The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1899-11-15
A PAIR OF RUFFIANS.
EXCITING MOMENT WHEY THEY
FACED EACH OTHER WITH GUNS
A Warming That Might Have Turned
the Result Had 1t Not Been Sup
plemented With Another
Warning and Pair OF
Siv ShnntprS
Six-ShOOterS.

CT was helping many years ago to
chase bandits and revolutionists along
the river-all army officers refer to the
Rio Grande as the river when speaking
of the southwest with some OF the
Sixth cavalry, and we were in and out OF
Langtry a good DEAL" said the old cav
alry officer. "There wasn't anything
much to the town except railroad sta
+ion and some 'dobe shacks and saloon
and general store kept by an old pirate
by the name of Bean-Roy Bean, to be
explicit-and he was the toughest, hair
trigger, double-action old scoundrel l
ever met on the border: hard headed,
hard listed son of the soil. He was about
the only white man in town, and the
Mexicans were worse afraid OF him than
thew were of smallpox, | don't know
but he was worse, for you couldn't vaccl-
nate against him.
cit was in the days when there was
no law west of Omaha and no decency
west of Dodge City, and Langtry was
long way west of Dodge City. Bean
realized this fully, and had nailed pla-
card ND on the door of The jersey Lily,
his saloon, announcing in large black
letters, i am the government All the
Mexicans believed him, and for all prac-
tical purposes he was. He arrogated to
himself all the powers OF government,
legislative. executive and judicial, and
there was none to say him nay. He
acted as justice of the peace and forced
all the Mexicans who wanted to marry
to CINE to him and be spliced. His
formula was: u pronounce you all ma
and wife. Now pull your freight out of
here But previously he always collect
ed SO from them, and if they did not
have the So they had better not attempt
to settle in or about Langtry. One of
the lieutenants with me, in talking
about Langtry, said the population con-
sisted of Bean, fleas, dogs and Mexicans,
in the order named.
1.-THE only individual who ever had a
row with Bean, so far as local hi story
records, was another hardened reprobate
named i henderson, who drifted in ahead
of norther few weeks before | arriv-
ed. He brought with him choice as
sortment of alcoholic poisons and set up
an opposition barrOom on the other side
of the plaza. 1t was the first opposition
of a serious sort Bean had ever encOunt-
cred in Langtry. The barrO0n was bad
enough, but when Henderson Haunted
ON the front of it red leilered sign an
nouncing the DO drop In Bean felt
that his vested rights we're not only in
vaded but trampled on.
''Even at that Henderson might have
lived in Langtry to an iniquitous old age,
but as if he were not crossing Beams
trail often enough he imported from
San Antonio a singer and advertised
singing and music from shutdown till
sunup, Then Bean WAS forced to assert
himself He announced that any saloon
running in Langtry with song and
dance accompaniment would have to
pay prohibitlve license or shut up the
shop Henderson thereupon issued a
pronunciamento that the first individual
of questionable lineage who attempt ed
to collect license of any sort of his es-
adjustment or to levy an attachment
would get shot fuller of holes than q
cane seated chair. Upon this PROPOSE
tion he stood pat behind ten-boTe snOt-
gun, and there matters rested for week.
Then, seeing that bis bluff seemed to
stick where it was hung, Henderson
waxed arrogant. He gave it out that in
the course of few days he was due to
go over and close up the jersey Lily and
tablish a whiskey trust in Langtry.
'For some reas N Bean was slower
than usual in asserting himself Hender-
son imagined he had the old man bet TO
a standstill, and the climax came one
morning when | was in the Jersey Lily
checking up some government vouchers
on the end of the bar. One of Beams
numerous progeny was stretched Que in
the window sill, towheaded, barelegged
little ruffian who acted as sort of NOV
able post to the old mans domain. Bean
was decanting some particularly william