Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1882-07-06
CONCEALED WEAPONS.

The carrying OF concealed weapons is a
vile and murderous practice. In ninety
min cases out OF a hundred it is done
out of bravado or sheer ~cowardice. As a
means of defense the concealed weapon
is used once, while in a thousand in
stances it is drawn by some bastard who
is neither in danger of his life nor has
any good cause OF offense. The hidden
''bulldog, by giving a squirt OF artificial
and morbid courage to cowardly scoun-
drels. is a breeder of death. 1t is more
destructive of life and happiness in the
United States than any one natural dis
ease. 1t makes more cripples, causes
more deaths, breaks more hearts than
civil war. The ravages upon life in war
recur after long intervals. The sharp re-
port of the fatal six-shooter is heard al
most every hour. The consciousness Of
being ''heeled" transforms the craven
hood!um into 4 murderous brute. With
out a pistol in his breeches pocket, he
might be slapped in the face, and, for
the want Of maniiness and pluck, swal-
low the indignity and offer no resent
ment. Being once ''heeled' and full OF
gin, he swaggers and becomes a terror.
His chief delight is to frequent places
where he is not wanted, and force his
cowboy drivelings upon quiet and per-
haps timid people. Gloriied in being the
man with a ''bad eye he stalks around
with his hand on his gun, and his cour-
age grows so long as his gutter-snipe talk
and jail-bird airs excite no opposition. II
he stir up some good man who is willing
to stand a great deal, but will not put up
with everything and have it rubbed in
besides, the chances are that, dunghlll
as he nearly always is, he will look
around for a certain means OF escape, fire
his gun, and run Or, perhaps, wild
with poison whisky, he is too scared tc
move from the scene Of his murder,
dreading that somebody in the neighbor
hood will meet him after he has emptied
his pistol and break his neck. II he
should be caught out sober and unarmeC
a girl could knock him down with ;
feather. Without his siI-shooter hi
trembles like a leaf. He skulks abou'
afraid to look his neighbor in the eye IN
til he gets his hand on it again.
OF course this is the shooter Of tn,
meanest stripe. From him up through
many grades We find a multitude 0
others who delight in packing a pisto
around. Some Of them are better mel
than he; SOM Of them may posses
courage. Ii this lie true, however, the,
choose a very poor way to manifest it
Genuine courage is modest. 1t is manly
it does not seek o~tfense, and it shrink
from advantage. The brave man, !
forced to fight, is willing to meet hi
adversary on equal terms. He would
rather take the chances against himsel
than seek, like the monkey-souled fellow
whose courage is inseparable from hi
pistol. to ''get the drop" on his foe.
There are doubtless a few person
whose duties and whose business rende
it necessary for them to be armed at al
times. They are few. and we have moth
ing to say to them.
There is a growing disposition her
and elsewhere manifestipg itself, evel
among boys, to make the concealed pisto
part Of the personal apparel. 1t is
mean. co~wardly, demoralizing, degrad
ing, fatal practice, worthy only of tn,
assassin. Public sentiment should stamr
it out, for the laws are inadequate t.
etfectually stop it.
One good man murdered by a drunken
brute, whose courage comes and goes al
he is armed or unarmed, should BE-
enough to damn the iniquitous practice,
but one instance Of the kind is nothing
Thousands are victims, and nobody
knows but at any time he or his dearest
friend may be crippled or killed by the
ubiquitous "bull-dog." John Weyburn,
who shot Penrose down in Ruby Hill
Wednesday morning, should be speedily
convicted and hanged. The law would
thereby accomplish something toward
doing away with concealed weanons