The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-12
PENCIL AGAINST PISTOL.
A Bully Receives Painful and Curious Les
sOa from Quiet Man.

a Bully Receives a Painful and Curious Les
son from a Quiet Man.
Chivatto chihuahua Special.
One of the notorious characters of this section
Is Three-toed Watson, whose right first name
nobody knows, and whose last name probably
was not Watson in the States. He is one of the
gang called rustlers, who keep on the edge of
civilization and make it morally ragged Three
toed Watson came here with the railroad and
has made himself unpleasantlv conspicuous in
all the free fights and fandango ARRAYS that
have varied the otherwise monotonous course
of things in Chivatito. By shooting two men
and freely 1ourishing a frontier revolver
in the saloons Watson has acquired the
coveted notorety of being q bad man
and chief of the camp, and also
established the custom among barkeepers of
never charging him anything for whisky or
mescal When the railroad went on Three
toed Watson did not follow with the gang 1t is
not an easy thing to get acknowledged as chief
in a railroad camp, but having got there, the
privilege of free whisky, free lunches and gen.
eral bossship of the saloons are too valuablelto
frontier tough to be lightly thrown away or
abandoned. Watson is very liberal with his
privileges, and never takes drink without ask
ing all hands to join him. A refusal to drink
with him is deadly insult, as it conveys to the
mind of Three toed Watson the inference that
the person refusing considers him no gentleman.
After to-nights experience, however, he prob
ably will not be quite so pressingly liberal
in saloon whore the bully was running things,
and when Watson ordered everybody up to the
bar, one of them, German named Winkier, po-
litely declined. Mr. Watson produced ponder
Gus pistol, and, poking the muzzle into Winklers
face, he roared:
"Yer won't drink with me, yer Dutch tender
footl Reckon yer don't know me. I'm howl
ing blizzard of the prairie, am, and when Pm
turned loose it's dirty work cleaning up the
ranch. Pm gentleman. and you'll drink whisky
;iOpO ~ or 10 cnfkS for he Nor
Mr. Winkler shut one eye and squinted into
the pistol barrel, and quietly remarked:
'Well. if you insist, I'm with you"
Getting up from the table, he walked over to
the bar and stood beside Watson, who hourshed
the pistol once more under his nose. and then re-
turned it to the holster. Holding whisky glass
in his left hand, Winkler took from his vest
pocket draughtsman's six H lead pencil sharp
ened to needle point Turning to Three-toed
Watson. he said:
"Look here sir! You are bigger man than I
arm, and could whip me if you wanted to, with
out any weapons. ] didn't want to drink, but
you pulled pistol and would have shot me if
hadn't stepped up here. / carry no arms, you
see; nothing but pencil"
Here Winkler poised the pencil, which he
grasped firmly with his right thumb and fingers,
directly opposite Watson's face, though to call
attention to the insignifcance of his armory and
emphasize his remarks, at the same time looking
the bully steadily in the eye.
Now | want TO tell you, he continued "that
you internal coward and scoundrel, and
/ can lick you with lead pencil, and just as the
bully reached for his gun the pencil darted for
ward like flash into his left eye the point pass.
ing accurately through the pupil. Three toed
Watson yelled in agony and fell upon the floor,
writing and shrieking Mr.. Winkler put the
pencil back into his vest pocket, replaced the I'M
tasted whisky upon the bar, and went out. Wat
son may pull through if he has luck, but that
eye will be Of no more use to him, and his privi-
leges as bad man are gone.