The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1896-04-28
TURNER AND HIS GUN
OOU5LE-L Eek, THE-COw8OY, AND
HIS MODEST RECORD CLAIM.

Now and then bad man. tries to
cultivate something which he mistakes
for humOr. One Of these devOtees Of lew
ity used TO haunt the 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 n
| facetious 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 will best remember him by
the title 'DoubleL Eek, - the duplicated
capital being Leonard & 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 well, 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 a cowboy. He
didn't care for money. ANY wages going
We're acceptable to him. But when the
cattle got rounded up and there was half
q days escape from the tedium Of labor
Ecl, Turner wanted his fling And he al
ways went into town and had II.
Now, a foreman cannot do these
things. He must stay by the herd all the
time, preserve a clear head and firm
place IN the saddle. He is the represent
ative Of the owner-the custodian Of
much wealth-and dissipation is not to
be thought of.
One Of Eek Turner pet bits Of hu-
NOR was to pick out people whose ap-
pcarance diSpleased him and shoot just
near enough to them To express his sen
timents. He particularly disliked to see
horsemen 20 by on the trot. 1t was in a
cowboy country, and cowboys galloped,
whether or not they were in hurry.
And if the rider had habit Of iris
} ing i'll the stirrups, rs conventional
trotterS often do. Eek Turner hated him
violently. So that when he came down
Main street one day and saw rather
, well dressed man go by trotting and
"riSing" with the motion Of his horse
Eek called general attention to the Spec-
,acle.
Really the trotter was not n very good
| llOLStlltlll 1t NsAN lfth-7E4iAt - ~ Il AtN-
served. to "See daylight under him Cv-
cry time he rose in the saddle. And the
, glimpses Of that recurring daylight -
provoked Eek to Il bit Of pistol practice.
Il bet, - said he, Watching tEo rider
} and reaching for a lar.-e rc.alvgr, pretty
well back on his belt, II Eat I can shoot
between him and the saddle and never
{ touch feather.
He had been drinldn; IN so decmuus
a manner as To be d.tugt-u and 80 no
t one interfcred. The rider was half a
+ blo,li away when Eek flcd. and the
builet must have gone tue for the rider
p..~scd on uEcouSciou-, while "a s'- IN iii
: a@uuaIly across the street WIS shattered
f by the shot.
lie tried it again later III tie day and
l mtmately-miraculou ulou~lv-e-,aped the
iufiic'ion of injury. Dodge City talked
= about " Double-L Eel and his new joke
. AL summer and in the autumn lio came
1 in and tried it again.
The first shot lie made be hit q man
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 On
mount and trot past just one time more,
cising TO higher than he had done, and
: guaranteeing to put three shots out Of
( five between him and the saddle or buy
, the drinks for the crowd.
But it was the uncertainty about the
S other two shots that iEterfered with ne
, gotiatiunS-that and the trOtting man I
, persistent endeavor to enjoy Il freedom
! of his own pistol arm while Eek re-
manned in his presence.
) Eek thought it was funny, and that
2 hallucination grew on him till he got
: into trouble. When the wave OF Texas
fever" swept over Kansas in 1850. kill
ing off so many of the Kansas cattle, q
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
q the top off a mans plug hat in Colorado
Springs because he insisted the fashion
was two inches shorter than the man
D was wearing.
At La Veta he took exception TO the
sputtering sound occasionally made by
2 an electric lamp and went about shoot
e ing the carbons in two till the city
. marshal engaged in repartee and shot
off the end of Eck's thumb, alleging a,
: sufficient reason the fact that no maI
D with two good thumbs could be real
p ly bad man" Eek replied in kind, anC
, there were no applicants for the position
the marshal's demise left vacant until il
was known that Eek had left tlat region
, and gone to Arizona.
At Fort Wingate he had the misfor
! tune to shoot into an ambulance driver
by very mild hammered private sol
dier, who pulled up a winchester anC
crippled Eek for life, destroying the use
5 fulneSs of both shoulders and incidental
( " putting out his right eve.