Daily Yellowstone journal., 1886-08-11
REF oRMATloN or A "cowBoY."
A I7-years-OId Dime Novel Reader. VIII
Thought Himself a bad One"

A I7-Years-OId Dime Novel Reader. Who
Thought Himself a bad One
No man need hope for good results in
any effort to deal with criminals,
whether they be in prision or ont of it,
who does not believe that in every man
there is possibility Of goodness. Any
man who has dealt with criminals will
admit that he has frequently been sur
prised by IA development of such possi-
biiities into the yer. satisfactory reality
of honest, upright, seii-respecting life.
1t often happens, too, that person
crimina,ly inclined only needs to get a
right view of himself to bring about his
reformation. Here is boy, II years of
age, who has read so many dime novels,
so much OF the fiction of the plains,
that his heated imagination has made
him believe himself fitted with all the
violent qualities that go TO make a sue
cessful cowboy and Indian fighter. He,
indeed has tried the Experiment. of being
an actual cowboy, ran away to the south
west, learned to drink whisky, to herd
cattle, TO make his talk blaze OF bias
phemy, to trottle all the tender emotions,
and TO despise the decencies of polite
society. But these accomplishments
We're not exceptional enough among the
cowboys to attract much attention, and
not finding the notoriety Tor which he
craved, lIe came back 10 New York to be
the terror of his widowed mother and
the bane Of a peaceful boarding house
that she kept. A cowboy in the south
west is one thing; staggering bragga-
docio, armed with bowie-knlfe and re-
volver and threatening murder in a
New York boarding-house, is quite
another.
The youth became intolerable. The
poor mothers life became burden to
her. The safety of her household made
ii necessary that she should call upon
the law for protection against her own
son. She went to the police station 10
make the complaint. The boy was very
dear to her; he was her baby" the
youngest of the family; she was crushed
by the necessity that made her the COM
plainant against this boy. Her principles
were, however, stronger than her feel
ings; she made the complaint. turned
away from the station-house desk, put
her hand to her heart, gave bitter
moan of agony, cried out: MY heart is
breaking" and fell dead! Her heart was,
indeed, broken. And when the news of
his mothers death was carried 10 the
young bravado he said: Nov suppose
shall be my own master" This would
seem bad case; one in which the better
sentiments had been crushed out Of ex-
istence.
This boy, AS he appeared in our first
interview, was fair-haired and blue
eyed, with a pleasant expression Of
countenance, q muscular body. and
somewhat slouchy, swaggerins manner.
We sat facing each other for two or
three minutes, mentally studying each
other. l found it necessary to take
precedence In the conversation. WELL"
l said-and I suppose smiled-"you are
fraud: you are no cowboy; you are no
Indian-fighter; you are not Bloody Bill
the Scout you've succeeded in imposing
upon your poor mother, who never saw
an Indian in her life, and was always
afraid Of gun; you've made fools of
lot of silly boarders; and after all you are
only poor, simple, ignorant, silly boy
Of II, not even bad at heart, only
you've persuaded yourself that you are
bad, and people have called you bad, and
you've come to believe you are. You
ought to be sent to an asylum for weak
minded youth, or wonian's school:
you're not tit for state prison. You can
never make "A successful criminal; you
haven't got it in you"
The boy looked amazed. He had evil
IDENTIFY expected that would tell him
what a desperate character he was. His
lil quivered, and the tears came into his
eyes; being found Out in his deception,
he put up his hand and capitulated To-
his better nature. lac las concluded 10
be farmer and has conducted himself
very respectfully eve, since that convrr-
sation. He had chosen to p!a, part hs-
fore tie world and the world had been
foolish enough to allow him 10 occupy
the place he had chosen. He hal been
fascinated by the bravado Of crime aud
consumed with rraving for criplinal
notoriety, and this craving was fed hy
the account of every criminal exploit
and sensational trial thar he had read in
The newspapers. am by every recOgni-
ton of the distinciI u he had attained.
Having been convinced that his view ni
life was Il false and dangerous one, it
was only necessary TO supply a new set
of interests 10 save the boy. Ia our
county iails lis criminal tendencies would
have been further cultivated and devel-
oped; in our prisons he would have been
still further stignlatized as belonging to
the dangerous cl;iss.-W. II. Round in
the Forum.