The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1895-07-18
\ DEAD SHOT.

\ DEAD SHOT.
They called him Tex in lieu Of any
reliable information as to his proper
patfonymic, and he bobbed up in that
miscellaneous assortment of humanity
that Hooked to Leadville i'll the first
flush of the silver excitement. Tex WAS
an Apollo Of the plains, a mere boy,
with long yellow curls, blue eyes and
woman ; complexion and with Il frame
that lowered six feet i'll his stockings.
He had been IA member of an immigrant
train III his tenderer years, which the
Indians had attacked and wiped out Of
existence. Tex had been adopted by the
tribe aud had spent some years i'll 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 a 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-
ton Of the parson and few women and
children i'll camp, i'll those days wooed
the tickle goddess of fortune i'll roulette
or at faro, poker and even keno, and
Texs 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,
mana man, too, capable of being
aroused at times and in that condition
one of the most dangerous men in the
west
One day Tex sat down III The Gold
Room, a popular resort on Chestnut
street, to little game of poker. The
stakes Were high, and Tex was steadily
losing. When he discovered that MS
partner was playing with double deck
Tex put his hand on the jack pot and
called the other a cur. That party
whipped out a six shooter, but lay dead
in his tracks with bullet hole through
his heart before he could bring his pis-
toll 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 Kanaka 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 rush for Tex,
who calmly turned around at the door
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
i'll conscience for having assisted i'll the
premature taking off of dishonest
gambler. How many men Tex in his
short but eventful career had killed no
body knew, but his bearing on this &C
casion indicated that he was no novice.
He was greeted respectfully by passers,
and he smiled as benevolently and kind
ly upon those he cared to notice as
though the process of shooting 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
70 do h l,,t1r hn
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, but Tex, in his youthful mex
perience and very vague acquaintance
with the proprietes of civilization, had
not stopped to think of that A cold
deck and Il suggestive movement toward
the seat of war on the part of an adyer-
sary had always been his signal for
prompt action, and his triggerlcss six
shooter had on such occasions always
been the arbiter of justice, from which
no appeal lay. The mercilcss INVITING
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 leisurely walked toward Tex, and
the boy fastened his keen eyes upon
him as though he would read his
thoughts
TEX, " said the marshal, you We
killed Skinner, and you know what I've
got to do with you.
Arrest me?" said Tex quietly. The
was conducted in subdued
tones. Don't try it, continued Tex.
. like you, and | haven't got thing
against you. don't want to kill you,
O'Connor. Now you go about your bust
ness and leave me alone. When the
grand jury meets you'll find me right
here in The Gold Room, and III go
with you and stand trial, but l won't
be arrested "
But, Tex, " said the marshal, I've
got to do my duty"
And I've got to do mine, said Tex
81 done it this morning when l drilled
a hole through Skinny, and I'll do it
whenever man puts hand on me,
ain y epoi limo for "a fiobt Spacia11y with