The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1880-05-27
Arkansas William.

other places in tt at Territory dozen
wears ago. He was o shooter, a
slasher. an Indian killer, Government
scout, a cleaner out of mining camps, a
tornado when he struck town, and a
double iointed son of dynamite gener-
ally. All this he told US and sought to
impress 1t on our minds, and 1t came to
pass by and by that whenever he
crowed we all cackled We'd have bet
all the horses in the First Cavalry
against an Indian dog that Arkansas
William was match for any four tribes
of Indians on the plains, and we'd have
backed him against all the other terrors,
tarantulas, wild cats,s Rocky Mountain
lions, and bowling bears between Omaha
and Frisco. True, we never saw him
shoot. nor cut, nor slash, nor knock
down, nor drag out, but it must be him
because he said it was. 1t was an i'm
pressive sight to see him stalking around
with rifle, two revolvers and bowie
strapped to him, and, heavens !! how he
could yell 1t was enough to make
every mule at the post tremble to hear
Arkansas utter his ar-whoop-the
same one he uttered, he told us, when he
rode down 200 Pawnees and scattered
them to the four winds. How many of
us who bought his tin types at 81 apiece
will never be known, but he was more
eager to sell them than take the war
path. When the Michiganders left Col
orado, William was hankering to lay in
a Winter supply of $50 scalps, seven
barrels of gore and a barnfnl of ears
and noses, and his wild war-whoops fol-
lowed The regiment for more than two
miles.
The other day something was heard to
drop in the Black Hills, and Arkansas
William, the Great Gulch terror,
walked in upon a mining camp, and in
thunder tones asked what kind of a
graveyard they had there. When they
tremblingly answered that they had
none at all, and that all the men were
in the best of health, the terror mount
ed barrel, tapped his arms and cried
out:
"No graveyard here! No place in
which to lay my victims! Whoop |
am the Great Gulch terror I'm the gi-
e-ntic graveyard starter of the Big
West III tie both hands behind me
and fight you whole town -
They tried to coax him not to- They
even offered him fifteen cents to 60 away
and leave them alone. Indeed, they Of
fered to write him variety play, in
which he, as the hero, should kill l55
men inside of an hour and halt, but
he would not 90. Arkansas William
could not be bought for gold, and had |
fame enough.
Well, when they realized that he |
war ed blood, and must have it, a
weazen-faced fat-chested, thin-waisted
man from Cass county, Michigan, who
weighed about l20 pounds, offered him
self for a scarifce. He had never fought |
anything on anybody, and he was so
tame AZ humble that the mer used to
wipe the grease off their knives on his
brio ;-colore6 hair after the c'ose Of
meal. He crawled out of his tent and |
said he'd as soon fight as not. He had
Just received letter from home to the
effect that his wife had run off with a
blonde tin peddler, and now he didn't
care to live longer.
Slim He That man That
toothpick Why, III make hash of
him in second p roAred Arkansas
William, as he caught sight of his vic
tim.
Yes, he would do that very thing,
and that would start a graveyard. He
threw down his rifle, put off his revolv-
ers and crowed for blood. The little
man didn't crow any, but he logged out
a wicked big knife, drew a hair across
the edge of it, and said he'd do the best
he could. The terror crowed again and
told how many men he had killed, but
the weazen-faced man cut another hair
with his knife. The terror finally Of
fered to let him off on account of his
consunptive look. but he wouldn't be
let Off He wanted to die then and
there. He wanted to 60 up the trail,
and come down to the attack on the |
run. This was his best hold, and the
way he had always fought. The little
man was perfectly willing. All he
wanted was a fight to the death, and he
didn't care how he got it, Arkansas
William started nm the trail brt halted |