The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-09-07

Silent Chaps Ven Road of Exist
Only On PaDex-0eananely Wicked
Fellows 0o sSwa9geRing About
Telling Of Their Meay Tough Deeds
IN the villa and Wool1y West.
you often hear and read ynrns to the
general effect that bad men ara almost in
vartably cool. silent chaps, and that there
10 NO such q thing a. q bad man who blus-
ters. the blusterers, according to these
stories. being all cowards," said Jared Nc
Albert a wellknown Montana mining man
to Washington Star reporter.
These yarns make me smile. The regu-
lar he-devi Of had man 10 almost extinct
now. but I've met several hundred Of 'em
In my day. and every man Of them was
mot only wickediy bad In fact. but also on
MS own confession. The worst men OF
the lot were the fellows who publicly gloat-
% over their dsviltry. the braggarts who
not only announced with whoops that they
ate wolves, but who were always ready to
stand for anything they said, drunk or So
DIR. 1t was part of q professional bad
mans badness TO let everybody know that
he was bad to yelp 1t out between the
cracking OF his guns: to roar 1t out in
the middle Of the road whenever the fancy
struck him. Moreover, these self-announced
bad men were never called with the fire.
quency that some Of these yarns would
have you believe. I've generally discovered,
on investigation, that the quiet. COOL bad
men were fellows who shot or stabbed their
victims In the back.
Il am always entertained when I read
fairy tales Of the way bad men used to get
themselves done up occasionally by flat
chested. one-lunged tenderfeet from the
East. few years ago l read a story in q
st Louis paper about the way a pretty,
blue-eyed tenderfoot lad ad made the
famous Tor. rather. infamous), Thurston
Aillibridge dance, and 1t liked to have tickled
me to death. AS matter of fact, the man
never lived that got the drop on Lilli-
bridge He committed suicide by jumping
from second-story window in Denver,
while in spasm of the d. It's. Lillibridge
was about as bad a man as ever struck
Leadville when Leadville was bad, which is
saying enough. He was the worse brag-
gart the most tremendous blowhard that
ever loved the sound of his own voice, and
yet ne was bad and dangerous way down
10 the ground and underneath it.
Wnen he was drunk he would relate the
history or his life in nine languages, and
tnen whistle it, as the. saying goes, solely
Tor the purpose Of enticing some new arrival
10 call him, and he always looked grieved
and disappointed when there was no one
around to make such bad break. He loved
tenderfeet for the fun he had with them,
and this is the reason the fairy tale about
mis- having been corralled by one Of them
was such good reading for me-
Two young fellows from Camden, N J.,
struck Leadville in the fall of rs. Each of
them carried two big silver mounted pistols
In his new belt and their knives were new
and shiny. They were pretty, strapping
young men, as a matter of fact, but they
talked too much, and new man in Lead
vile had to keep pretty low in those days
until the layout had time to size him up
and properly label him, so to speak These
two young men. who seemed to have plenty
OF money, in addition to their fine outfits,
didn't appear to understand Leadville eth
les, however, and they toured around among
the gin mills talking heap. They were
both fairly well loaded up by the time they
got around TO Nat Brinkerhoff's Red Light
saloon, and this made them more garrulous
than ever. Lillibridge, quiet for once, stood
at the bar when they walked in. He looked
at their fine toggery and fine weapons with
astonishment on his face, but without say
Ing word. One of the young men, the
more boisterous Of the two finally noticed
You're pretty husky looking, pard,' said
he. with dismal attempt at the manner of
the frontier swashbuckler. Name your
poison
"Thurston didn't bat an eye or say
word for full minute. Then he seemed
to emerge from his trance, shook himself
together. and strolled up to the two young
men from Camden
Can you two kids run at a lopez he
inquired with mock Difference.
Run?' said the one who had addressed
him. Certainly we can run, but we don't |
make business of it. Why?'
Because said Lillibridge. hitching up |
MS trousers, us three are a-goin' to play |
hoss.'
'Huh?' exclaimed the talkative youth.
Hoss, said! shouted Lillibrid9e-
We're a-goin' to play boss 1 want to and
out If you can lope in harness as fast al
you can talk =
AS he spoke he suddenly threw q rome
over the two young mems shoulders, hang
Ing on to the two lose ends himself, hold
ing them In his left hand. With his right
he reached for one of his guns and planted
Dali about an inch from each of the young
mems heels.
Git ap! he howled and the two Cam
len boys were out of the door in second
right behind them with the reins
n mis- left hand and still kicking up the
lust at their heels with gun in his right.
Go a-humpin'! Shake it up! Jest hit
he high places!' Lillibridge bawled after
hem between the cracks Of his gun. until
hey fairly dragged him along, swift run
Ter as he himself was. so fast was the pace
he gun persuaded them to take I'D. Up
md down Main street he drove them, the
own taking 1t in with bowls of Joy.
Whoa, there!' yelled Lillibridge, when
e had brought his team back to their start
ng place. Lillibridge unwound the rope
rom them. and then famed himself with
lis hat and waited for the return Of his
Wind
" You Shetlands are not so bad on the
o., he said finally, but you can't run like
gu can talk. And you want to learn how
nd when and where to unship your guns
rom the purity new belts before you un-
er.ake to pack EN- around with you. Why
idn't you shoot me up some?'
THE young fellows looked sneepfsh, but
aid nothing. Lillibridge took them under
rs protection from that night. and in time
hey learned how to make a bluff good.
This same Thurston Lillibridge was the
My man who ever had the drop on that
uick-trigger man. Bat Masterson, for a