The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1897-08-03
ONE KIND OF BAD MEN
THOSE WHO ARE DANGEROUS TO
RoWDlEs AND ROBBERS.

A Wyoming CattIeman Who Checked the
Little Game of Two Chicago Thieves.
How Millinery Salesman Cowed Touch
That Wanted to Shoot at Everything.
What Is known as bad man in the
far west is not necessarily a man of AN
unvaryingly evil disposition or Of dis
position evil at all. He may be uniform
~ 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 30 years of travel west Of the
Mississippi, said a former commercial
traveller
Il was in the train in which il hap
pened, although did not see the occur
renee, when two thieves came to grief
IN trying to rob a cattleman. 1t was in
the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
station in Chicago, or, rather, Just be-
yond the station The thieves evidently
had planned the robbery beforehand,
knowing that the cattleman had a large
sum Of money with him, and they had
followed him to the train and aboard a
coach. Re 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 tho intention, of
course, Of jumping from the moving
train, but they hadn't reckoned rightly
on the quickness of the oattleman's pis-
tol. Drawing bis revolver, he brought
down one Of the thieves half way to the
door, mortally wounded, with a bullet
through his back Turning, be fred 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
ly 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 to 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 eve 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, II
ever it came before a court was quickly
dismissed. l met him afterward in Wy
oming, quiet, everyday sort Of man Of
no particular reputation as a shot, who
had got along with little trouble in q
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 Workmanship
were needed.
Il saw rough fellow taken down by
a man who was not 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 iAterfered with him
wouldn't turn up for his victuals next
day or at any time after. It is probable
that the trainhands eventually would
have brought him to rights. but a 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 of In the car, by accident quite
likely. At this the slim man got up and
walked back to him, carrying a slender
walking stick IN his hand.
There has been enough of this bust
ness. he said. Put that pistol up.'
The tough jumped up from his seat.
Damn your he shouted. DO you
know who you're talking tos You gitP
He started to cock his pistol as he
spoke, but the hammer didn't get half
way up. The thing was done too sud
denly for my eye to follow, but the pis-
toll changed down on the floor between
them. knocked from the fellows hand
by blow with the stick The tough
swore and o1utehed with the other hand
at his hand that had been 30 smartly
raped. The slim man stopped, picked
up the pistol and threw it out of the
window.
Now, will you behave YOURSELF be
asked, looking the fellow In the eye,
with the expression of a wild beast
tanner and holding the stick as a fencing
master holds his foil at ready
You bet. was the prompt answer,
and the tough man sat meekly down. He
was very much ON his good behavior all
the rest Of the trip. He even fried to
make friends with the slim man. The
slim mans name, by the way, was E. T.
Hallam, an agent for a millinery goods
firm. He received the lionizing of the
other passengers modestly, acknowledge
ing, however, that he fenced and spar
red some and could play a little at sin
gle stick. New York Sun.