The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1896-02-05

nAOS VI cuVlF6 communities, which were
then under the shotgun rule. They were
more feared than regiment of soldiers,
and it was the lawless, n 1t the law-abid-
J ing, who feared them. Those were
J troublous times, and the territory had
long been scourged by desperadoes, cut
throat, bandits, and cattle thieves The
latter, especially, were bold and uncon.
qaerable, and their desperations were in
variable attended with murder and some
times worse. The authorities sought
the aid of the fearless "Doc' Holiday
and his friends, and from that time until
they left the territory they were 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 their lives
secure. Their operations were far reacE.
ing, covering Arizona and parts of New
Mexico, western Kansas, and southern
Colorado, but they did their work we'll,
and at the end the trustlers," as the
organized cattle thieves were called,
were dead or behind prison bars. 1t
was during this time that they found it
necessary to sharpen their knives many
times in order not to forego the pleasure
of cutting deep notches in their sticks of
fate. They, too, suffered, but they did
not complain. That was what they were
hired for.
When it was over they separated, and
Doc Holiday gravitated to LeadYille
and Denver, then to Montana, and finally
back to Denver, where he is today, with
snow-capped mountain range for a
headstone. One day, after leaving Ari-
iona and mingling with men who dressed
as he long before had insisted men
should dress, he was told to drink whisky
to save himself from speedy death. Con-
sumption had fastened itself upon him.
Liquor changed the man. His belief in
the efficacy of his physicians prescrip-
tons approached fanaticism, and when
he dosed himself repeatedly he became
a brawler.
As doc" Holiday appetite for liquor
grew so did his recklessness. Formerly
he had been brave, but never reckless.
Though he had faced death hundred
times, he had never tempted fate, One
instance will suffice to show to what
lengths he would go in those latter days.
He made the mistake of easily forming
friendships and enemies something he
would never have thought of doing with
an unclouded brain-and among others,
cultivated violent attachment for the
prosecution attorney of the county in
which he died-a politician who himself
had many friends and many enemies,
personal and political. In some
way the official incurred the dislike of
the editor of the newspaper of the city,
and every morning he came in for COLI
umn of as bitter vItuperation as ever
appeared in newspaper where journal.
ism is seen at the best. This grieved
"Doc' sadly, and finally one day, when
the daily attack had been more severe
than usual, and pointedly personal,
"Doc' arose from his consumptives' bed
and went to his friend.
''Ike, he said-the officials name was
not Ike, of course-Ike, l think l can
settle this for good and believe I'll do
it,"
"8ow?" queried the attorney.
"Very simple" returned "Doc." 'Tll
just walk into his Office and kill him.
That's how. Oh, Til give him chance"
he hurried to explain when he saw his
friends deprecatory gesture. "rll give
him all the show white man should
have-an1 that is more than he deserves.
TIN be fair fight, but Til kill him
sure" Ike vetoed the scheme en-
phatically, but doc" was not to be de-
tered.
''It stands just this way, Ike" contin-
ued 'Doc," in wheeling but argument
alive tone, 'I'm dying. It's a question
of a few weeks at the most. You're my
friend, and I'd like to do something for
you before l go. I'll kill him. What's
a life more or less in my case? They'll
call it murder, of course. and arrest me,
but that's all right. You're the prose>
cutting attorney and will conduct the
case against me. All you have to do is
to get some mitigating circumstances on
which to hang bail bond. I'll go back
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