Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1897-07-28
ONE KIND OF BAD MEN
THOSE WHO ARE DANGEROUS TO
ROWDiES AND ROBBERS.

Wyoming Cattleman Who Checked the
Little Game OF Two Chicago Thieves.
How = Millinery Salesman Cowed . Tough
That Wanted to Shoot at Everything.
"What is known as a bad man in the
far west is not necessarily man of an
unvaryiBgly evil disposition or of dis
position evil at all. He may be uniform
ly and cussedly bad or bad only in the
sense of being dangerous to those who
offer him unjustifable provocation.
have met many varieties of the species
in my 20 years of travel west of the
Mississippi, said former commercial
traveller.
II was in the train in which it hap
pened, although did not see the occur
| renee, when two thieves came to grief
in trying to rob q cattleman. 1t was in
the Chicago. Burlington and Quincy
station in Chicago. or, rather, just be-
You'd the station. The thieves evidently
| had planned the robbery beforehand,
knowing that the cattleman had large
| sum of money with him, and they had
| followed him to the train and aboard
coach. He had seated himself near the
middle of the car. After the train had
started and got under good Roadway one
of the thieves suddenly grabbed him
| from behind. pinioning his arms to his
| side, while the other drew his pocket
book from his inner breast pocket. Then
| the thieves ran in opposite ways toward
| the car doors with the intention, of
course, of jumping from the moving
| train, but they hadn't reckoned rightly
| on the quickness of the cattleman's pis-
tol. Drawing his revolver. he brought
down one of the thieves half way to the
door, MORALLY wounded, with a bullet
through his back. Turning, he fired at
the other, just dashing out at the door,
shooting him through the heart SO that
he fell dead on the platform.
1.-THE whole thing was done so quick
| ~ that few of the passengers in the
| coach were aware that anything unusual
was going on until the pistol shots rang
out. Then naturally there were jumping
up and confusion and Mysteries. The
cattleman, pistol in hand, went at once
| to the first thief he had shot, searched
him and, not finding his pocketbook,
went back through the car ~ where the
other thief lay dead ON the platform.
The crowd gave him free passage along
the aisle, you can bet At the door a
brakeman handed him the pocketbook,
which the thief had dropped when he
fell. The cattleman ran his eye over the
contents, satisfied himself that they
were all right, then went back to his
seat, where he remained quietly until
the next station was reached. Here he
got out, asked the telegraph operator to
notify the police that he was waiting
for them to arrest him and staid until
they came. The coroner's jury exoner-
ated him for the killing, and his case, if
ever it came before a court, was quickly
dismissed. met him afterward in W.
oming, quiet, everyday sort of man of
no particular reputation as shot, who
had got along with little trouble in a
fighting way before and after his ex-
plot at Chicago, but he showed him.
self great at this one time when nerve
and promptness and good craftsmanship
were needed.
II saw a rough fellow taken down by
man who was not a bit rough to look
at once on a passenger train of the
Southern Pacific road, west of Deming.
1t was in parlor car, and the tough
had arrived at the stage of drunkenness
where he felt it necessary to get out his
pistol and shoot at telegraph poles along
the side OF the track. He got ugly when
the conductor spoke to him and allowed
he'd do pretty much as he pleased and
that the man who interfered with him
wouldn't turn up for his victuals next
day or at any time, after. 1t is probable
that the trainhands eventually would
have brought him to rights, but p pas.
senger, a slim, quiet, refined looking
man, took the business in hand and
saved them the trouble.
The fun began when the tough's pis-
tol went off in the car, by accident quite
likely. At this the slim man got up and
walked back to him, carrying slender
walking stick in his hand.
There has been enough of this bust
ness he said. Put that pistol up
1.-THE tough jumped up from his seat.
Damn your he shouted. DO you
know who you're talking to? You git!
He started to cock his pistol as he
spoke, but the hammer didn't get hall
way up. The thing was done too sud.
denly for my eye to follow, but the pis-
tol changed down ON the floor between
them. knocked from the fellows hand
by a blow with the stick. The tough
swore and clutched with the other hand
at his hand that had been so smartly
. raped The slim man stopped, picked
up the pistol and threw it out Of the
window.
IL l.
asked, looking the fellow in the eye
with the expression Of a wild beast
tanner and holding the stick as fencing
master holds his foil at ready
lyon bet, was the prompt answer
and the tough man sat meekly down: HI
was very much ON his good behavior al
the rest of the trip. He even tried t.
make friends with the slim man. Tit
slim mans name, by the way, was E. T.
Hallam, an agent for millinery good