The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-11-10
RuHalo Bill and Texas Jack.

Buffalo Bill d Texas JACK
thought I had never seen two finer
looking specimens OF humanity, or two
O picturesque figures. Both were
tall, well built, active-looking men,
with singularly handsome features. Bill
was dressed in a pair of corduroys
tucked into his high boo:s, and a blue
flannel shirt. He wore q broad
brimmed felt hat, or sombrero, and had
q white handkerchief folded like a little
shawl loosely fastened round his neck to
keep off the Iierce rays of the afternoon
sun. Jacks costume was similar, with
the exception that he wore moccasins,
and had his lower limbs incased in a
pair of comfortably greasy deerskin
trousers, ornamensed with %aIfringe along
the seams. Round mis- waist was q belt
supporting a revolver. two butcher
knives, and a steel, and in his hand he
carried his trusty rifle the widow"
Jack, tall and 1.-the, with light brown
cl~ose-cropped hair, clear laughing
honest blue eyes, anda soft and winning
smile, might nave sat rs model Tor a
typical modern Anglo-Saxon-if ethnol-
ogists will u the term. Bill was
dark, with quick, searching eyes, aquil.
inc nose, and ~delicately cut features, and
he wore his hair fallins in long ringlets
over his shoulders in true Western style.
AS he cantered up, with his flowing
locks and broad-brimmed hat, he
looked like O picture Of a cavalier OF
| olden times. All, well! it is years ago
now since the day / first shook hands
with Jack and Bill, and many changes
have taken place since then. At that
time neither of them had visited the
States or anywhere east of the Missis-
sippi. They knew scarcely more of CIV
ilization and the life of great cities than
the Indians around them. Atterward
they both went East and made money.
Cody has, I believe, settled down on q
ranch somewhere in Wyoming, and
John O%mohundro, better known as
Texas Jack, has gone TO other and bet
ter hunting grounds. Peace be with
him; he was q good and kind friend to
me, q CHEEKY companion, as brave as q
lion, as gentle as a woman, always ready
for anything, always willing to work,
cutting down mountains of difficulties
into mole-hills, always in good humor'
never qu%arreling-a better hunting com
panion then Jack was in those days, or
q more reliable friend, it would be hard
10 find. There was nothing mean about
Jack; he waste use one OF ms own
Western phrases-a real white man
WELL" says Cody, after the cere-
mony of introduction bad been got
through, and we had made known
our wishes and aspirations, II guess
we will both 60 along with you gents,
if YOU like, and if I Can get leave, and l
don't know as there will be any trouble
about that. You see, Jack and l just
started out this morning to get a load
of meat, but there has been considerable
of q fire down toward the forks aud
scared all the game off; and as we had
not got no stores with us for more than
q day or two, we concluded to come
r;oht back.n "Oh," said, the game
all scared off, is it? What an internal
nuisance! It does not look a very
cheerful country to ride about in with.
out plenty of game to 'liven one up"
"Never you mind about deer and elk"
cried Jack; "you have no call to worry
about that; we will find game enough
if YOU can hit them. AYou think the
prairie don't look cheerful, ehP Well,
it does seem kind Of dismal, don't it,
this time of year. AhP" he added, en-
Enthusiastically "but you should see it
in the summer, when the grass is all
green, and the flowers is all a-blowing,
and the little brides ia a-building Of
their nesties and boohooing around, and
the deer are that fat they will scarcely
trouble to get out of the way; and as to
eating. they are Just Embellishments!
I tell You; amt they, Bill?" Eyes, sir,
you bet your boots they are. But come on,
Jack; let's forktour ponies and skin out
for the fort; we don't want to stop here
all night, anyhow. Goodnight, gentle
men, we will see you in the morning and
fix that hunt all right, I guess" And so
Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack "fork their
ponies and skin out" while we bundle
ourselves into the wagon and rattle of
as fast as six seventeen hands high mules
can tear to the fort, where We were most
kindly and Hospitality received. Buffalo
Bill and Texas Jack were as fine speci-
mems of their race and class as could
anywhere be found; and that is saying a
GOOD deal, for honest hearts and stalwart
frames and handsome features are not
rare among the pioneers Of Western
civilization. 1t might be supposed that
these hunters, Indian t~railers, cattle
bows and miners are disagreeable people
to come across. This is not the case at
all There are, of course, some rough
characters, regular desperadoes. among
them, and they occasionally shoot each
other pretty freely in gambling quarrel'
and drunken sprees; but to 4 strange:
who knows how to behave himself they
are, as my experience goes most GlVll
and obliging. If man IS civil TO the
they will be civil to him, and if he does
not interfere about their affairs they
won't bother about his. unless he wants
their assistance, and they will be ready
and willing to give it. The manlysen
of independence, the self-respect, and
that feeling of respect for others engen'
dered by it, which so strongly character
ize the American people, are rs deeply
marked and have as good an effect
among the nomads ofthe West as in any
other class of the population. OF course
if a mar gives himself airs he must ex-
pect to pay for it. l remember rather
an amusing instance of this. I had en-
gagged a hunter and guide, q firstrate
man, to accompany a friend OF mine.
The day before they were to start the
guide came to me and said, NOW look
here, MI. Earl. 7 amt a-going to back
out of this bargain, because l told you
I'd go; but I amt sweet upon The JOB, |
tell you. I never come across q chap
with such a lot of side on in my life, and
I don't like it. However, l said I'd 60,
and I'm a going; but I nin't a-goin at
the price /. told you. I am going to
charge him ST. a day more" And 80 my
friend enjoyed his expedition in blissful
Ignorance that he was paying As. I'd.
q day extra for "side."-me Ea7l OF
Dunrqven, in the Nineteenth Century.
A TuIChan.