Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-08-26
DON'T CARRY A PISTOL.
II You Must Go Heeled Have a Kuf,

From the Detroit Free Press.
'Confound that pop but It is always dig
gfng into me-" growled the drummer as
he reached for his right hand hip pocket
to give the pistol a lift.
Carried it long?" aueried the man who
was picking his teeth with a broom corn.
Ten years"
Ever use it,"
We'll, no. though think the fact OF my
having ii has cooled three or four fellows
of at times"
mot in the slightest. my friend. That
gun of yours has been no more protection
to you than foot Of lead pipe"
What do you mean?" asked the drum
mer with tinge of acicity in his tones
Just what l said. In the first place, you
are not marksman. III go out to a pistol
gallery with you and wager two to one that
you can't hit figure the size of a man at
thirty feet once out Of three times. III bet
nVe 70 one You can't hit a vital spot once
9 1m or ten times. To make IL interesting
to fire a Shot
We'll. you see." began the drummer. as
ne reached for IT, Il can't say that / have
examined IL for a month, but l."
just as 1 thought" chuckled the other
as he took It. only three cartridges in the
eynnder and everything stuck fast with
rust. say, man, / could advance ten PAGES
on you and brain you with a club before
you could fire single shot Better throw
II into the gutter"
And buy new one?'
NO; II you haven't a good right arm
then buy knife. See this-'
lie drew from its sheath a two-edged
knife with a blade about twelve inches
long ana every one instinctively recoiled
~. n'ue as they uttered an 'Ahr'
don mind giving you boys a pointer"
, SoiitlhueI the man as he returned the
knife The sight Of a pop might stand on
am man IN, who hadn't any nerve. but the gen
than one man in hundred is a good shot
III You hre at man only six feet away
mere are nine chances to one that you will
1elt like picking fuss with YOU? I'd fir-
ure on your pop being out of order--or its
, nelhg caught IN your pocket-or your shoot
ins at random I'd figure. even without a
knife. that / had the advantage Let me
remove the cartridges. Now Won retnr, 4,
w. NO your pocket and Wen sit ten feet apart
we nave had hard words We'll saw Il cali
you mar and YOU realize that YOU have
business on hand. Now. then-drawp'
fore me he ar bad s, reached for his gun. Be
had him by the throat with knife upraised
GU see? queriei the man. "Even n
you yfa were twice as rapid could cut you 10
pieces. II you Were chain lightning ana
mad fired a bullet into me il wouldn'f have
ss, rap me- unless through the heart or
as rushed. 1 used to think iust as Won dn
anu LOT Years 1 lugged a gun aroi,nd on
my mp. Three years in the far west con-
Niiiceu me that had been a doll
verg' A vi Nhe reNoi-
For close work, yes. If you have time to
oraW IL and it's in good order aud Won are a
good marksman il's a handy tbin1 Ths
trouble is that the man who assails YOU is
most always close in before YOU have the
sun [eady. I've seen plenty of men come
70 Gead stop before the muzzie of a gun,
ana I've seen half a dozen killed at close
quarters, but IL was no more than what a
khite would have accomplished. Men dread
the cold. sharp steel Put the two weapons
side by side. Which has the more wicked
look?"
The knife!" chorused every man in the
group.
Exactly, YOU think of bullets and holes
In your clothing Of being grazed. You
Know that the knife cuts. 1t not only cuts
deep. but 1t gashes. You can't even look at
II without a creepy feeling. For instance L
was on wharf at Mobile year or two
ago; There were tough lot OF fellows
loading vessel / accidentally jostled one of
them, and We had some words. Two min
utes later ten men rushed at me with clubs
and cotton hooks. / don't believe they
would have minded a gun in the slightest
but the minute 1 pulled a knife and put my
back to a pile of cotton bales they subsidized.
The sight of the steel did the business"
Did You ever try it on a bad man." was
asked.
well, a fairly bad man. 1t was a chap
called 'Kickapoo JIM named after the town
on the north fork Of the Canadian river.
He was a two-handed shooter and a sort OF
a terror / entered the town Of Eufaula one
day and sauntered into a saloon. Jim was
In there, and was bulldoZing everyone who
entered to treat the crowd. He had his
guns In holsters on the outside of his coat.
When he demanded that / should treat the
crowd I promptly told him to go to. He
came back with a threat TO do for me ana
down went his hands ! had fourteen feet
to go. He got in two shots neither OF which
hit me, and then had him..
Ibid you-you-~
mo. / took his guns away and made him
kneel down and ask my pardon and agree
to clear out. He was gun hghter, III l
had been armed with a couple Of pops we
should have fusiladed until one of the other
went down. Perhaps both would have been
killed. The knife frightened him half 10
death though ne was no coward When
let up on him ne walked out doors. mounted
his mule and never stopped travelling until
he got into Kansas"
Suppose I woke M at night to md rob
Der In nv room - asked the drummer, who
hated 70 yield the point.
well you might throw that pom at him.
/ suppose" laughed the other. "Suppose.
however II was all right for business.
There'd Be Just about one chance In . hun