The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-05
A Most Courageous Marshal.

1 - tVtOSl SOutoG GOOdo sVoi Stis<s
"I hav always found butchers good lux
ing" writes the old settler Of Hsilroar.nS
Creek, Oklahoma VI the best-luking of
all the butchers ever born wuz Chris CasaS
I, of our toun.''
1 studied Chris closely. coz he WIZ a
kurossity TO me He wuz a rather small
man with sGmthing In the way OF a stom-
| lex, legs that wuz firm-set on the ground.
un didn't seem to be made TO bend at the
knees. HIS face wuz rather full. Ettul
pale; he wuz always smooth-shaved IN
hiz hair wuz very thin un white. White,
old say? II wuz snowy. II made him LUX
| kline Of aristocrat,c. His eyes wuz pale
| blue, blue like heated steel. cold blue ike
an iceberg with the sun on 1t. calm blue.
| like an ocean undiSturbed by the wind.
[ 1t WEE the kustom of our town 10 have
! marshal. The man VINO had been serv-
/ ing in that capasslty, one day went out
/ to cvertake a few outlaws that wuz pas
! sing hiz way Tn the next day the citizens
! gathered around a farm wagon un picked
! him out of the hay un carried him home
stiff "a frozen d.sh-rag. Their wuz genrai
regret at his death. but az other marshals
he'd gone the saim way. az in fact awl
marshals travelled the exceedingly rutty
| road. the wearing Of crepe didn't exactly
| bekum universal.
| Wen az soon az the lamented official
wuz duly planted with sum remarks by
| the minister az TO the probabul yield al res
direction. the kumoonity turned itself
loose discussing VINO should be the next
man 10 be presented with death on a tray.
/ that is who should be marshal
The toun decided on Chris Casad- But one
| man kicked out, Dick Watson didn't ike
Chris un he sed he wuz sgenst making him
marshal. We wanted to be fair. so we
left 1t to an election. Chris didn't want to
rum but we made him Dick. the kicker.
not being abul to find emmy one 10 run,
decided to run himself.
Wei, we beat Dick all hollow. It WIZ
the first formal election we'd ever had, IN
sunlbudy suggested that we hav an
uguration, Chris objected a littul, but we
insisted un on the next Saturday. when awl
the cowboys fer forty mile around were in.
we inaugrated him by pinning a star on
him. After we he'd dun that, he gave US
shock that we never got over. He raised
those steel. cold. calm blue eyes OF hiz to
us, un he says in firm low voice:
Follow me-
''They awf followed him, we with the rest.
He tok US down TO the creek. un standing
on the littul bridge he sed. slowly. clearly,
firmly.
"Az marshal of this toun I expect order.
un I'll have IL. But shell do no man harm
fer now drop this revolver into the creek,
and l shall carry no weapon so long az 1
am marshal"
ITO say We wuz dumbfounded wud be
putting it mildly. We wuz stampeded over
a canyon. A marshal unarmed.
Unarmed un 1--we, Well hardly. Not in
that tcun. Later we changed our tune.
'It wuz the Saturday after. that BIZ
Winters, an ugly cowboy, kahn TO town
fer trouble with the marshal He sent word
he'd kill him on sight. Towards four
o. clock they met by accident. Wh!sk went
Bits gun. fairly stuck into Chris Casad's
face.
What make is it?" asked Chris. picking
his teeth, while hiz blue eyes gazed down
into the muzzle Of the thing.
Bits eyes began 10 blink.
'fSmith&wesson?" asked the blue-eyed
man.
II sed I'd kill you on site" sed Biz surily
The blue-eyed man had set his glance
keenly on the face of the ruffian. IN he
answered with a smile.
Save the powder
II wuz the coolest thing we he'd
seen in many day. While they wuz talk
ing about ii that same mite. moar proof OF
the iron nerve of that blue-eyed son-of-a-
gun kahn out. Gun-wadding Wallace hav.
ing filed up on sheep-dip, began to
shoot up the toun. The marshal laid hold
of his horse, un said:
"Give me your gun"
A SHOT whistled close 70 his ear.
Give me our gun." he said in the same
firm voice
Un, by some mysterious power. Gun-wad-
ding Wallace, the worst man on the range,
handed over his gun.
Chris took out the cartridges. un handed
the gun back un sed:
Don't hurt yourself"
OF lorse everybody WIZ paralized. il
he'd been the habit in that toun fer the mar
shall I'm the kow-boys 10 spend their time
firing at each other. Here wuz a man of
moar courage than any OF them who bluff
ed 'em all without having a gun near him.
The cowboys tried on awl sorts of tricks
with him. They shot holes through his hat,
un he never even bltnked his eyes.
But he cud do one thing that there haz
never been emmy explanashun for. He cud
command a thing. un get II.
He came unto a saloon one day when two
men were in the act OF raising Their guns.
Drop themr' he Numbered.
Both guns fell to the floor with crash. |
'SIeep over IT," ne continued. Tn II you |
think It's worth risking your lives for. come !
back tomorrow. un I'll let you fight II out. |
Az Chris fame grew. everybody discuss |,
ed him. Some sed he mesmerized the cow |
extract OF bluff.
~ 1F-o ana rsH-cr
that toun. The cowboys quit IL They awl 1
spent their Saturdays in rival town nam |
ed Willow Creek. They sed there wuz
wud shoot back. That wuz the toun for 4
them.
II got TO being dredfuI dull IN our toun on
The merchants got TO kicking.
Order and Law un awl that wuz rite enough |
probably but trade wuz better.
Finely they held a meeting 20 discus
ways and means Of winning bak the lest
trade.
Chris Casad heerd OF il. IN ne got W VI
addressed the meeting:
''I appresheate the trouble" he sed. ard
,on ,inuing.
Things hav bin too strict. AZ I cudn't
run them at awl. unless I run them st-ct.
I wud Ike 20 resign in favor Of sum man
who viii carry revolver. Announce
that sech a man haz bin selected VI the
cowboys viii KUN bak."
This wuz what the merchants really
wanted 50 they accepted his res. grashun.
II remembering the elscshun. Dick Wa
sou vuZ chuseu-
The new marshal carried gun Wgr1
suz sent 20 the cowboys: they forsook
willow Springs. VI our tour wuE prosper
JUS again IN four weeks n terrible
tree, fight. Dick Watson went down n
he srls. whirh ief re eI-rna-shaL r-h-.s |