Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1895-07-30
A DEAD SHOT.

4
They called him Tex in lien of any
reliable information as to his proper
patronymic, and he bobbed up in that
miscellaneous assortment of humanity
| that fiocked to Leadyille in the first
flush of the silver excitement. Tex was
an Apollo of the plains, a mere boy,
with long yellow curls, blue eyes and a
woman's complexion and with frame
| that lowered six feet in his stockings.
| He had been a member of an immigrant
| train in his tenderer years, which the
| Indians had attacked and wiped out of
existence. Tex had been adopted by the
| tribe and had spent some years III this
| savage society, until General McHenry,
commanding regular troops, one day
| swooped down ON the camp and seized
Tex and restored him to civilization.
| And then Tex became u cowboy. That
was his history down to the time that
he went to Leadville and became IA
miliar figure about the gambling houses
Everybody, with the possible excep-
| tion of the parson and few women and
| children in camp, in those days wooed
| the tickle goddess of fortuse in roulette
or at faro, poker and even keno, and
Tex's occupation as a professional gam
bier did not lower his social standing
| by one degree. AS a matter of fact, Tex
was great favorite. He was big,
kind hearted boy, with quiet manner
and good natured smile, but, withal, a
mana man, too, capable of being
aroused at times and in that condition
one of the most dangerous men in the
! west.
Ono day Tex sat down in The Gold
Room, u popular resort ON Chestnut
| street, to little game of poker. The
stakes were high, and Tex was steadily
losing. When he discovered that his
partner was playing with a double deck
Tex put his hand ON the jack pot and
called the other cur. That party
whipped out six shooter, but lay dead
in his tracks with bullet hole through
his heart before he could bring his pis-
tol to level. Tex was such an expert
with his gun
Bret Harte relates that the gamblers
in Tuttle's grocery calmly continued
their game the day that French Pete
and KanaLa Joe shot each other to death
over the bar in the front room. The
game in The Gold Room on this occasion
must have been less absorbing in inter
est, for the crowd made a rush for Tex,
who calmly turned around at the door
and quietly advised his pnrsuers to re-
sumo their peaceful occupations at the
table if they did not want to fill COM
mon grave over ON the other side of
Capitol hill. And very wisely the crowd
acted on Tex's advice. And so the mat
ter apparently blew over without any
serious annoyance to the young man,
who continued to walk the streets in his
leisurely way, obviously none the worse
in conscience for having assisted i'll the
premature taking off of a dishonest
gambler. How many men Tex in his
short but eventful career had killed mo-
body knew, but his bearing ON this oc-
casion indicated that he was no novice
He was greeted respectfully by passers,
and he smiled as beneyolently and kind
" upon those he cared to notice as
though the process of shooting a man
through the heart was an accepted act
of ethical propriety.
And nothing more would have come
of it if people had not begun to twit
Town Marshal O'Connor on his failure
to do his duty. The marshal had no
hankering after Tex's society, no vault
ing ambition to arrest him. Tex had
been somewhat informal in his admin
istration of justice. He might have
waited for his opponent to shoot first,
and then allowed the regularly elected
justice of the peace to try the case aft
erward, bnt Tex, in his youthful mex
perience and very vague acquaintance
with the proprieties OF civilization, had
not stopped to think of that. A cold
deck and suggestive movement toward
IL.
sary had always been his signal for
prompt action, and his triggerless six
shooter had on such occasions always
been the arbiter of Justice, from which
no appeal lay. The lnerciless twitting
to which O'Connor was subjected had
made it necessary for him to do some
thing to maintain the dignity of the
law.
When Tex that evening walked into
The Gold Room, O'Connor was there
They saw each other at glance. O'Con-
nor 1eisurely walked toward Tex, and
the boy fastened his keen eyes upon
him as though he would read his
thoughts
TEX" said the marshal. you've
killed Skinner, and you know what I've
got to do with you"
ARREST me?'' said Tex quietly. The
conversation was conducted in subdued
tones. Don't try it, continued Tex
81 like you, and I haven't got a thing
against you. I don't want TO Kill yon
O'Connor. Now you go about your Dnsi-
ness and leave me alone When trs
grand jury meets you'll find me Ilgnt
here in The Gold Room, and III go
viii, Won and stand trial, but I wo1't
be arrested .
.sBut. Tex, said the marshal. 1--WE
ont tn do nv duty. "