without preface he said:
AS a man of sense AM, no coward.
yer kin look at brave mans agony in |
the right way. The past I've hidden for
twenty years, fur amt the kind to car
y ~ hOsfo oh III Sicttc IOT udWS 10 |
peck at. But thar's a feeling as though
"a choke if didn't, talk to some one.
The woman buried to-day war my wife,
Here's some letters the winlin folks
found ON her an give to me. Yer look
them over while chin, fur I'm slow on,
the read. We war married in the States
when she war sixteen an just come of
age. A bit after it / got the gold fever
an went to Californy. In couple of
years | made quite a pile, an went home
fur her. She war changed, an it warn't
long before heard the stories, an found
the truth, that she had gone wrong. He
war fine-haired chap who had come
into town while | war away. 1 war a
likely young fellow then, but the blow
turned me into devil. / went fur him.
but he heard of it an, slid out for Cali
[orny. | followed him, an fur twenty
years I've bin hunting him all over this
coast. A voice of hell has urged me on.
IN I've killed men that the taste of
blood might keep fierce my hope of re-
'enge. I've never found him. During
hese years I've heard about her once
Il