Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-05-05

tornnin. Some Of the incidents in |
his career show that he has nerve. Il /
deadly aim and heart for every |
fate He Is n native OF the Tar Heel !
state, and when lG years old he went |
70 Texas to become a cowboy. one
night, near the Rio Grande River, he
and ten other cowboys were sur
rounded hy Mexican bandits. and a
general nght followed In the melee
young Cooper was shot in the head
and the bullet rs sun there. not 80
far from the pituary glnnd He wna
dragged from the Held ug dead. hut
after many weeks he recovered and
began 10 punch cows again and prac-
tlce pistol shooting. His idea was re-
vengc for the grcaacr who had shot
him Ia the flght,whum he knew by sight.
ono hot day In July four months
after lie was wounded, Cooper had
his horse Htakcd out grazing while he
took his Hlcsta under a chuparra tree
on the banks OF u little stream. When
he awolsc he lit II shuclS cigarette aud
casually looked down the stream. To
his amusement he saw the greager who
shot him Just getting up from u sies-
In. The grOnHOr'a horse was also graz
ing some yards away. Roth ran for
their horses, for they knew 1t was
a lie aud death race, The greaaer wnA
n sprnter and 80 waB Cooper Each
reached his horse almost at the same
moment aud each mounted slmultan-
eoualy Their pistols Loft their holsters
together and they began to nre at
each other. After two shotg had been
exchanged The greuser yelled out
challenge Of the true cowboy style-Le..
they would gallop around In IA circle,
shoot at each other Ave times apiece,
ana II at the expiration OF the ten
shots neither was Killed they would re-
sort to the larat Cooper readily
agreed, because he had devoted much
practice TO shooting from his horse at
fun speed.
They rode u short distance from the
creek and then began their circular
duel Az they gallopcd around the
grenser shot first and put a bullet hole
through the rim OF CoQper'a sombrcru
1t was n close call and showed fine
Workmanship ON the greascr's part
As Cooper afterwards remarked, ~
could smell that bullet, for It scorched
my eyebrows" The first bullet from
Cooper entered the grenser's side, hut
he pluckily kent his seat In his saddle
and put hole through the cowboys
sleeve. AZ the second discharge from
the cowboys pistol the gre0sor fell
headlong from his horse. Cooper
thought he was dead. but he was only
badly wounded and recovered months
afterwards, II made good Mexican
out OF him and he gave up hrlgnndnHc
and In time became an alcnlde In tho
province Of chihuahua.
AZ this period the subject OF this
sketch concluded he had played COW.
boy long enough, and came North
where he married a handsome SS,nn
lady, who. as subsequent event,
proved. had as much courage as hel
husband. OF nil places In tho world
he concluded 10 co to Africa on hi,
wedding trip. and his wife did not Oh
1ect. After weeks of Aon travel the,
started up the Congo River, with whnl
he termed the Cooper Trading Com
papy. He had regular cNpeditiaf
fitted out, with elephants, Zanzebari,
guards and portera and few mission
aries. to help him buy ivory. For vi,
or seven months he was absent from
the coast but when he returned he hai
secured enough ivory TO clear $40 OO
above all expenses. Mrs, Cooper wa
with him every moment, and carried ,
rifle, which she used effectually OF
more than one occasion. This wa
some years before Mrs. French Sheliol
penetrated TO tho Interior OF the Darl
Continent.
One OF the petty African chiefs, VIII
had plenty OF ivory stored away, M
fused TO sell to Mr.. Cooper. lie mis-
complained OF the loss to his cattle h
had sustained by the inroads OF a bi
Hon. When tho American made
proposition 10 the cantankerous, pess
mlatic chief TO 30 out alone 10 XIII IN
Hon, the old savage smiled with delight
for he thought the conditions would b
reversed, and. after the beast had en-
Joyed a aavory meal on the whit
man, then the expedition could be lool
cd and bushel OF heads secured.