The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-11-26
A DEADLY WEAPON.

How 1t Can BE Carried without PrOvOIS-
ing Useless Bloodshed.
When travel far away from home ]
usually go armed. But 1 carry my
concealed deadly weapon in my grip
sack. / carry it there because / am
timid about having a pistol in my
pocket. 1t makes me nervous to think
it might go off at the wrong moment,
and prove fatal.
Then it often saves needless blood
shed to carry ones deadly weapon in
ones gripsack. When I have trouble
with q person, and he intimates that he
wants to settle it with weapons, l ex-
plain that my pistol is in my room at
the hotel, and, if he is an honorable
man, he readily consents to my going
after it before taking further action.
While | am going to my room my
passions calm down. / set to thinking
how my conscience would gnaw at my
vitals and keep me awake of nights
were l to have the blood of a human
being on my hands, and the result is,
don't come back. Several men arc
living and well who might to-day be
filling premature graves but for my
habit of carrying my deadly weapon in
my gripsack when / travel.
Once at Denver, Col, l carelessly
showed a small seven-shooter Ichanced
to have in my pistol pocket. 1t was q
modest, unpretentious weapon about
fifteen inches long. A cowboy, who
had a seven-chambered gun slung to
his belt, asked me what my weapon
was for, and when he saw that / was
hurt at the question, he added that ]
ought to wear it on my watch chain.
Since that painful event / have been
more than ever cautious about showing
my pistol to strangers in the West.
Last month at Albuquerque l made a
thoughtless remark that was not con-
sidered complimentary to the sort of
climate they had on tap there at that
time, and a newspaper man, to whom
had just been introduced, said the
Albuquerque climate could not be
slandered in his presence without
blOodshed.
Though 1 know is to be contrary to
the wishes Of my physician for me TO
shed blood in the state of health / was
then in, answered that l was ready
to back up with weapons any thing l
had said about the Albuquerque
climate, If the gentleman whose feel
ings / seemed to have hurt would wait
until l could go to my room and tetch
my pistol.
The newspaper man said he would 90
with me and we could settle the dilli-
Guilty in my room. This proposed ar
rangement was not to my taste, but l
could not think of any reasonable OBJ
lection to raise, so let him go.
Owing to my pardonable agitation
from thoughts of the approaching
carnage, CROPPED somewhat blindly in
my gripsack, and. instead of my pistol,
got hold of small bottle labeled 'ser-
pent-tooth antidote, " which had pro-
cured at the drug store before leaving
home. This / held toward my adver-
sary, and, in utter recklessness, he
took out the cork, put the bottle to his
lips and drank some of the contents.
He smiled and returned me the bot
tie, and ! smiled also. Men can not
kill each other when they are smiling,
so our quarrel was forgotten, while an
era of good fellowship set in between
US that continued while 1 remained iu
Albuquerque.
Thus was a sad and painful case Of
bloodshed averted by my custom OF
carrying my pistol in my gripsack.--
Scott Way, IN Detroit Free Press.