The Bossier banner., 1894-01-04

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BILLY got over to Eagle rock al
rght-they call it Idaho falls now.
believe, and after fooling around there
awhile and finding out what he could
about the Tetons, he went out to the
Shoshone reservation and got an ole
chief there to make him a map of the
Teton country The old fellow drew il
on shingle. 1t was an almighty
rough map, as you can mighty well
imagine, but it showed the lay of the
country fairly well, and Billy got a
pretty good notion of where he was
trying to go.
BY gad, sir, there wasn't any gristle
IN the end of Billy Barsford's breast.
bone He's no spring chicken. What
did he do but hang around that Sho-
Shone camp four or five days longer,
and then make out to the old chief that
he'd burned up by mistake the shingle
on which the map was made and got
the old buck to make him another.
| That night Billy compared the two
shingles. The maps agreed in essen
tial details, and Billy concluded the
| old Indian was playing fair with him.
so he started out He went up over
the Tetons and down into the basin. as
hne picture of a little valley as a
man wants to see lying out of doors,
with little creek running through
the middle of it and fine pasture grass
growing.
"As Billy went into the valley he
made out little cabin down next to
the creek, several miles from the foot
hills. 1t was morning, and he had lots
of time. He got down to the creek.
got Off his horse and made as if he
were prospecting along the little
stream. AS he came along toward the
cabin he saw Three-Fingered Jack and
three other fellows sitting on bench
beside the wall Their Winchesters
were all standing against the end wall
around the corner from them. They
were all watching Billy, but didn't
seem to recognize him. Or if they did
they thought they had a cinch, and
kept on smoking and chinning, without
ever motion to get out their guns.
They probably figured that when Billy
got right opposite them they'd speak to
him, and while some of them talked
one would hold him up. Possibly they
meant to do him. But he fooled them
HE kept prospecting along the lit
tie creek until he got fair even with
them, keeping his horse between him
and the men beside the cabin, with his
bride rein thrown over his arm Just
as he came even with them he whipped
out his two siX-shooters like lightning.
jumped in front of his pony, and drew
on the four horsethieves not thirty
yards away.
Put up your hands, he said
by gad, sir, they were paralyzed.
But they recovered - quick. The
two fellows on the end jumped for
their Winchesters. Billy got the first
with his right and winged the other
with his left. His horse jumped a bit,
he said when he told me about it, and
bothered his arm. The other two saw
they were trapped and put up their
hands. One of them was Three Fingered
Jack.
"'How are you, Jack?' says Billy.
Glad to find you at home. I've come
long way to see you. Now won't
you kindly turn round and stand with
your face to that wall there, while l
assist your friend a bit to relieve him
self of any extra shootin' or cuttin'
irons he may have in his pocllets?'
Jack turned around without a
word. It's curious what a powerful
influence there is in the drop of six
shooter; and the beauty of doing it
with gun and not a Winchester is
that you can cover two men at
once with the gun. Now there was
that gang of train robbers down at
Rawlins. But that is another story. |
Jack stood up against the wall fine.
"'Thanks,' says Billy, dropping the
bride rein from his left arm, and TAX
ing some fine, stout cord out of one of |
his holsters with his left had, all the |
time keeping both men covered with his |
right
"'Just keep your hands well up |
above your head, please he said to the |
other fellow; and you, Jack, just
please put your hands out behind your |
back. Don't try any grab game, now,
for I'm watching, you kn ow, and this
gun might go Off
Jack stuck out his hands as he was
quiet as g lamb Then Billy
walked up to the other fellow and held
out the cord. There was moose in
one end already prepared.
"'Now, said he, just have the kind
ness to put that moose over Jacks hands
md tie it up tight. Please be careful.
I'd be sorry to have to do any more
shooting than I've done
We'll, sir, the fellow did it. And
hen Billy got another moose and tied
he other fellow himself. Then he
tood 'em both up against the wall and
vent through them and took every
blooming thing they had in the way of
metal away from them. Then he tied
heir feet and set 'em down on the
,nds of the bench and tied 'em fast to
hat. Then he went through the fell
ow he had winged He was bad hit
through the shoulder, and was uncon-
cious from loss of blood. Billy ban
LACED him up and managed to bring
lim round after bit, feeling pretty