The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1897-09-01

IHtni WuN pf'tlN Huuu sHDtS, huiu
The old sheep raiser when the boys had
finished telling about some glass ball
shooting they had done at the gun club
tournament, 'but folks nowadays don't
do no shootin like they did a few years
ago There was Dan Hardin now, who
run sheep ranch in west Texas in
1881: he could shoot.
pretty good shot was hep asked
the boys, to draw the old man out
"Well, he was n good fair She for
them times and locality. A Cats 45
was Dams favorite. He run aboA @ 900
sheep and good many cattle and
horsS-, The ranchers all marked the
e their stock, each man in diff
ny, to distinguish their proper
g mark was hole in the left
in underbit I'm the right, and
he ne, "a allowed knife to be used on
his ranch. He marked every animal
himself with his six shooter, and he
never made mistake. 1t was sight
to see him gallopin across the prairie
on his mustang after q trnch of lambs
or round up Of spring calves, a-placin
his marks with his As and never varyin
a sixteenth Of an inch from where they
belonged. Dan marked more mavericks
than anybody else in the country put
together.
From practicin so much Dan got to
be first rate shot He used to ride
along in his pasture and put his mark
on the coyotes and jack rabbits just to
keep his hand in II rot so that nine
times out Of ten when Il man killed
deer with his winchester he would find
hole in its left aud AN underbit in its
right ear, and he'd always send Dan
over a)quarter Of venison when he got
il home / seen Dan win bet of $50
one day from tenderfoot We was
ridin along the road and we seen the
grohnd a-humpin up where mole was
SHOWN along out of sight under the
eqrth. Dan made his proposition, the
tenderfoot took him up, and Dams old
As went OF couple Of times. We dug
the mole mp, and there was the marks
In his ears right where they belonged.
After awhile don't think there was q
living thing on Dams ranch except his
wife's that didn't have his mark in its
ears.
''This habit Of Dams got him out Of
pretty bad scrape one time. Along
about 1882, when free range commenced
gettin scarce, the fence cutters got to
cuttin the wire fences around the pas
lures and give the sheep men lots Of
trouble Dams had been cut half .
dozen times. and he was mad. One day
he rode out without his gun and saw .
low down rustler named Tompkins
slicin his wires like fiddlestrings with
pair Of nippers Tompkins got on his
horse and let out, and Dan rode back to
his ranch and got his gun. He struck
out on Tompkins' trail and overhsuled
him about sundown in the little town
that was the county seat. Dan shot him
quietly and was about to get cup of
coffee and start back home when he
was surprised by the sheriff's arrestin
him. You see, that was about the time
the law and order gang got to raisin
Cain In the west and tryin to set down
on promiscuous shootin and personal
liberty. They scared up judge and
jury somewere and held kind of court
right away to try Dan. Tompkins had
lot OF friends In town, among the hoss
thieves and free grassers, and they
come in BY the dozen and swore that
Tompkins hadn't been out Of town for
q week, and that Dams story about his
cuttin the fence didn't 60 Dan had no
witnesses. and 1t began to look kind of
funny for him. They had Tompkins
laid out on table In the courtroom.
Directly Dan went over and looked
pretty sharp at Tompkins, and then he
asked ono Of the deputies to 90 out to
little jewelry store across tho street anu
bring magnifying glass The deputy
went and got 1t, and Dan handed 1t to
the judge and asked him to step down
and look at something q minute. There
was mosquito with his bill fast In
Tompkins' ear, and Dan asked the Judge
to take good look at 1t with the glass
The judge did 10. and blest IL that mos
quito didn't have hole in its left and
an underbit In its right ear. a. shore ~
I'm sitting here Everybody knew
Dams mark, and the court was con-
WINGED that Tompkins must have been
prowlin round his ranch. 1t was what
you would call good ciroumstantial evi-
dence. and ten minutes afterward Dan
was on his way home"
There was little silence among the
boys. and then the one who had broken
% glass balls out Of possible 80 sug-
gested that some lemonade be handed
around at his expense. - Washington
Star.