The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-12
ODD NOTIONS OF BAD MEN.
JESSE JhSEs's AND PHIL DIroN's
PREMONITIONS OF THE END


Three Months Following the Loss OF His
sister-His bravery In the Denver niots or
lssO-shot while Doing n Good Deed.
WARRINGTON. Sept. Ill have seen some
very bad men do Some pretty good things"
said Tom Wilkinson, the ex.Shortr OF Creedo,
who lives here. Moreover, most OF the bad
mon / ever knew had q streak of the woman In
them, and most Of them were believers In pre-
monitions. One hot summer afternoon In 1873
l was talking with JEFF Brunstetter over tho
counter Of his grocery in Ieavcnworth, Kan.
JEFF had been with Quantrell's gang OF guer-
rillas during the war. He did not belong to tho
bad man class, but no had hold his own in n few
gun plays since tho war, and he never took tho
worst OF 1t. We were old friends, and | had
stopped of at L~cnvonworth TO see him for the
first timo in several years. Well, l was nib
! bling at Jcff's barrel of dried apples while We
chatted about the old gang, when a well.sct-up
man with a thick black beard and a pair Of
very bright black eyes, and wearing a linen
duster that reached almost 10 his heels, strolled
In.
Hello. Jef,' said he, darling a swift glance
at Brunstetter.
Hello yourself said JEFF, who was pretty
quick at getting noxt to q situation. Come
back and sit down. Then he turned to me.
Excuse me for n WHILE, old man, will your no
said. Just then l couldn't See through Brun.
~stetter's reason for wanting to lose me, an old
friend, for the first man who came in, and /
was a little soro over It. But l nodded and
walked to the front Of tho store and stood in
the doorway.
"Jen and the stranger in the linen buster
went to the rear OF the store, sat down on q
couple Of bags OF bran. and seemod TO be hav.
ing a great cugger-muggorng time OF 1t for ten
minutes or SO. while I waited In the doorway.
i didn't very well know what to make OF the
game, and watched the pair rather curiously.
Finally the stranger In tho liren buster got up
from his bran sack and stretched himself. Then
l saw him unbutton one Of the buttons of his
duster, reach into his belt underneath, and
draw out q cartridge. He handed the cartridge
to Jcff, and as he did 30 he shot a quick look in
my direction and caught me gazing at him. I
a%fterward found that ] figured 1t right In con-
Guiding that tho stranger was asking JEFF about
me. Brunstetter shook his head deprecatingly
and slipped the cartridge into his pocket. The
two men then went through a rather long hand
shake, and the stranger strolled out, sizing me
up narrowly as he passed through the door.
/ watched him rs he disappeared down Pawnee
street, for he was an unusual looking man,
and had an imperious way Of carving himself.
when l turned around Brunstetter was at
my side, He had a quizzical look on his face,
and seemed to be studying me q whole lot more
than cared to stand for.
What the DEVILS the meaning Of all this
funny business. anyhow said I. 'And how
long since you became a knocker, jeff What
was your idea in shaking me for that chapf'
EASY. easy said Brunstetter. If | hadn't
stood for YOU Eve minutes ago. you might have
been full OF holes now
Come around TO the point quick. then,' said
j, for l couldn' see into the thing at all.
well. l don't mind telling you about it
said Jef. becoming serious. for you used to
know how to keep your head closed. This was
the first time I'd seen that friend Of mine for
six years. l was brought up alongside of him
In Missouri. ! guess you've heard his name.
It's Jesse James
Had / heard his namei Bruustettcr gave
mo a couple Of minutes TO recover.
"'Yes, that was Jesse. he went on, and
Il looks TO me as Il his nerve is on the break.
hes got 1t into his mind that he Is near his
finish. We were pretty chunlmy in the old days,
ana no slipped into town to see me-. ] couldn't
ak him out Of his notion that the game is
last man I'd ever figure on to get like that
And about those holes that might have
oh, said Brunstetter. Jesse didn't like
the way you sized him up. that's all. He
made some Kind Of a fooi y0 break ~i.n0 He's You no q
taking any CHANGES. oven If he is looking for an
e %srs wi Wind dup; +. He only wanted to know if you
49, sNN "hSh = toho LAlu yOu NtT6
This was the first and only time I ever saw
that 1 should have dropped OF in Ieavenworth
70 see Brunstetter on the same day that the out.
premoqition. as to his approaching iis aii Dat dsath was was
verified a few months later when tho Ford
sGys plugged him from behind IN 81; Joe. Why
reward and &c, after James when I had this
good chancef Well, for several reasons that
2 while will appreciate. entirely aside from tho
Iact that wasn't wearing any badge IN that
worth was revealed to mo In confidence by a
friend Of mine. There was a maxim In the
SSopntry that Was raised in that 1t Is worse 10
the ends Of Justice, than to steal sheep, and I've
never drifted very far away from that idea,
ssa Theh wearing a sheriff's or a Marshal's
Another extremely bad man, probably ono
Of Colorado. who had a soft a1 sSd s up .ns siSle
streak In him, was Phil Dixon, finally Of Denver,
p pna wf \ sw Som6inatiGn Of coT puneher. pros
Ground sport; but he was q whole lot more
on which he killed four Greasers with one gun
when they. not knowing him. tried to pick on
did this phh's quality OF badness was in dan.
ger OF becoming disliked in Colorado, hut the
AFFAIR at e., La JqRta oblitoTatod tho prejudice
proved and feared. He had plenty Of room ON
tempt was made to shove him into the county
Jail on the warrants and acquisitions that wero
out against him from other States, He bo.
haved pretty well until tho summer OF 1850.
Ihen ne g4t q letter containing the announce
mcnt that his young sister back East had been
thrown from a buggy while driving through a
cemetery and Instantly. killed. l was running
an ,apctioneer business In Denver a. this time
End u knew Phil prstty well. He brought the
anything, Dixon. remarked: That's the no.
uce ior inc to quit, too and walked away.
began TO hunt for his. finish. hui. no matter
what INC degree OF recklossnoss he displayed to
uIis end. he seemed for some time unable RI
bring IT about He took what looked like a
Gehd ture chanco FOR his own wind.up on the
hrst night. OF the Chinese riots in Denver in
tthe ian or 1850. soon after the publication OF
the famous Morey letter Sixteen Chinaiueu
were slaughtered by mons In Denver that night
Aihnnsn fhil Dixon had often been heard 10
cypress ms disgust for Cinnamon, he not only
kell ont or the hunt for them on that night, but
$1,000 70 1850 his life In their defence. lie aid
THIS; ms he aftcrward told me, because he fell
y M over tha: he had played his string. and
"1Hnyhow o 9 The me hans out while tnndins, up.
Dixon was downtown, taking In tho wild no.
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