The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1889-05-11
HOW ENGLISH DIED.
OLD "TEx" BENDER TELLS A YARN
OUT OF HIS EXPERIENCES.

OOl VI HIS EXPERIENCES.
The 0uic; Stranger Who Won tho Respect
of tho C"wboys-Sothing Ever Learned
of His P:tst-The Bullet Intended for
Another Went Through His Heart.
Tho Palmer house had two guests who at
t1nctcd no little attention from their appear
ancc. They wore the regulation broad
brlmmcl hat, their hair was long, and about
their waist was tho belt that when on their
native heath, carried n small arsenal These
strangers wcrc two genuine scouts from the
plains ana lad seen much service One of
them was Toy Bender, Il scout who had
been oncof Col. Drums chief aids in tho chase
tor Colorow, the Ute chief Bender was
found III a talkativc mood. and the drift OF
conversation turned upon instances of people.
of whom n";hing was known more than, per
larS, nrNamc, losing their lives and leav
inS no chance for friends or kindred ever
knowing what had become of them.
"Ihcse cases aro moro common than one
would think, the scout said, "and many oi
them make the saddcst kind of story"
Upon being urged to spin Il yarn, Bender
related tho following incidents:
HE WAS a TREASURE.
Scouting" he said, has been more of a
pastimo with me than anything, else. My
main interest on the plains is cattle raising.
md the story | shall tell is one that occurred
on Il ranch One day IL young fellow came
into our camp looking for IL job His nation
aity was clearly marked that at his first
appearance he was greeted with tho rough
but hearty saluta,ion of Hello, EnglishH He
was English without any doubt He said he
had been trampng for Il long time, had been
TO amy nu,nbcr of camps, but had found them
all full, and he wanted to 80 to work badly
Well wo needed another hand just then, so
We took him, though it was with rather an
hra that hc was something of tcndcrfoot
In this wc soon found ourselves mistaken. 1t
was Il mil,lncss and evident gcntlcncss of
character that had given tho impression
English had been on the plains long enough.
I" know his business, but tho roughncss, tho
hravado that so many acquire had passed
him 10y without Il mark Tho days were few
before We found wo had II trcasurc--at least
lie was such to the fellows who wcre always
willing some one clso should do what they
ousht tod", and English was so good naturcd,
so willing, that at first | am afraid ho was
imposed upon drcaliulv, but before long hc
a; though it was wicked to talio advantage of
his good nature.
"Our camp was pretty tough, and we
things being wicked, but We let up on Enslsl,
Just the same. You scr he had done every
boy in camp moro or less favors When one
tho work and his OWL too, and then tended
him his dopc regularly There was hardly
ono of lis that didn't owo English money,
lie always said he had no rsc for it, and said
it. too, with a sadness that made Il fellow feel
there was Il bitter hcartucIc behind all his
make believe chccrfulncss. At first the boys
used To guy poor English, and ask him qucs-
ton, about his home and all that kind OF
stun, and havc seen the tears start in his
eyes as llo turned away and left tho crowd
English certainly had history, and il wa-
undoubtedly II sad one. IIo got 50 ho would
Seldom 81, in tho cabin with us, but would 20
away 10y himself, not in any moroso spirit,
but l!c always seemed afraid tho boys woul,
speak to him of things he did not care IL
hear | said awhile ago that wo wcro prc;ty J
tough, | CUES, we were no worse thai
most of tho fellows out there but we did play
cards To beat anything.
THEY'D DONE ENOUGH SHOOTING.
conc highland you can bet shall never
forget it-thera was u game going OH. Ono
fellow had been losing right along for severa
days and had got pretty sore. This night
his luck was us bad, or worse than it had
been, and he lost all his money, and, in fact
about everything he had, and his anger got
the upper hand of him Ono fellow scclnce
to hav" been moro lucky that night than al
tho rest Of us, and very naturally tho fellow
who lad lost felt particularly bitter TOWARD
this chap, and in Il moment Of rage he saic
tho thing that ncver--among lis sfclows-fail,
to bring out Il gum IIo said the winner had
cheated Knowing full well himself tho re-
suit of such Il charge, his pistol was out u.
soon as the words, and in II blind rage Ii,
fired Close us was lis intended victim, hi:
anger unstcnlicl his arm and he failed to hit
him. His position waS such that he faced tho
door of the cabin. This door, unevcnly hung
would, when opened, swing to Of its own ac
cord, and in tho excitement of tho moment
no one had notcc'l the door open and close
but lcforc II word could he spoken there came
to us the sound of u fall and u groan.
Two at least Of those who sat there in q
kind of uwc stricken won,lermcnt rs tic
smoke circl"l in clouds around tho room
heard that noise. They jumped to their feet
and passed outside Tho rest of us were toe
much excited to notice anything except tho
combatants both had their guns out nov
and had jumped for shelter, each eager tc
pepper tho other, but before another shot
could bo fired al occurrence took place that
made Us instantly forget our excitement Of Il
moment before. Tho two boys who had gone
ont returned AS they pushed open the tlool
il could 10 seen they wcro carrying some bur
den. In Il moment they wero i'll the room
and ono of them said, in voice sad and sol
cinn: Boys, guess you have done shooting
enough for one night. Do you sec what you
havo done. They laid tho form they were
bearing gently down upon tho floor and wc
all rushed forward to SEQ who it was. 1t was
poor English He had been sitting all alone
while wc wcre carousing and had just at
tempted to enter when IL bullet, intended for
another, went through his heart. English
was dead, and all wc knew Of him was tho
nickname we had ourselves given him. he
had never told us OF his friends, and VIC could
only bury lin and put Il slab at tho head OF
his grave, OH which was scrawlea as best we
could the ono worcl "English." Perhaps hi,
friends or relatives arc still waiting for him
to return They will never see him, nor vii
hundreds Of other friends SEQ those they arc
hoping and expecting to sec. They lie ii
lonely graves on tho open plains, unmarked
except by nicknaucs. Chicago Herald.