Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-09-24
pou8LE-L Eek, THE COWBOY, AND
his MODEST RECORD CLAIM.

hlS MODEST RECORD CLAIM.
Now ne showed his dislike FOR a Horse
man who Rode at q ~Trot-Finaliy MS
Spirit was Conquered By n Nj Man
nrred Soldier with q winuhestcr.
Now aud then a dad man" tries to
cultivate something which be mistakes
for humor. One Of these devotoes Of lev
ity used to haunt tho cattle range Of
western Kansas, and every fall and
spring he appeared in Dodge City at the
general roundup. Every time he
came to town he left some proof Of a
fnootious 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 Eek Turner, though
Dodge City viii best remember him by
the title Doubled Eek, " the duplicated
capital being Leonard g. Loughrain's
brand, and he being one Of their best
riders. In fact, Turner might have been
foreman If he had cared for the position,
for he could ride we'll, 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 q cowboy. He
didn't care for money. Any wages going
were acceptable to him. But when the
cattle got rounded up aud there was half
a days escape from the tedium Of labor
Eek Turner wanted his fling. Andhe al
ways went into town aud 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 ia the saddle. He Is the represent
alive Of the owner-the custodian OF
much wealth-and dissipation is not to
be Thought Of.
One Of Eek Turner'S pet bits Of hui
NOR was to pick out people whose ap-
pearnnce displeased him and shoot just
near enough to them to express his sem
timents. He particularly disliked to see
horsemen go by on the trot. It was in !
cowboy country, and cowboys galloped,
whether or not they were in a hurry.
And If the rider had a habit Of iris
ing'' ia the stirTups, as conventional
trotters often do, Eek Turner hated him
violently. So that when he came down
Main street one day and saw a rather
well dressed la go by trotting and
rising with the motion Of his horse
Eck called general attention to the spec
tacle.
Really tho trotter was not very good
hOrsemau. It was possible, as Eek OBJ
served, TO "see daylight under him" ev-
cry time he rose in tho saddle. And the
glimpses Of that recurring daylight"
provoked Eek to a bit of pistol practice.
Il bet, " said he, watching the rider
and reaching for a large revolver, pretty
we'll back on his belt, II bet I car shoot
between him and the saddle and never
touch a feather"
He had been drinking in so decorous
q manner as to DO dangerous, and so no
one interfered. The 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
ortunately-miracdlo usly-escaped the
infection of injury. Dodge City talked
about Doubled Eek" and his new joke
all summer, and in the autumn ne came
IN and tried it again.
The first shit 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 tho crowd.
But it was the uncertainty about the
other two shots that interfered with ne
gotiations-that and the t~rotting mans
persistent endeavor to enjoy the freedom
Of his own pistol arm while Eek re-
manned in his presence.
Eek thought it was funny, and that
hallucination grew on him till he got
into trouble. Whom the wave Of ''Texas
fever swept over Kansas in 1880, kill
ing of 50 many of the Kansas cattle, a
state law stopped those drives which
had been the life of western Kansas, and
Eek Turner lost his occupation. He went
farther west and south and tried to shoot
the top of a mans plug hat in Colorado
Springs because he insisted the fashion
was two inches shorter than the man
was wearing.
At La Veta he took exception to the
suffering sound occasionally made by
nm electric lamp and went about shoot
ing the carbons in two till the city
marshal engaged in repartee and shot
of the end of Eck's thumb, alleging as
a sufficient reason the fact that no man
with two good thumbs could be a real
II bad mar. Eek replied in kind, and
there were no applicants for the position
the marshal's demise left vacant until il
was known that Eck had left that region
and gone to Arizone.
At Fort WingatC he had the misfor
tune to shoot into an ambulance driven
by a very mild hammered private sol
der, who pulled up a winchester and
crippled Eek for life, destroying the use.
.alness Of both shoulders and incidental
~ putting out his right eye.
after that Eek Turner went TO Flag
staff and developed a remarkable habit
Of winning at faro and taking care o.