The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-12-22
HIRED A DESPERATE.
Judge Alexander Thus Gained Reputa-
tion as q Bad Man.

crosses the boundary line into the
territory of OklaS than all the
desperadoes in that section take to
cover said T. G. Sparks of Kansas
CITY. "He has the reputation of be-
ing dangerous man down in that
country, and that means something
in a place where every other man
one meets is likely to have a record
of a half dozen notches on his gun.
One wouldn't take Alexander to be
as bloodthirsty as an Apache to
look at him, for he is slim man,
with sandy complexion, full red
beard and mustache, dresses stylish
ly and always smiles like a man
who had been married but as hours.
He is of middle age and is as active
as a panther. In Kansas City his
reputation as mild hammered gen
tleman is superb-it is only in Okla
homa that he is considered a bad
man. When Oklahoma was opened
for settlement in 1888, Mr.. Alexan-
der was then, as now, in the lumber
business. He was one of the first
boomers to jump into the new land
of promise and cop out his due
portion of the milk and honey by
selling pine board at 313 per cent
net profit. During those boom days
of ssooners' and spectators in Okla
homa whole towns of 5000 people
were laid out in a single day, and
the pine board business was better
than half the gold elaine in the
Klondike. Mr.. Alexander had a
lumber yard in every city and town
in Oklahoma. He was, in fact, the
lumber king of the new territory.
He traded in town lots and even
town sites on the side and mixed in
politics too. For instance, he head
ed a procession Of boomers that
went into the Cherokee strip when
chat excitement was on, and in one
night they laid off town of white
tents. covered wagons and staked
lots.
Before morning mass meeting
Of 1, 600 people in a circus tent elect
ed Mr.. Alexander mayor, and they
christened the town Willow
Springs The next morning the
United States troops came along
and notified the people that the
president of the United States had
not yet given the order fer the set
tlementjof the strip, and that they
would have to skedaddle back into
Kansas. So the first town of Willow
Springs, with its 1000 inhabitants,
1900 dogs, Mayor Alexander and
the entire city council, was wiped off
the map in jiffy.
''All this time Mr.. Alexander was
wearing high top boots, sombrero,
a brace of six shooters. heavy spurs,
ETC., and was riding q broncho. When
he wanted to do so, he could look
more dangerous than the villain in
q Dutch drama. In those exciting
times, Madam Rumor says. Mr.. AL
exander was compelled to take a
shot at two or three obstreperous
men, but he admits himself that he
never caused an increase in the pop
ulation of a cemetery. So far as
craftsmanship goes, Mr.. Alexander,
/ take it, is something on the order
of Mark Twain's character in
'Roughing It who shot at target
and killed a decrepit mule 80 yards
to the right. But the people in Okla
homa didn't know this. They said,
why, this Kansas City feller'n
shoot. So they put Alexander down
as a bad man. He may have been
running a bluff for aught I know.
"But Mr.. Alexander did some.
thing that few people were aware
of, and thereby he could afford to
be brave. He employed body
guard in the person of a notorious
desperate, who, armed to ths teeth
with six shooters, a winchester and
scalping knife, accompanied him
wherever he went--just like the
lamb did little Mary. This desperate
had killed II men and had winged
Is. that he didn't want to kill. Mr..
Alexander had written contract tc
pay this desperado SIS a month to
protect his life, and in the event the
desperado was killed he was to re-
ceive Christian burial at the e1.
pense of Alexander. In Oklahoma
in those days this sort of protection
beat life insurance all hollow. Tht
result was that Mr.. Alexander, e1.
mayor of the 12-hour-oid town Of
Willow Springs, made money il
Oklahoma and lived to be a judge
in a horse show in st. Louis nine
years later. st. Louis Globe-Dem-
ocrat.
What He Thought.
Recently two gentlemen, driving
along in wagonette, were smok-