The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1895-06-21
TURNER AND HIS GUN
COUeLE-l Eek, THE COw5oY, AND
HIS Modest RECORD CLAIM.

Now and then u bad man" tries 70
cultivate something which he mistakes
for humor. One Of these devotces of lev
ity used to haunt the cattle range OF
western Kansas. and every fall and 1
spring he appeared in Dod Se City at the
general roundup" Every time he /
came TO town he left some proof of n /
facetious mind, and was very sure of be- /
ing talked abont by every idle man and /
most Of the busy ones who remained |
when the rush was over.
His name was Eek Turner, though I.
Dodge City will best remember him by /.
the title " Doubled Eek, = the duplicated /
capitaI being Leonard & Loughrain'
brand, and lac being one of their best
riders. In fact, Turner might have been
foreman if h2 had cared for the position,
for lie could ride well, and there were
few more expert with the rop" and prob
ably none who could bear fatigue and
hardship moro patiently than he.
But the trouble was he wanted recon-
pcnse for the dull life Of a cowboy. He
didn't care for money. Any wages going
were acceptable to him. But when the
cattle got roan3cd up and there was half
DAYS Cs;-tI,c from the tedium Of labor
Eek Turlc.. wanted his fling. And he al
ways went into town and had il.
Now, foreman cannot do these
things. He must stay by the herd all the
time. preserve clear head and firm
place in the saddle. He j. the represent
ative Of the owner-the custodian of
much wealth-and dissipation is not to
be thought If.
One of Elk Turner S pet bits Of hu-
NOR was t. p;ck ont people whose APP
pearance Gi.plcased him and shoot just
near enough to them to express his sen
timents. He particularly diSlil>cd to SEQ
hursomcn 80 hy on tie tr"t. Ii was IN a
cowboy country, and cowboys gtlloped,
whether q not they wee III hurry.
And if the rider had a habit uf IRIS
ing" III the s;irrups, as conventional
trutters often do, Eek Turner hated him
violently. 80 that when hc came down
Main street one day and saw a rather
well dressed man 70 ly truttinS and
rising" with the motion # his horse
Eek called general attention to the spec
tacle
Really the trotter WAS not very good
horseman II was pn>>ihle. - Eek oh
served. to "scc daylight under him ev-
cry time Ec ruSe in the saddle And the
glimp>cs ii tina, recurring daylight
provoked IL; to a hit Of pistol practice
Il bet. " sad kc, watching the rider
and reaching f.r a large revolver pretty
: well back on his belt, Il bet l can shoot
between hin and the saddle and never
touch feather.
! He had been drinking III so decurOus
IL manner - 10 be dangerous. and - no
: one intcgfCrcd the rider was half 4
block away when Eek fired. and the
bullet must have gulc true. for the rider
passed On unconscious, while a sign di-
) agonally across the street was shattered
? by the shot.
He tried il again later in the day and
fortunately-miraculO culOusly-eScaped the
: infiction of injury Dodge City talked
: about "Double-L Eek and his new jok,
: all summer, and in the autumn he camC
] in and tried il again
4 The first shot he made he hit man
I in the leg and was very indignant be
( cause they would not give him another
chance, assuring the crippled victim il
, was an accident, and urging him {,
{ mount and trut past just one time more
rising no higher than he had done. ant
d guaranteeing to put three shots out o
five between him and the saddle or bu,
t the drinks for the crowd.
j But it was the uncertainty about tn
: other two shots that interfercd with ne
Il gotiations-that and the trotting man
e persistent cndeavor to enjoy the freedom
of his own pistol arm while Eek re
manned i'll his presence
y Eek thought it was funny, and tina
hallucination grew On him till he 70
- into trouble When the wave Of ''TeXa
Is fever swept over Kansas III 1850, kill
= ing off so many Of the Kansas cattle,
}. state law stopped those drives" whic
e had been the life of western Kansas, am
l. Eek Turner lost his occupation. lie wen
d farther west and south and tried Ia >hOo
y the top off man 5 plug hat in Colurad
lie Springs because he insisted the fashiu
te was two inches shorter than the ma
a. was wearing.
le At La Veta he took exception to th
Ot sputtering sound occasionally made
- an electric lamp and went about shoot
ing the carbons III two till the cit
marshal engaged in repartee and she
off the end of Eck's thumb, alleging Z
e a sufficient reason the fact that no ma
with two good thumbs could be rea
q " bad man. j" Eek replied in kind, an
there were no applicants for the positio
the marShal's demise left vacant until
to was known that Eek had left that regio
and gone to Arizona.
I'd At Fort Wingate he had the misfo
er tune TO shoot into an ambulance drive
by very mild hammered private So
dier, who pulled mp winchester M
crippled Eek for life. destroying tho rs
K fulness of both shoulders and incidenta
n ly putting out his right eye.
After that Eek Turner went 10 Flai