Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-07-30
TURNER AND HIS GUN
DoU5LE-L Eek, THE COWBOY, AND
MS MODEST RECORD CLAIM.

NOW ana thCn a bad man tries TO
cultivate something which ho mistakes
for humor. Ono Of these dcvotoos Of lev
ity used TO haunt the cattle range Of
weston Kansas, and every fan and
spring he appeared in Dodge City at tho
general roundup. Every time he
camc to town no left some proof of
facetieus mind, and was very suro Of be-
ing talked about by every idlo man and
most Of the busy ones who remained
when the rush was over
His name was Eek Turner, though
Dodge City will best remember him by
the title 'Double-L Eek, - tho duplicated
capital being Leonard s. L0ughrain's s
brand, and he being one Of thcir best
riders. In fact, Turner might have been
foreman if he had cared for the position,
for he could ride well, and there were
few more expert with the rope and 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 a cowboy He
didn't care for money. ANY wages going
were acceptable to him. Bnt when the
cattle got rounded up aud there was half
a days escape from the tedium Of labor
Eek Turner wanted his fling. And he al
ways went into town and had It.
Now, a foreman cannot do these
things. He must stay by the herd all the
time, preserve a clear head and firm
place in the saddle He is the represent
ative Of tho ownor-the custodian Of
much wealth-and dissipation is not to
be thought Of
One Of Eek Turner'S pet bits Of hu-
NOR was to pick out people whose ap-
pearance displeasod him and shoot just
near enough to thom to express his sem
timents He particularly dislilSed to see
horsemen so by on the trot. 1t was in a
cowboy country, and cowboys galloped,
whether or not they were in a hurry.
And if tho rider had habit Of iris
ing" in tho stirTups, as conventional
trotters often do, Eek Turner hated him
violently. So that when no came down
Main street one day and saw rather
well dressed nan 60 by trotting and
''rising' with the motion Of his horse
Eek called general attention to the spec
tacle
Really the trotter was not avery good
horseman. 1t was possible, as Eek OBJ
served, to "seo daylight under him" ov-
cry time he rose in the saddle. And the
glimpses Of that recurring daylight
provoked Eek to bit of pistol practice.
"I bet, said he, watching the rider
and reaching for a large revolver, pretty
we'll back on his belt, ''I hel can shoot
between him and the saddle and never
touch a feather.
He had been drinking in so decorous
a manner as to be dangerous, and so no
one interfered. Tho rider was half a
block away when Eek fired, and the
bullet must have gone true, for The rider
passed on unconscious, while a sign di-
agonally across the street was shattered
by the shot
He tried it again later in the day and
fortunately-miraculously--escap the
infiction Of injury. Dodge City talked
about "Double-L Eek and his new joke
all summer, and in the autumn he came
in and tried it again.
The first shot he made he hit a man
in the leg and was very indignant be-
cause they would not give him another
chance, assuring tho crippled victim it
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 it was the uncertainty about the
other two shots that interfered with ne
gotiations-that and the trotting man 3
persistent endoavor to enjoy the freedom
OF his own pistol arm while Eek re-
mained IN his presence.
Eek thonght il was funny, and that
hallucination grew on him till he got
into trouble. Whom tho wayo Of "Tcxas
fever swept over Kansas ia 1880, kill
ing of so many Of the Kansas cattle, q
state law stopped thcso "drivcs' - which
had been tho life Of western Kansas, and
Eclr Turner lost his occupation He went
FARTHER wet and south and tried to shoot
the top OFF man 8 plug hat in Colorado
Springs because ho insisted tine fashion
was two inches shorter than the man
was wearing.
At In Vota no took exception 20 the
sputtering sound occasionally made BY
an electric lamp and Went about shoot
ing the cmbms in two tin the city
marshal engaged in repartee aud shot
off the end of Eck's thumb alleging as
a sufficient reason the fact that no man
with two good thumbs could be "a real.
ly bad man. Eek replied ia kind and
there were no applicants for the position
the marshal's demise left vacant until II
was known that Eek had left that region
and gone 10 Arizona.
At Fort Wingnte ne had the misfor
tune to shoot into an ambulance driven
by a very mild hammered private sol
dier, who pulled up a winchester anC
crippled Eck for life, destroying the uso
fulncss of both shoulders aud incidental
~ putting out his right eye.
After that Eek Turner went TO Flag
staff aud developed a remarkable habil
Of winning at faro and taking cire OF
T his money. lie confessed TO a record OF
five men slain, but be was given credit
for twice ns many on account of hil
well known modosty, and when hoiinal
~ opened boarding house Ton seanicl
ia San Francisco ho permitted all tho
turbulent habits Of his cowboy lie e
drift away 10 forgeifulnoss. --New Hml
Herald
A Dissinoiion without Differences.
Jinklots-I want my-.wiio ID 30 1
,.,o,,ol, .cho thinks bnforo sho speaks