La Junta tribune., 1898-12-28
A SHOOTING PARSON.

FoI tUrNe years tus ncN. SuhIico suoHt-
ford had been the guiding star of a little
town In South Dakota He camo there
with his wife, gentle voiced woman Of
attractive appearance, announced himself
as an evangelist and began series Of
meetings
The first week some Of the most rcck-
less and daring, while out on one OF their
wild escapades perceived him coming
from meeting on Sunday night They had
been drinking and had amused them
selves by shooting out the lights. then
whooping and Railoping through the town
like wild Indians The sight Of the good
man caused one to say
Boys, lots have some fun with tho
parson.
That was sufficient They rode their
ponies upon the sidewalk and compelled
him to take the middle of the road, where
they surrounded him. gallopinR in ring
like equcstrians at circus, shooting of
their revolvcrs and emitting yells that
would have dnzed any tenderfoot that ever
saw the woolly west.
They expected merely TO frighten the
pious man and see him tremble and plead
for his life, but he stood as calm and un-
moved az II in bis pulpit Hs removed his
hat and the moon, shining bright and
full, illumined his face with sort Of
glory
They saw him raise his eyes heaven
ward and his lips move as II in prayer
A gentle smile oversprcad his features
and gradually tho whooping ceased, the
ponies were refined In, and rs they halted
in a ring around him his sonorous voice
rang out on the night air:
..May God have mercy on your souls!
The power of that voice was felt by ev-
cry man. and they looked at him with n
sort OF wonder. A moment Of intense ST.
lencc and the man Of God. following up
his advantage, said soleinnly:
Let us pray"
Kneeiing in the road. he lifted up his
voice In AN irnpassioned appeal that God
would chang" the hearts of these reckless
men and make them good and useful citi-
xens FL
Involuntarily they bowed their heads
and wnited for him to finish He arose
and gave them cordial invitation to at
tend his meetings
II freely forgive you for your attempt
TO intimidate ING and assure you that
was not In the least nfraid-the Lord takes
caro- Of his own My faith In him protect
ed me. but l might have depended on my
self and hit the mark every time To
prove to you that I mako no Idle boast,
will put hole through the brims OF seven
hats"
So saying, he drew a seven shooter from
his hip pocket and. swinging around the
circle. rapidly discharged seven shots The
astonished men heard the whir of the hull
lets past their ears. and. taking of their
wide felt hats. held them up for examina.
tion The moon shone through n hole in
each just two inches from the edge on the
left side,
They were filled with wonder at the
| III.
TO scare him. they were awestruck by
his eloquent prayer, but n man who could
shoot like that commanded their profound
respect.
GOOD night, gentlemen. God bless
you, said the reverend man fervently.
"Good night, parson, responded the
cowboys, and they wheeled around and
disappeared down the road
"Well. II he amt the durndest cuss
ever run up agninsti" said one. who but
echoed the sentiments Of all.
After that his reputation was estab-
Iished The cowboys and ranchmen never
came 70 town without making personal
call upon the shooting parson," as hs
was called and attending some OF his
meetings His fame spread abroad and
Invitations came from neighboring tow"s
to hold revi.als, and there was cordial
welcome for him everywhere.
He helped the poor. nursed the sick,
prayed with the dying. and his power for
doing good was simply marvellous He
seemed to understand the natures Of these
rough people and knew how to win their
confidence He was never molested after
his first experience with the cowboys and
any one Of them would have fought for
him at the slightest provocation. He was
assisted In his good work by his gentle
wife, who held the hearts Of the people as
did her gifted husband
y h series Of robberies began In the victn-
tty. Horses were stolen by the score, cat
tie were run out Of the country and farm
houses were entered and ransacked. All
who resisted the perpetrators were shqe-
mot alwayss killed, but disablcd--andg the
people were worked up to such excitement
that II the robbers had been caught the
nearest tree would have served for theif
Of them, and they were always masked.
The body Of . man on . neighborng
ranch was found In well. His house had
been robbed, and there was every iDdics-
tion that it was the work Of the two des-
peradoes who had tcrrorixed the surround
ing country. This last outrage had aroused
the anger Of the community TO SUCH
sxsent that the parson preached special
ssmon with ths text Love your me
mics" M
He exhorsed his bearers 70 pray for she
miscreants and not allow their indlgna-
tion 70 caery them beyond the pale Of tbs
law. He believed in doing all thas was
possible 70 eaptuss snd punish. and would
hin,sslf Join in the pursuit
For several yeass this continued, and
patience ceased 10 bs virtue Aftees, an
audacious sstempe 70 rustic bunch Of
/ nns seasss posse a man searted inVur-
suit They were riding bard and could
| hsae Tie hoof bsaes q swo hcesss ahea4 Of
then and culd 80 the outlines cf two
Id9xeu o. Aorsebse1e Adaif Dtle In fDpnt
In the unesrsasn light of The early dawn.
Ths Catlaws' futJssus siding soon put
them out Of sight, but The puHsuerss rode
= nd pnDntlyObsDeyod . su1itnry hoRse-