, 1884-09-30
FRONTIER WEAPONS.
The Cowboys Taste for First-olaas
Pocket Artillery.
A Dazzling Trick with the Trigger
Nothing Less Than CALDER
Forty-FIve-The sheriG,s
Shot-Gun.

New Mexico Cor. Giohe-D emocrnt.l
was in Fl Paso the other day, having
gore up in the stage, a. the line between La
Cruces and Fl laso is washed out. Whilc IN
town l dropped into n n large store on vi
Paso street, which enjoys the reputation 81
seiiing more arms Thru ang other house in
thu city.
While your correspondent wns inspecting
the giittering array Of pistols Of all kinds
which filed hnlf "A dozen Showcases, a young
felloW Of about % entered. He was dressed
I'm approved frontier -tyle, sombrero It would
take three days TO walk round the rim OF
white handkerchief tied loosely round the
neck, blue shirt, pants stuck in his boots, and
large Mexican apurs upon his heels, juggling
a. he walked. lie wished 20 buy a 4gun. %
In the expressivenuss and laconic tongue Of
the frontier IA gun Is "A revolver, a rifle Is
called by the name Of the maker, and the
weapon Of the sportsiuan, uncurtailed Of is
fair proportions, Is known as a shotgun.
Selecting from q case a handsomely
mounted 45-caliber revolver the clerk aid:
"How would you like thisi 1t Is tho newest
thing out-a double-action forty-nve
Amt worth a row OF beans. No man
'cept a tenderfoot wants that kind OF thing.
Give me an old reliable all the time. Ye see
n man that's used 10 the old style Is apt to
get fooled-not pull her of in time-und then
hen be laid out colder'n a wedge
He was handed out n single action Of the
Same model, which. after carefully exam
ming, he proceeded 20 cock and fire, twirling
tho pistol around his foreflnger and cooking
and pressing the tri~ Tho moment the butt
came into the pail. of his q After some
little kick about . "a uric apon wns
paid for and the customer aft tn .tof,.
There are fatx man y nhearta. tI.
as his customer left, athat can do thas ~. 8.
! have been ten years on tho Southwest !
tier, among the worst classes, and don't know
more than half a dozen. Bill the kid could
do II. 20 tan Pat Garret, former sheriff Of Lin
coin county; SO can Dan Tucker. deputy
sheriff OF Deming. Curly Bill could do it best
Of the lot. and that's how he killed Sheriff
White at Tombstone"
A TREAcHERous TRICK.
"How was thatf' queried the correspond
ent.
We'll, you see Curly Bill was trying to
paint the town red. and White heard OF it,
and going up to him covered him with his
six-shooter and told him he had got to give
NJ his gun. Bill handed the gun out butt
first, hut kept his finger inside the guard, and
as the sheriff reached for it he gave II that
twist you've seen, turned her loose, and the
sheriff passed in his checks"
ADO you sell many Of the bulldog pistolsi
"Ycs. They are chiefly bought by railroad
laborers, trRnps and boys. Men who are
used 10 the country either bug a caliber Al or
carry a a or A. IN a shoulder scabbard."
"What Is THAR
well, it's n pistol schbbard with q strap
passing over the right shoulder, and supports
the pistol under your coat on the left side. II
enables you TO draw while a man is thinking
Nl.N -. -. .a1.w l..NE.- FAr $50
chief. The bulldog is u poor pistol, shoots
viii and can't be depended upon for over
fifteen feet. The great trouble with all these
pistols are that they nre hard on the trigger.
The boys get over this by having the catch
fled down. The pistol Of the cowboy is as
fine on the trigger as were the bair-triggers
OF the old dueling days"
\ SPECIAL wEAroN.
al want 10 show you a kind Of shotgun that
has n limited use" continued the clerk, and
he led the way to the beck OF the store where
about half "A dozen double-barreled s~hot-guns
were standing in n rack. They had all been
cut of short, she larrels icing only about
two feet in length, but otherwise they wera
perfect These guns are prime favorites
with sheriffs, deputy sheriFs. United States
marshals and officers Of the law generally,
and when they get the drop on you with one
~ 49, . - AN1A "a AAAAtf VI NAA NAAAAAH
no matter how much san'l you may hnva
got They are very handy and you can
stow them away under the scht OF a buggy
with ease. Wells-Fargo's messengers all
carry them, and ut n short range they beat
rifles and six-shooter. all 20 bades. II wns
armed with one Of them that Horn. who was
deputy sheriff at Lordsburg, took in Curly
Bill. BIZ was riding out Of the corral and
Horn had stationed himself just by
the door post As Bill fodc out he covered
him and called to him to throw up his
hands Bill only glanced at the weapon
md up went his hands. Had IL been a six.
shooter he'd have taken chances. A darn
fool went and rode through the dining-room
Ia the railroad hotel at Deming nourishing
his pistol, and frightened the lady passen-
gers bound west nearly into sits. Dan Tucker
found the fellow on the street, covered him
with her and called hands up The blasted
IDIOT make a motion FOR hin six-shooter aud
Dan filled him chuck full Of buckshot. He
failed to get there, Ell, and now peacefully
sleeps beneath tho daisies.
But FEW ACCIDENTS.
II notice that you ave fewer accidents
from firearms in the west than we have in
the east, which, considering that every man
carries a gun, seems extraordinary
at Is not. The men who are always hand
ling firearms nre the most careful with them.
I'd like to see you point n pistol or shotgun at
a cowboy, and he'd make you drop it so quick
'twould make your head swim. There used
to be n good many accidents, though, IA few
years ago, when the boys were in the habit
of carrying the full six leads in their guns,
and trusting to the safety catch to avoid any
danger. Sure as the gun dropped OF the
ground of She went. A number got shot
this way. Now nearly every fellow carries
one chamber empty with the hammer resting
on II when. of course, no 1af can discharge 1t.
Some Of the cowboys said the iealer in
conclusion. ARE regular dudes about pistols.
Nothing will do them hut gold and silver
mounted and ivory handled weapons. Rich
Mexicans are more given to this style OF thing
han even Americans. The truth Is that
nickle- plated and silver plated revolvers are
r.f tho Inat rn tha ,Iaf.- III, r.n.,tf,. ~