The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-01
FIRST FORCED ON HIM.
JIMMIE CATnOS SHOT HIS FIRST
MAN IN SELF DEFENSE.

MAN IN SELF DEFENSE.
After That. killing Came Easy and
he Killed seven of Uncle Sans
TrOopers-The Reputation Came
UnsOpGht.
From the Chicago Inter-Ocean.
OF all the Western characters who have
achieved prominence by reason of init
mate acquaintance with six-shooters and
rifles, ard dexterous manipulation thereof,
perhaps the least known to the readers OF
newspapers is Jimmy Catron. This may be
because combination of events and a
strange following of circumstances forced
upon him the tile of bad man" Certain
ly in his modesty he would never have
chosen It. and although seventeen men,
and il may be more. have crossed the
divide fun clad and boot shod in front of
his gun, and he enjoys the distinction Of
having battled almost singlehanded against
troop of cavalry. it was none of his
choosing The hand that stood off Mys-
ferrous Dave Mathes and his band of claim
jumpers near Dodge City has lost its cum
ming, for that hand was Jimmy Catron's
and Jimmy Catron is paraiyzed and being
cared for on his claim in Oklahoma.
It was better thus than to have Travelled
and finished life as Clay Allison did, who,
with twenty-six men to his credit, rolled
from a wagonload of lumber in a drunken
stupor and broke his neck while on his
way to kill his twenty-seventh. Allison
was a bad man from choice Catron was
compelled to bear the title. In 1877 Catron
was a cowboy in the San Luis valley in
Colorado. Three years of plains life
served TO transform a Missouri farmer boy
into the typical be-pstoled character He
had also two men to his credit, had passed
the point where a mans life is the cause
of worry; for il is the killing of No.
thasScauses mental trouble, which ceases
with the passing of No. 2. This, at least,
is the story of all whom the writer has
met.
Dispute Over FIapiacks.
sudden dispute over nothing more
weighty than the number of tlapjacks
eaten by Jim Mountz for his breakfast at
the tailboard of the chuck wagon of the
outfit was begun one morning south of
Alamosa, and that night Mountz was
sleeping beneath the sage brush of the
San Luis He had chosen to deem personal
a Joking sentence from Jimmy Catron, and
Jimmy had got his first man. The rea-
| son or III was ludt Tire UhllNL AA'AiA
| Mountz's six-shooter drilled hole through
the top of Jimmys hat, instead of his
forehead. as Mountz had intended jim
my's response was quick and resulted in a
bullet through Mountz's heart
Men who were present say that youhS
| Catron stood in stupefaction and gazed
| upon his work. Although purely a case OF
| taking life in defense of his own, he was
| filed with such grief that for days ne
! spoke to his companions only in monosyl-
tables, and chose for his task daily that
work which would take him farthest from
| his fellows.
killing of Jim MOuntz's Brother.
Assured by his companions that he was
| in the right and with the lapse of days,
| Catron became more like his former self,
| and as they neared Alamosa there hap
| pened that which brought him about thor
oughly. rider hated at the outfits camp
one night with the news that George
| Mountz was only twelve hours behind and
that it was his intention to kill Jimmy
| Catron Oh sight for the death of his
| brother The news created a ripple of
| excitement in the camp among the older
| hands, to whom the sight of dead men In
| settlement of quick dispute was not novel.
| For the proposed victim it brought a sense
| of awakening to his five feet four-inch
| frame and 1876 pounds weight While he
| said nothing, it was noted at the camp
| that fresh cartridges were placed in his
| six-shooter before he rolled up in his blau-
| ket that night and that plunger, lock and
eiector of his rifle received each a touch
of oil.
The next day about II o'clock a rider
was seen approaching the party, of which
| Catron was member. AS he drew near,
word was passed that it was George
| Mountz As though inviting the contest
| Catrou bore 10 the right from his post in
the rear of the driven herd. Mountz sing
| led out his man and bore to the left
| When within firing distance he raised his
rife A puff of smoke and Catrons horse
! Jumped sdewise, while his rider veered
! in his saddle Only an instant, though,
! and his big gun, pointed toward his OPP
| ponent spoke and Mountz pitched forward
| on to his horses neck, his gun dropping
! 10 the end of its sling strap. Catron
worked his lever, and throwing another
cartridge into position, he continued for
ward Keeping his eyes on Mountz
to detect possible strategy. 1t was
all over with him, though, for Catron's
bullet struck him just below the heart
and he died within twenty minutes
Mountzs shot at Catron passed between
his horse and his right eg, cutting his
| stirrup leather and raising a welt along
the horses side.
Thrust at Mexican.
There was up to the time of the advent
| of Jimmy Carton. nothing very rapid
| about Old ConejOs, but after he dropped
into life which was a short time after the
incidents recorded above, life there, at
times, assumed a dark merino tint.
1t was his misfortune one night in a
| dance hail to kill a Mexican who made
thrust at him with a big knife and kept
coming. The sheriff of the county was
| present, and a witness to the killing He
saw that Catron was so clearly in the
right that he refused to take him into
| custody About 3 o'clock in the morning
as Jimmy was leaving the dance hall by
the darkened side door 10 avoid a possible
| adjustment, a pistol flashed at his SIDE
O ball passed before his face and his right
cheek was blown full of powder grains
| He had revolver in each hand and his
! arms crossed. AS the pistol at his right
| flashed he fired with his left hand, and in
answer to a flash In front of him, as he
fired with his left, he answered with his
| right. Whether it was chance or skill 1t