Shiner gazette. [volume] (Shiner, Tex.) 1893-current, 1897-10-06
BY Thomas

country. anu WhiiS
the cattlemen grazed their great herds
on the millions of acres of public lands |
and amassed quick fortunes from the |
tree government pasturage
In those days the cowboys rode the |
plains free and unrestrained, disregard
Ing all law, and governed in their con-
huct by nothing except their desires.
They were wild, impulsive creatures
overlooking with the spirit of liberty
which they caught from the boundless
prairie and breathed i'll with the pure,
exhllarating air that intoxicated the
blood with life. vlgor and strength.
OF all the cowboys on the plains of
Kansas at that time, old Buck Rogers
was. perhaps, the most impulsive and
reckless. EIe had for years lived a
ranch life. and had CHASED steers" in
every part of the cattle range from the
river Rio Grande to the Platte. Be-
sides, he had fought Indians and MeXi
can greasers, and had helped Buffalo
Bill round up the meat which he was
supplying. under contract, to the men
who were constructing the Kansas Pa
cifc railroad.
At that time Dodge City was pre-emi-
gently cowboy town. They used to
round up" there after payday, blow"
their money into every folly they saw,
get uproariously drunk, and proceed to
paint things ultra red. 1t was nothing
unusual for gang of men to race up
and down the streets, yelling like Co
manche Indians and shooting at the
signs and terrifying women and chill
dren and the pale tenderfoot almost out
of life. They had full possession of the
town. and they ran 1t to their own lill
ing
II old Buck Rogers happened to be
present he was sure to lead in all this
deviltry. 1t was a saying that went
undlsputed that he could drink more
whisky, yell louder and shoot straight
or than any other man on the range"
And he certainly did everything that
lay In his power to jRstify this state
ment
Often and often as he stood at the
bar of the saloon and in rapid success
sion tossed glass after glass of whisky
down his throat until the hardest
drinkers in town looked on in fear and
amazement. Then he would go out and
mount his broncho and, throwing his
hat to the wind, would charge up and
down the street at mad gallop, his
long hair flying out behind, each of his
hands working pistol with astonish-
ing dizziness. while from his throat
there came series of the most terrific
and unearthly yells that ever emanated
from a human being.
And fight! There was nothing that
old Buck wouldn't stand up before; and
1t was his boast that he had never met
anything, either man or beast, that he
had not been able to lay on its back.
The boldest and most daring cowboys,
even those who possessed an enviable
reputation as fighters, sang very low
of their prowess when Buck Rogers was
around. He was not only brave and
reckless, but he was as strong as an
OK, and blow OF his naked fist, fair
ly planted, was enough to settle man
for all time to come.
One day down at Dodge City lot Of
cowboys were talking about old Bucks
remarkable strength. and recounting
some of The feats he had performed
when one of their number, man who
had recently come up from the south,
said
Never heard about the trick old
Buck played on a chap down in Texas
one time. / reckon?"
Guess not" somebody replied.
"Then I'll tell you about it. 1t was
one night. just after pay day at the XII
ranch, and the boys were all down at
town blowing in their money. There
was Just one saloon in the place, and,
Of course that was where the crowd
rounded up.
"Well, when the boys had got pretty
we'll loaded with liquor slick stranger
made his appearance at the saloon and
opened up with some kind of film
fam game. The game was clean
steal from first to last, but the boFs
'bucked' it, and were. one after an
other. cleaned out so quick that it al
most made their heads swim. The
losers didn't feel a bit good over being
worked that way, and there was a good
deal of mutterlng and cursing, to sa;
nothing of menaclng scowls and ner'
vous lingering of pistols. But the
gambler, thin. wiry little cuss, hat
his nerve with him, and he proceeded
with his game as coolly as though h'
had been surrounded by friends.
"At last old Buck went over to thu
table and put up twenty dollar golt
piece against the game
CHI TN win In
this business he asked.
sOh, yes, the gambler answered
you stand an equal chance to win o
dose
s'Then am either going to win Oh