The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1895-09-20
TURNER AND HIS GUN
DCU5LE-L Eek. TIE COWBOY, AND
HIS MODEST RECORD CLAIM.

Now and then bad man" tries 10
cultivate something which he mistakes
for humor. One of these devOtces of lev
ity used TO haunt the cattle range OF
western Kansas. and every fall and
spring he appeared in Dodge City nj the
general roundup" Every time he
came TO town he left some proof Of a
facetious mind. and was very sure Of be-
ing talked about by every idle man and
most of the busy ones who remained
when the rush was over.
His name was Eck Turner, though
/ Dodge City will best remember him by
/ the title 'Double-L Eek. " the duplicated
I capital being Leonard a. LOughrain's
brand, and he being ono Of their best
riders In fact. Turner might have been
I foreman IL he had cared for the position.
for he could ride well. and there were
fuw more expert with the rope aud prob
ably none who could bear fatigue and
hardship more patiently than he.
But the trouble was he wanted recon-
pense for the dull life Of n cowboy. He
didn't caFe for money. Any wages going
were acceptable 10 him. But when the
cattle got rounded up and there was half
n days escape from the &c lium Of labor
Eek Turner wanted his fling And he al
ways went into town and had IT,
Now, foreman cannot tlO these
things. He must stay by the herd all the
time. preserve clear head and firm
place in the saddle He is tho represent
ative Of tho owner-the custodian of
much wealth-and dissipation Il not to
be thought Of.
One of Eek Turner'S pet bits II hu-
NOR was To pick out people whose ap-
pearance displeascd him and shoot lust
near enough 10 them To express his sen
timents He particularly diSliked 20 sec
hOrsemen go by on the trot. Il was in a
cowboy country. and cowboys galloped.
whether or not they we've in hurry.
And II the rider had habit Of IRIS
ing" in the stirrups. as conventional
trutters often do. lex Turner hated him
violently. So that when he came down
Main stree, one day and saw a rather
well dressed man 70 by trating and
rising with the motion II his horse
Eek called general attention to the spec
tacle.
Really the trotter was not a very good
hOrseman. II WAS possible. rs lex OBJ
served, To "scc daylight under him" ev-
cry time hc rose in the saddle And the
glimpses of that recurring daylight"
provoked LEX to a bit ~ pistol practice.
II bet, said he. watching the rider
and reaching for a large revolver. pretty
well back un his belt. Il bct cam shoot
between him and the saddle and never
touch feather.
He had hccn drinking in 30 dccoruus
a manner as To BE- dangerous. and 80 no
one iutcrfcrcd. The rider was half a
block away when lex fired. and tho
bullet must lave gone true. Tor the rider
passed On unconscious. while a sign di-
agDnally across the street was shattered
by the shot.
He tried IL again later ia tho day and
tely-mir.sculou the
infiiction Of injury. Dpdge City talked
about 'DuubleL Eek and his now Joke
all summer, and IN the autumn he came
III and tried il again
The first shot he made he hit "A man
IN the Lex and was very indignant BE-
cause they would not give him another
chance. assuring the crippled victim il
was an accident. and urging him To
mount and trot past Just one time more.
rising no higher than he had done. and
guaranteeing to put three shots out of
five between him and the saddle or buy
the drinks for the crowd
But IL was the uncertainty about the
other two shots that iI:terfered with ne 1
gOtiations-that aud the trotting mans
persistent endcavor 20 enjoy the freedom I.
Of his own pistol arm while Eek re- 4
manned i'm his presence.
Eek thought il was funny. AMI that
hallucination grew ON him till he gut /
into trouble. When the wave II Texas /
fever swept over Kansas in 1850. kill +
ing of 50 many of the Kansas cattle. a 4
state law stopped those drives" which 4
had been the life Of western Kansas. and 4
Eek Turner lost his occupation. He went /
farther west and south and tried 70 shoot 4
the top off a man ) plug hat in Colorado
Springs because he insisted the fashion .
was two inches shorter than the man
was wearing.
At La Neta he took exception Co the
sputtering sound occasionally made by
an electric lamp and went about shoot
ing the carbons IN two till the CITY
marshal engaged in repartce and shot
of the end of Eck's thumb. alleging as
q sufficient reason the fact that no man
with two good thumbs could be a real.
ly bad man Eek replied in kind. and
there were no applicants for the position
the marshal's demise left vacant until il
was known that Eek had left that region
and gone TO Arizona.
At Fort Wingate he had the misfor-
tune 10 shoot into an ambulance driven
by very mild hammered private sol
dier, who pulled up winchester and
crippled Eek for life, destroyinsthe use
fulness Of both shoulders and incidental
ly putting out his right eye.
After that Eek Turner went 90 Flag
staff and developed a remarkable habit
~ xxft,pfrer co., .,.a ..s-s....