The record-union., 1898-04-13
DOC" MIDDLETON'S BAND.
The Gang of Gun-Fighters He Of
fers the Government.

The Gang of Gun-Fighters He Of
fers the Government.
Doc Middleton, famous on the bor-
der as an Indian fighter, bad man, from
tier Marshal and all-round tough clti-
zen, is organizing troop of rough riders
for the Cuban campaign. He has Of
feIed 10 the United States Government
100 men fully equipped for field SER
vice. AS to whether these rough riders
would come I'D to the military require
ments is question; but from the stand
! point OF the plainsmen they are nrst-
class lighting men. Each is to have
tough little bronco, two big Colts re-
volvers, 1890 Winchester, 5OO ROUNDS
of ammunition and a slicker. Every
member of the troop is dead shol,
and is supposed to be able to kill man
a mile with the rife or three blocks
away with the Six-shooter They know
nothing about military discipline ana
all their records would probably not
bear close inspection. but Doc" says
they are fighters. In the company are
men who at one time or another have
playfully indulged in cattle rustling,
| holding up trains and stage coaches and
! pistol duels at short range. Many or
! DOCS flying squadron as he has
termed the troop, are we'll known as
killers throughout the West, and some
| of them are liable to be taken out OF
the ranks and tried before they get
away, unless the Government acts
quickly.
There is no joke about this matter
Middleton has been here for month
organizing his troop, and has formally
offered the band to the Government in
a letter to General Coppinger, COM
manding the Department of the Platte
No reply has yet been received by him,
but the troop is assembling here and
| the men expect to be called into ser
vice. Each member of the band will
furnish his own rations until the Gov
! ernment takes action. If their services
are not accepted at the expiration of
| March, Middleton proposes to march his
! command overland and depend upon
! the Cuban patriots to furnish them
| with transportation to the island from
some Florida port. Then the men will
fight until the patriots win their inde-
pendence, when they expect a reward
in the shape of land grants for their
services. Many Western people think
the Government will accept the services
| of MiddletOn's men, and believe mis-
take will be made if this is not done,
because of the fine fighting qualities OF
/ every member of the troop. Other
/ Western men, familiar with the per
| sonnel of the Middleton band, are anX-
j 1ous to see the men go to Cuba in any
event. They are selfish for they think
it would be a good thing for the West
if these men We're elsewhere. Undoubt-
edly they are a tough set They in
! clude remnants of most Of the out
law bands that hive disturbed the
! West during the past twenty years.
DOC" doesn't deny this. He makes no
effort to defend his men further than
to insist that every man is gun fight
J.. err Of tried and approved capacity.
i've got the finest body Of fighting
men enlisted here that ever stOrned
fort" he says. They are not as green
in actual military details as some be-
! lieve. Why. a number of these fellows
were with General Shelby in the Con-
| federate service and rode with Shelby
/ to Mexico. Others were part of the ia
nous command of the guerrilla chief
Quantrell, While others have seen more
or less military service in fighting In
! dians. All have seen warm times in
| the West, where the best man with gun
and the best nerve has won. Most or
these men have been punching cattle
of late but all of them want to fight for
| the Cuban patriots. We are ready to
go anywhere on orders. These men
can't be beat for rough and dangerous
! work. There is not one of them that
would not rather be killed than charged
with cowardice by his companions.
Il have nothing to say in reply to
charges that many Of these men l have
! recruited for this service are old out
laws road agents and dangerous from
tier criminals. I've got nothing to do
with that. In this Western country,
you see, it is not considered good man
ners to inquire too closely into mans
past The only question / have asked
is, viii he fight? 1 know all these men
either personally or by reputation.
Some of them l have been in battle
with, and still others 1 have had as op-
ponents in some hot work. All are
game, strong, determined fighters, and
the best marksmen in the world. You
know when a man gets a bad name in
this Western country lots of crimes
are attributed to him wrongfully If
Z
stolen while he is within a hundred
| miles of the scene of the crime, he gets
the benefit of the doubt and is at once
| charged with the crime. | know how
this goes, for l have enjoyed the dis
tinction of being branded as an outlaw
three different times in Nebraska, SIM
ply because l wouldn't submit to ar
rest at the hands of some smart vii
! 4 q
stage coach was robbed or cattle rus
tiers did a big job in Western Nebras-
ka, why dozens of fellows would say
That's Doc Middletons work. Many
times / have been credited with these
things when l had not even heard OF
them. But that is neither here nor
there. We propose to fight for the Gu
bans. If we can't fight as Uncle sam
regulars, they can't keep US from hght-
ing as guerrillas, and I think we could
do such good work as to force the
Government to enlist us shortly after
getting to the scene of trouble"
Doe Middleton is a picturesque char
acter A thorough frontiersman, dar-
ing to the verge of recklessness, care
less of the rights of others as defined
by the letter of the law yet with
| certain rough idea of justice that has
| endeared him to a large section OF the
West, he presents a figure that attracts
attention He is a representative OF
that type of rough-a -and-ready fighters
| that abounded for quarter OF a CEN
tury on the Western border. AS he
admits, it has happened that reward
has been offered for his arrest; but he
was never convicted of crime more Sc
! riouS than rustling cattle from Indl-