The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1896-01-09
HE HAD SEEN A THING OR TWO.


A Story of Adventure.
Few men have had more hair
breadth escapes than Senior William
Fenimore Cooper, who for many years
lived near the extinct volcano of Fem
poatepettle, in the province of Orizaba,
Mexico. He made his home with the
Mexican Indians, the last of the once
proud race of Aztecs who fought under
MonteZuma. 1t was his custom daily
to enter the crater of the volcano and
look for mosaic agate, a translucent,
prismatic stone somewhat similar to
the onyx. One day he went to sleep
in the crater near a bed of sulphur,
and the latter caught fire and came
within an ace of su~ffocating him. His
beard has been a burnt lumber color
ever since.
The accident caused him to quit
Mexico for the United States, and he
has been here eve since. Some of the
incidents in his career show that he
has nerve, a deadly aim and IA heart
for every fate. He is a native of the
Tar Heel State, and when sixteen
years old he went to Texas to become
Il cowboy. One night neal the Rio
Grande river he and ten other cow
boys were surrounded by Mexican
bhllbltS. II al SClCldl hShl "Cus
In the melee young Cooper was shot
in the head, and the bullet is still
there. He was dragged from the field
as dead, but after many weeks he ro-
covered and began to punch cows
again and practice pistol shooting. His
idea was revenge on the greaser who
had shot him in the fight, whom he
knew by sight.
One hot night in July, four months
after he was wounded, Cooper had his
horse staked out grazing while he
took his siesta under a chaparral tree
on the banks of a little stream. When
he awOke he lit a Shuck cigarette n
casually looked down the stream. To
his Amusement he saw the greaSer
who shot him just getting up from a
siesta. The greaser's horse was also
grazing some yards away. Both ran
for their horses, for they knew it was
a life-and-death race. The greaSer
was a Splinter and so was Cooper.
Each reached his horse almost at the
same moment. and each mounted sim
~ultaneOusly.
Their pistols left their holsters to-
gether, and they began to fire at each
other. After two shots had been eX
changed the greaser yelled out a chal-
lenge of the true cowboy style-i. e.,
they would gallop around in a circle,
shoot at each other five times apiece,
and if at the expiration of the ten
shots neither was killed, they would
resort to the lariat. Cooper readily
agreed, because he had devoted much
practice to shooting from his horse al
full speed.
They rode a short distance from the
-.,-l- ~-l 4Ia~ 5000 - ,-.,Ie
duel. AS they galIoped around tho
greaser shot first and put a bullet hole
through the rim of Cooper's sombrero
1t was a close call and showed fine
craftsmanship on the greaser's part
AS Cooper afterward remarked, 81
could smell that bullet, for it actually
scorched my eyebrows The first bul
let from Cooper entered the ~greaser's
side, but he pluckily kept his seat il
his saddle and put Il hole through thu
cowboys sleeve. At the second dis
charge from the cowboys pistol til,
greaser fell headlOng from his horse
Cooper thought he was dead, but h
was only badly wounded and recover
ed months afterward. 1t made a goot
+ Mexican out of him, and he gave III
/ ~brigandage and in time became an al
calde i'll the province of Chihuahua.
At this period the subject of thi
t sketch concluded he had played COW
boy long enough. II came north
where he married IA handsome youni
lady who. as subsequent vents prove,
had as much courage as her husband
OF all places in the world, he con
1 Guided to 60 to Africa on his weddin
trip. and his wife did not object. Afte
q weeks of sea travel they started IL
o the Congo river, with what he terme,