Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-09-07
POCKET ARTILLERY.
shotguns and the Men who Use Them
in the Far West.

1OChEA AkN1lAlAlEhNXs
shotguns and the Men who Use Them
in the Far West.
In Ell Paso the other day, says Las
Cruces IN. M letter to the st. Louis
Globe Democrat, dropped into large
store which enjoys the reputation Of SELL
ing more arms than any other house in
! the city. While inspecting the glittering
array OF pistols of all kinds which filled
half dozen show cases, a young fellow
OF about % entered. He was dressed in
approved frontier style-sombrero 1t
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 spurs upon
his heels, jingling as he walked. He
wished 10 buy gun. In the expressive
ness and laconic tongue of the frontier a
! gun is a revolver, a rifle is called by the
name OF the maker, and the weapon Of the
! sportsman, Encurtailed of its fair proper
| tions, is know as shotgun.
selecting from case handsomely
mounted Colts forty-fiYe-calibre revolver
| the clerk said: SHOW would you like
t1is? 1t is the newest thing out-a dou-
ble-actiOn forty-fYe."
"Ain't worth row Of beans. No man
'cept tenderfoot wants that kind Of
hhAA5s 0ANG NE al O1u I6l1dDle al Tic
time. lie see a man that's used to the
old style is apt to get foOled-nOt pull her
of in time-an1 then he'll be laid out
colder'n a WEDGE"
He was handed out a single-action
| Colts of the same model, which, after
carefully examining, he proceeded to
cock and fire, twirling the pistol around
his torefinger and cooking and pressing
the trigger the moment the butt came
N i'm ~ h Tor
little kick about the price, the weapon
was paid for and the customer left the
store.
There are few men," observed the
clerk, as his customer left, "that can do
that trick. have been ten years on the
Southwest frontier, among the worst
classes, and don't know more nor half a
dozen. Bill the Kid could do it; so can
Pat Carrot, former Sheriff of Lincoln
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"
Show was thatT queried the CORES
pondent.
''Well, 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 up his gun. Bill handed the
gun out butt first, but kept his finger in
side the guard, and as the Sheriff reached
for it he gave it that twist you've seen,
turned her loose and the Sheriff passed in
his checks"
"What kind of revolYers are in de-
mand?"
''Forty-ive and forty-four calibres.
Colts models are the faVOrites: then comes
Smith & WessOn, and a new model called
the Merwin Hubert. The latter is a
favorite with men who are often in town
and like to pack gun. 1t has an inter-
changeable barrel. The long barrel is
taken off and the short one put on, and
then it can be carried In the hip pocket.
The great trouble with all these pistols is
that they are hard on the trigger. The
boys get over this by having the
catch filed down. The pistol of the cow
boy is as fine on the trigger as were the
hair-triggers of the old dueling days."
''Do you sell many British bulldog pis-
tols?'
"Yes. They are chiefly bought by rail-
road labOrers, tramps, and boys. Men
who are used to the country either buy a
Colts Al or carry "A or 40 in shoulder
scabbard."
'What is thatf'
"Well, it's a pistol scabbard with a
strap passing over the right shoulder,
and supports the pistol under your coat
on the left side. 1t enables you to draw
while a man is thinking that you are
only looking for your handkerchief. The
bulldog is poor pistol, shoots wild, and
can't be depended upon for over fifteen
feet.'
"Do your ever sell q and 80 calibres r'
'NO; that is to say, very seldom. A
Texan or New Mexico boy would con-
slider such pistols toys. He may stoOp as
low as Al, but there he stops. When a
man or boy shoots at another in this
| climate he shoots to kill, and has no use
! for such TOOLS"
"Wbat use have tramps for pistolsP
Veil, they use them to stand OF
| brakemen and conductors who want to
| throw them off freight trains while the
| train is in motion. Boys carry them more
| because it is the fashion than anything
/ else, and few men feel safe without some
thing in their pocket.
! II want to show you a kind of shotgun
! that has a limited use," continued the
! clerk, and he led the way to the back OF
the store where about halfa dozen double
| baTreled shOtguns were standing in a
/ rack. They had all been cut off short, the
! barrels being only about two feet In
! length, but otherwise they were perfect.
"These guns are prime favorites with
! Sherifs, Deputy Sheriffs, United States
Marshals, and officers of thelaw generally,
Hand when they get the drop on you with
! one VI IueIu, lGS case VI buIOW up your
| hands, no matter how much sand you may
have got, They are very Handy, and you
can stow them away under the seat of a
| buggy with ease. Wells-FargO's messen-
I gers all carry them, and at a short range
| they beat rifles and siX-shooters all to
hades. 1t was armed with one of them
that Horn, who was Deputy Sheriff at
Lordsburg, took in Curly Bill. Bill was
| riding out of the corral, and Horn had
/ Of h 11k hvyf lan Annfa 5AnC
AS Bill rode out he covered him and called
to him to throw up his hands" Bill only
| glanced at the weapon and up went his
| hands. Had it been a six-shooter he'd
have taken chances. A darn fool went
and rode through the dining room in the
railroad hotel at Deming flourishlng his
! pistol, and frightening the lady passen-
| gers bound West nearly into fits. Dan
| Tucker found the fellow on the street,
covered him with her, and called out
'hands up The idiot made motion for
his siX-shoOter, and Dan filled him chock
/ c,,II Of oh I,Ofg -