The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-19
DOC. HOLIDAYS WAYS.
- OF THEM WAS ALWAYS TO
WEAR A BOILED SHIRT.

me with Graves-His Last Offer
10 Friend.
From the Chicago Tribune.
ike all professional man killers. his
-. vas as immobile as that Of a craven
80 and his lips were those of a
Inv There was no color in his cheeks
4 he was devoid of nerves. Tall, thin,
nj almost fragile in appearance, he was
5eicately wrought piece of fine steel
.on which danger acted as a magnet.
- eb was Doc Holiday.
Tess tnan twenty years ago this man
5r,rpad to the burning sands of Arizona
from nobody knew where and began a
-.rser that necessitatcd the use of a yard
lick in notching the fatalities for which
=. Was responsible. Lives were cheap at
hat time in that place, and Holiday did
,,tbiug to put a premium on them. At
,t. outset there was friction between him
anil the rest of the territory's population
1..ause Doc gently but firmly declined
81, don his white shirt and don wollen
one with other habiliments to match.
te was polite about it. but the rude,
eonbreroed men of the west misunderstood
him and it was only after the sacrifice Of
great quantity of ammunition that he
was permitted to maintain in peace his
status as a correctly dressed gentleman.
There can still be found in Arizona little
rrouuds of sand, each six feet long, which
serve as monuments to the first triumph
of linen civilization over leggined bar
harism. What followed this victory serves
as well as anything else TO illustrate Hol-
Tdav's true character He did not grow
arrogant or dictatorial; he did not insist,
rs was the conquerors right, that every
bodv else should wear white shirts as ne
did and forever eschew coarse wool. He
LET the pOpulace wear whatever II pleased
he attended strictly to his own business.
IL is not strange that his fame Travelled
as fast as feet broncos could carry it. y
man who could turn social usage and
ethics topsy-turvy, make an Institution
of the bath, and hurl deadly bullets with
a hand as beautiful as a woman sand
an without a word, smile or scowl-
was far above the ordinary, and bound
TO become noted and marked. Thus 1t was
that a few daring and cOngcnial spirits
we're attracted to him, drawn by his repu-
tation for GOODNESS and bravery, and tnat
there was unconsciouSly organized as de-
termined and dangerous a band of -T1en
as ever adjusted the sights. of a Wlnches-
ter Some of them arc living to-day, the
most notable being Bat MasterSon,
whose entry into the ranks OF pugillSm
as a manager marked the decadence of
fhe gentlemanly bad man. of the west.
Two others are Wyatt and Virgil carp,
who live in Southern California, and
whose. reputation Tor proplty are such
that they can make sight drafts on sag
arious bankers by simply presenting their
faces at the cashiers window. Christen-
ings at which such names as Wyatt and
Virgil are bestowed are not attended by
people in the lower walks of life. These
Two men sprang from good stock. Wyatt,
in many respects, was .oc HolIday
twin Both were courteous, both resent
ed inquisitiveness by simply walking
away from their tormentors, both could
mt a volume in a sentence, and in the
I'D DAYS neither was ever known to per-
petrate more than one volume in one day.
when Wyatt carp decided TO spend the
afternoon of his life in tranquility on the
peaceful shores of sleeping San Diego
BAY he took his chief characteristics
with him He carried his bravery in his
breast, his nerve in his hand ana ms
loouacitv in his eye. His sleek and fast
horses were his contidantS, mountainous
nature was his friend, and, perched on
Point Lomar's rugged promontory he
sought peace by studying the vast oceans
Yet he has not deserted man. He loves
sports and to-day he can referee prize
fight and come out of it a Beau Brummel,
or umpire a foot ball game like Chester
field, with never a single lapse. he has
been known to be referee of foot races
where thousands were at stake ana the
fastest professional runners were opposed
TO each other; Sometimes he gave the
money to the. winner and some
times he divided the stakes
between the hackers. When he
did the latter-invariably without
word of comment-it was the genIerally ae-
cepted theory that the race had not been
honestly run. 1t was final decision. No
body disputed it, He is probably the last
perfect type of the western bad man
not the bully, the ruftian, the thief, but
the man who kills. When he dies the
species will become extinct, and environ
ment and encroaching civilization Will
preclude the possibility of its sprlnSlng
into existence again.
For more than a half dozen years this
small band of men swayed the destlnles
OF entire communities, which were then
under the shotgun rule. They We're more
feared than a regiment of soldiers, and 1t
was the lawless, not the laval iding, who
feared them. Those were trOublOuS tunes,
and the territory had long been scourged
by desperadoes, cutthroats bandits, and
cattle thieves: The latter, especially,
We're bold and unconquerable, and their
Expectations were invariably attended
with murder and sometimes worse. The
authorities sought the aid of the fearless
Doc Holiday and his friends, ana
from that time until they left the territory
they We're the chief instruments used in
enforcing the law. They served as city
marshalS, chiefs of police, and deputy
marshals of the United States, generally
the latter, and not for one moment were
[nelr lives secure. Their operations were
-aF-rcaching, covering Arizona and parts
OF New Mexico, Western Kansas, and
southern Colorado, but they did their
work we'll, and at the end the ''rustlers,
as the organized cattle, thieves were call
ca We're dead or behind prison bars. 1t
was during this time that they found it
necessary to sharpen their knives many
umes in order not to forego the pleasure
On tate. They, too, suffered, but they did
hhGl complain. That was what they were
When it was all over they separated,
%ii4 DOC Holiday gravitat ted to Lead
eenIe and Denver, then to Montana, and
1Hally back to Denver, where he is to-
gay, with a snow-capped mountain range
AZ maidstone. One day, after leaving
ddIlzona and mingling with men who
uIesseq as he long before had insisted
IIsH should dress, he was told to drink
Huisky TO save himself from speedy
Ugalh Consumption had fastened Itself
upon him. Liquor changed the man. His
,'eAel IN the efficacy of his physicians
descriptions approached fanaticism, and
c "nen ne dosed himself repeatedly, he be-
came brawler.
AS AS Doe Holidays appetite for liquor
6leW 50 did his recklessness. Formerly
M haq been brave, but never reckless.
ttnough he had faced death a hundred
ines, he had never tempted fate. One
iiisldnce will suffice to show to what
IIHslhs he would go in those latter days.
~ made the mistake of easily forming
nt49shlps and enmities-something he
s@ould never have thought of doing with
C5 Hhelouded brain-and, among others,
waited a violent attachment for the
I..,osecuting attorney OF the county in
Inich he died-a politician who himself
sa8 many friends and enemies, personal
GNU iu political. In some way this official in