The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-14
ODD NOTIONS OF BAD MEN.
JESSE JAMES AND PHIL DIXON'S
PREMONTTIoN OF THE END.

DixOn's Eager Hunt for Death A.
ter His Sister Was Killed His
Bravery in the Denver Riots of
JSSO-ShOt Doing a Good Deed.
From the New York Sun.
81 have seen some very bad men do
some pretty good things" said Tom viii
kinson, the ex-sheriff of Creole, who lives
here. Moreover, most of the bad men
ever knew had streak of the woman in
them, and most of them were believers in
premontions. One hot summer afternoon
in 1873 I was talking with Jeff Brunstetter
over the counter of his grocery in Leaven-
worth, Kan..Jeff had been with QuanuelPs
gang of guerrillas during the war. He
did not belong to the bad man class, but
he had held his own in a few gun plays
since the war and he never took the worst
of it. We were old friends, and l had
stopped off at Leavenworth to see him for
the first time in several years. Wen, 1
was nibbling at Jeffs barrel of dried APP
pies while wee HATED about the old gang.
when a well set-up man with thick
black beard and a pair of very bright
black eyes, and wearing linen buster
that reached almost to his heels, stroll
ed in.
Hello, jeff said he, darling a swift
glance at Brunstetter.
Hello, yourself, said Jeff, who was
pretty quick at getting next to a stua-
ton. Come back and sit down. Then
he turned to me. Excuse me for a while,
old man. will YOU? he said. Just then 1
couldn't see through Brunsetters reason
for wanting to lose me, an old friend, for
the first man who came in, and l was a
little sore over 1t. But l nodded and walk
ed to the front of the store and stood in
the doorway
Jeff and the stranger in the linen buster
went to the rear of the store and sat down
on couple of bags of bran and seemed to
be having great cugger- muggering time
of it for ten minutes or so, while waited
in the doorway. 1 didn't very well know
what to make of the game, and watched
the pair rather curiously Finally the
stranger in the linen buster got up from
his bran sack and stretched himself. Then
I saw him unbutton one of the buttons of
his duster reach into his belt underneath
and draw out a cartridge. He handed the
cartridge to Jeff, and as he did so he
shot a quick look in my direction and
caught me gazing at him. 1 afterWard
found that l figured 1t right in concluding
that the stranger was asking Jeff about
me. Brunstetter shook his head deprecat-
lISly ana SllpDGu the CdGLGlOSS INTO ms
pocket. The two men then went through
rather long handshake, and the stranger
strolled out, sizing me up narrowly as he
passed through the door. I watched him
as he disappeared down Pawnee street,
for he was an unusual looking man, and
had an imperious way of carrying him
self.
when I turned around Brunstetter was
at my side He had a quizzical look on
his face, and seemed to be studying me
whole lot more than 1 cared to stand for.
What the devils the meaning of all
this funny business, anyhow" said 1.
And how long since you became knock
er, jeff? What was your idea in shaking
me for that chap?
'' Easy, easy said Brunstetter. If 1
hadn't stood for you five minutes ago,
you might have been full of holes now
Come around to the point, quick,
them said 1, for 1 couldn't see into the
thing at all.
"'Well, 1 don't mind telling you about
It, said Jeff, 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. 1 was
brought up alongside of him in Missouri.
guess you've heard his name. It's Jesse
James
Had I heard his name? Brunstetter
gave me a couple of minutes to recover
Yes, that was jesse he went on, and
IL looks to me as if his nerve is on the
break. He's got it into his mind that he
is near his finish. We were pretty chum-
my in the old days and he slipped into
town to see me. ] couldn't talk him out
of his notion that the game is nearly
over with him. He gave me this cartridges
out of his belt as a keepsake. Jesse's
the last man I'd ever figure on to get like
that
And about those holes that might have
let the sun through me-? l asked.
Oh said Brunstetter, Jesse didn't
like the way you sized him up that's all.
He wouldn't have punctured you without
you'd make some kind of a fool break.
He's not taking any chances, even if he is
looking for an early wnd-up. He only
wanted to know if you were all right, and
when l told him you were, that settled it.
This was the first and only time l ever
saw Jesse James, and I've always thought
it peculiar that 1 should have dropped off
in LeaVenWorth to see Brunsetter on the
same day that the outlaw drifted in there
for the same purpose. His pramonition as
to his approaching death was verified a
few months later, when the Ford boys
plugged him from behind in St. Joe. Why
didn't 1 reach out for the $4,000 dead or
alive reward and go after James when I
had this good chance? Well, for several
reasons that leve-headed men that are
fond of living along for while will up
preciate entirely aside from the fact that
and that the presence of James in Leaven-
worth was revealed to me in confidence by
q friend of mine There was a maxim in
the country that / was raised in that It is
worse TO betray the confidence Of a friend,
even to serve the ends of justice, than to
steal sheep, and I've never drifted very
far away from that idea even when wear
ing sheriff's or marahaPs rig-out.
Another extremely bad man, probably
one of the very wrost that ever messed
up the state of Colorado, who had a soft
aud superstitous streak in him, was Phil
Dixon, finally of Denver. Phil was a
combination of COW puncher, prospector,
highwayman. short-card player and all
around sport; but he was whole lot
more plain bad man than any one or
all of these things. The red-letter day
on his Iist was that on which he killed
four greasers with one gun when they not
knowing him. tried to pick on him in a
saloon in La Junta. UP to the time he did
this Phi's quality of badness was In dam
ger of becoming dsliked in Colorado, but
the affair at La Junta obliterated the pre-
judice against him, so that after that he