The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-10-16
FRONTIER TYPES.
GRAPHIC VESTERE PICTURES BY
THEODORE RooSETELT.


fighters who have stood out on the frontier in
picturesque contrast with civilization that
followed them, are fast disappearing.
The Bcones and CroclSets are dead, and
there is no new generation to take their place.
Mr.. Theodore Roosevelt in the October
Century gives graphic pictures OF some of
these frontier types. Here is his pen pictures
of them as a class:
They led hard lives, and the amending strain
of their toilsome and dangerous existence
shattered even such iron frames as
theirs. They were killed in drunken brawls
or in namecss fights with rowing Indians
cident to the business OF their liyes-by flood
or quicksand, by cold or starvation, by tho
stumble OF horse or 4 foot-slip on the edge of
cliff; they persisted by diseases brought on by
terrible privaton and aggravated by the saw
age orgies with which it was varied.
Yet there was net only much that was at
tractiye in their wild, Free reckless lives, but
there was also very much good about the men
themselvs. They were-and such of them as
are left still are-frank, bold and self-reliant
to degree. They fear neither man, brute,
nor element. They are generous and hospita-
bic; they stand Loyalty by their friends, and
pursue their enemies with bitter and vindic-
tive hatred. For the rest, they differ among
themselves in their good and bad points even
more markedly than do men in civilized life,
far ont on the border virtue and wickedness
alike take on very pronounced colors. A man
who i'll civilization would be merely backbi-
ter becomes a murderer on the frontier; and,
on the other hand, he who in the city would
do nothing more than bid you CHEEKY good
morning shares his last bit of un-jerked veni-
son with you when both are threatened by
starvation in the wilderness.
Here are two of the best types, which show
how the Frenchman and the Anglo Saxon re-
tain the national temperament even on the
frontier:
On one of my trips to the mountains I hap
pened to come across several old-style hunters
at the same time. Two vera on their way out
of tho woods, after having been all winter and
spring without seeing white face. They had
been lucky, and their battered packsaddies car
rled bales OF valuable furs--fisher, sable, otter,
mink, beaver. The two men, though friends
and allies for many years, cCntrasted oddly.
One was a short, square-built good humored
Kanuck, alWas laughing and talking, who in
terlarded his conversation with a singularly
original mixture of the most yillainous French
and English profanity. His partner was an
American, gray-eyed, tall and straight as
young pine, with satunine, rather naughty
face, and pround bearing. He spoke very lit
tie, and then in low tones, never using an oath;
but heshowed now and then most unexpee-
ted sense of dry hnmor. Both were rnarvels
of bronzed and rugged strength. Neither had
the slightest touch OF the bully in his nature
they tfeatedothers with The respect that they
exacted Tor flieAeSetTes. l'hcw h1sa CD Sveals
q csatt GSiation IS being aotonly Highly skill
ea ~ weo. ~Tat ~ 4 the uGo 81 tho rItle, hat
also men Of fried couage Gnd strict INTEGRITY,
whose word could be always implicitly trusted
Here in his own words is the picture of an
amiable, accommodating devil who did not
seem to know the difference between right
and wrong, and seemed to be a devil because
it was the fashion,
Zone time, when was keeping saloon
down III New Mexico, there was man owed
me grudge Well, lie took sick OF the small
nav and Il rnf TOLD tn 1,a3I H.
and he said If that was SO he recl1oned he'd
kill me first So he came a-riding in with his
gun Gn the west revolver is generally called
gum and begun shooting; but l hit him
first, and away he rode. l started to get on
my horse to follow him; but there was a little
Irishman there who said he'd never killed
man, ard be begged hard for me to give him
my gun and let him 90 after the other man
and finish him. SO let him go; and when
he caughtup, blamed If TIE little cuss didn't
get SO nervous that he fired off into the
ground, and tho darned bullet struck crow
bar, and glanced up, and hit the other man
square in the head and killed him! Now that
was a funny shot, wasn't it?"
Mr.. Roosevelt gives an almost starting pic
ture of the ierocity which is bred by hunger,
suffering and despair when fertile western
vally with plenty Of game becomes a hoary de-
sert, from which the storm has driven every
living thing but man, and leaves him to fight
his fellow 10 the death over the trembling car
cass Of an almost famishcd dog.
The man killer or bad man does not seem
to be wholly bad, certainly not as bad as he
has been painted. Here is his type.
The professional nan-lSllers, or chad men,"
may be horse-thieves or highwaymen, but
more often are neither one nor the other
Some OF them, like some of the Texan cow
boys, become,yery expert in the use of the re-
volyer, their invariable standby, but in the
open cool man with rife is always an over
match for one of them, unless at very close
quarters, on account Of the superiority of his
weapon. Some of the "bad men" are quiet
good fellows, who have been driven into their
career by accident. One Of them has perhaps
at some time killed man in self-defense; he
acquires some reputation, and The neighborng
DULLES get to look on him as a rival whom it
would be an honor to Stay; so that from that
time on he must be ever on tho watch, must
learn to draw quick and shoot straight-the
former being even more important than the
latter,-and probably has to take life after life
in order to save his own.
The cold blooded non CHALLENGE of the despe-
RADIO in the most dire extremity, Is strikingiy
shown by the following description of an en-
counter between two bad mon:
One Of them was a saloon keeper, familiarly
called Wclshy. The other man, Hay, had
been pickering with him for some time. One
day Hay, who had been defeated in wrest-
ling match by one Of my own boys, and was
out Of temper, entered the others saloon and
became very abusive. The quarrel grew more
and more violent, and suddenly Welshy whip
ped out his revolver and blaZed away at Hay.
The latter staggered slightly, shook himself,
stretched out his hand and gave back to his
would-be slayer the ball, saying there, man,
here's the bullet" 1t had glanced along his
breast-bone, gone into tie body, and come out
at the point Of the shoulder, when, being spent
it dropped down the sleeve into his hand
Next Gay the local paper, which rejoiced in
the title of "The Bad Lands Cowboy" chron-
icled the event in the usual vague way as an
"unfortunate occurrence" between 1.-TWO of our
most esteemed fellow-citizens" The editor
was good fellow, college graduate, and a
frst-class baseball player, who always stood
up stoutly agaist any corrupt dealing but like
all other editors In small western towns, he
was intimate with both eombatants in almost
every fight.
The funniest thing occurs when a giant bull
ly called "The Pike" undertakes TO lick the
inhabitants Of a town one by one. Here 1t Isl
lie was victorious over the first two or three
eminent citizens whom no encountered, and
then tackled a gentleman known as "Cold
Turkey Bill" Under ordinary circumstances
Cold Turkey, though an abie-bodied man, was
no match for Tho Pike: but the latter was
still rather drunk, and moreover was wearied
by his previous combats. So Cold Turkey 9ot
him down, lay on him, chOkod him by tho
throat with one hand. and began pounding his
face with q triangular rock held In the other
Al. -. - Al.