Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-08-10
CAPTURING A pEsPERlDO.


CAPTURING A DRsPERADO.
IL The far West, particularly /, Al.
Tar southwest. the newly-arrived settler
often ENDS that he has strange neighbors
hot only Indians. but white dcspcr-
auocs. Who arr more tO bo feared than
even Utrs qgi Apaches.
IWo young friends ~ mine-0ool
steady. neutrality-suspicious. Young men
were - unfortunate As 10 buy land
IN The vicinity 81 an especially ugly
momlcr ~ this outlaw fraternity.
These young men had been brought
up to obey the law. and to respect tbe
property and rights Of their ncighbors
They could be- brave enough i'm The de-
Tense OF any just cause, yet they dreaded
nnd shrank from tho use Of deadly
weapons against fellOw-being. from
= Keen sense OF the sacrcdurss OF human
life, and the criminality involved i'm
such acts. .....
such wcrc Gilbert and Charles Small
Rain, iarin-brcd boys. they had. bv
steady labor and economy, saved mn n
capital Of seventeen hundred dollars.
WIN this they had emigrated to Col
orSdo and started small stock-farm
fifteen miles from Alamosa.
By avpiling themselves Of the Home
stead act and the Presumption law. they
secured n tract Of three hundred and
twenty acres ofland. lying upon a creek
WIN range extending back over the
NUS. which was not likely To be taken
10y other settlers.
AT point a short distance below.
where . mining trail passed them. and
where thoy Judged there would i'm time
be- railroad. they built frame house.
which they opened rs hotel. and i'm
which they also kept n stock of grocer
les. For. like many other enterprisinp
Young Immigrants, they had an amhi-
ton to found n town and crow up
with il.
Some eight or ten miles from them
lived u man named Peter Hcrpit. who
prOiesscdly worked mine. but whose
place really was n Kind of rendezvous
Tor renegade "cow-boys." and other
desperate character, of the jesse James
type. II was minated that several
daring train-robbcrics had here been
planned, and also that "Clatc Walker
matte II one of his stopping-placcs
This Walker was q nuturinus gambler
and dead-shOt. H. was supposed IN bc
the leader of n band of trnin-rnhbors
and was said To have killed not ,ess Than
ten men IN various atlravS. II wosyn'd
Too. that occasionally, when Time. he
came too mOnotouOus because of the
lack OF excitement, he would Kill a man
Tor iun. Just To- keep his hand i'm
lie hnd habit. also, of riding through
shlall towns and camps. shooting Bro-
miScuouSly ut everybody he saw. To-
Keep up the terror of his name. a mat
Ter he appears To have been vain of.
10 viii seem wcll-nigh incredible to
people i'm the East that such n man
should be- allowed tO csc;tIe iustice and
to run nj large. Such is the ugly fact
however. ia scores If cases, oyin,, proh-
ably to the circumstance that NO officer
liNcs to attempt the arrest uf these dies.
pcradocs. who generally carry two and
sometimes three heavy rrvolt,rs and
are marvclOusly quick aud sure nf ain,
AS an example of the wonderfully
raPll and accurate shooting Of some of
,heSe ir"nticrsmen. the writer rcmem-
Icrs seeing a " cowboy" nj Ration
New Mexico. ride his horsc ut full
gallop past a tclrgraph-polc. To which
was pinned The round white cover Of n
paper collar bon. and lodge four balls
from his Colts pistol In this small mark
while passing. Afterwards be enter
tanned Us by throwing into the afr. one
after another. handful OF pig[nuts.
ard cracking each ~ itfcll with n single
bullet. Then hc did the same thing
again. tossing the nuts up rapidly and
tWiring the revolver round his fore
niger after every shot. Finally, throw
lng the nuts up more slowly. he replaced
MS pistol m H. sheath nj his hin after
every shot. drawing IL for each succeed
Ing nut. and did not missone out of six.
This shows the accuracy and ouick-
ness of aim Of many of these lawlrss
follows. and such n marksman was
Clatc Walker; who added TO this repu-
tation. moreover. the more murlerous
one Of being killer" which in the
phrase 81 this section means n dos
Pcrado who will shoot man upon the
least TrovOcatiOn.
Our two Young stockmcn had heard
ot this border monster. but their first
actual acquaintance with him began
the week after putting up their sign of
" Small Bros, Hotel aud Grocery"
Walker Glanced 10 pass one mornin0.
aud. seeing the new sign. refined i'm his
horse. and by way Of calling tho at
tcuiion Of the landlord 10 his arrival.
drew his revolver and opened fire ON
the sign. shooting the first letter = 10
pieces. Then. dlsmounting, he kicked
the door open, and, walking in, de
manded cocktail"
Gilbert, who CHANGED Co be inside nj
the time. told him civilly that there
was no bar connected with the house.
for. true To their home principles, the
Young men bad determined TO keep
- Temperance house" a greater
anomaly In the West than many may
at first suppose.
"a Temperance houser' shouted
Walker ard he vented his astonish-
mont and disgust I'm burst of oaths
and rcvilings. mo man shall keep
hotel with nothing TO drink in il in
these parts" he said. IF YOU don't
have llquor. and good liquor. too, the
next time / call, i won't leave whole
dish or whols bono herer'
And, rs fOretaste Of what he would
do next time. he Kicked over the table
and smashed three or four chairs, by
way Of leave-taking.,
With such a customer ON their hands,