Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1899-12-23
PASSING Of A TERROR :
An Episode of the Kansas Bor-
der in Cowboy Days.
A COMMON AMUSEMENT.

When a Texan Demands an Apology
It Must Come in Biood--Sone Rcck-
less shooting--i4ow RoiIicking
Rough Rider Became Gloomy and
Prematureiy Old.
Among the cowboys Who were FAM
iliarly known i'm all Kansas border
towns from Hunnewell west. fifteen or
twenty years ago, we're Johnnie Potts
and Ben Franklin, riders on the IT 5"
range, which stretched from the Eagle
Chief TO the Cimarron River. OF the
two, Ben Franklin was the more pre-
possessing in appearance; Johnnie,
more Of the typical terror" When his
system was not filed with the peculiar
and hair-raising beverage sold for
whisky in those border towns, Potts
was reas0na bly, peaceful though never
sociabIe in his disposition, but when he
was loaded with what was commonly
termed "Old HeIl's delight" he was one
of the most dangerous of his class. II
was his common form Of amusement
when in this condition TO draw his re-
volver and empty il into the street.
apparently careless as to whether some
unoffending citizens YEAS In the road
OF the bullets OF not. That he was pos
sessed of a certain reckless, daredevil
courage nobody who knew him doubt
ed, and the close of his career demon
strated that the estimate was correct.
IT was In the early part Of March,
1884. that Franklin and others Of the
cowboys OF The IT s" range went 10
Caldwell to take in the town All the
riders could not be spared at once, and
for that reason Johnnie Potts and
others had to stay at camp Franklin,
who IN cowboy circles was considered
more than ordinary big hearted and
joyial spirit, showed his sympathy for
his unfortunate companions who did
not have the opportunity 20 participate
la the pastitne of painting The town
red. by bringing back to camp q jug
Of the liquor dealt out at Caldwell
saloons. That night for a few hours
joy was uncon6ned at the IT 81 ranch.
Between the inspection of jack pots
and the quafTing Of liquor furnished by
the liheral-minded Franklin the boys
felt consoled for the disappointment in
not having been abs to run their
horses through The town Of Caldwell.
bowling like wolves, and playfully
shooting holes through the surround
ing buildings. The effect of the liquor
did not appear to he particularly SER
ious, except in the case of the terror
Potts
AS the light wore on he drank more
heavily, bet more reclxlessly and be-
came more sullen. 1t was nearly
morning when he Arose from the camp
table and. staggering against the desk
OF the book keeper for the cattle COM
pany. upset the ink and disarranged
the papers. The book-keeper made
some protest, witch. with Johnnie
Potts. WAS the signal for trouble. Ful.
ling his siS-shaoter, he proceeded to
kick owe, such furniture as there was
about tie camp hotse q IS q sort Of pre-
liminarv to general hosfilities The
other rlnee riders were not 80 full Of
red liquor that they did not realize
thnt Il was Cplw q question or how
many would he able to gel out of range
when Johnnie Began - shoot Frank
lin; who was quicker to think and act
thar his companions, with swift
movement caught The terror FROM be-
hind and, throwing him to the floor,
disarmed him. Johnnie raved like
mailman and applied to Franklin all
the epithets known to the cowboy YER
nacular until he had worn himself out
ard sank into a drunken sumber. The
next morning Ben Franklin concluded
Hnoffending citizen was In the road
State Of Texas h SHOULD demand an
apology from the terror for his con
duct Of the previous night With most
members OF the cowboy class this re-
quest would have been complied with
as a matter of course. but Johnnie
Potts held the opinion that it was be
meath the dignity of real terror to
apologize for anything and would not.
Ben Franklin, on tile other hand. all
though an unusually good natured
member Of che fraternity. felt that
when a Texan demon ed an apol Ky
1t must come or blood
The range riders stood close to-
gcthcr there was no consultation Of
seconds" or measuring off II SO many
PAGES There were three sharp, loud
reports the flashes and smoke OF the
forty fours" and the thing was over
Franklin Was quicker by the fracti n
Of a. second and J0Nnnie's pistol arm
was shattered before he could pun the
trigger The BAN FROM his revolver,
went Wild and The second ball from
Bens gun plowea through Jehnnie's
yitals. Then curious thing happened
which showed the Texas chivalry or
Johnnie Potts, the terror" Franklin.
filed with remorse now that the shoot
Ing was over, wanted q hunt up
United Statcs deputy marshal ana sur
render himself into the hands OF the
laws bnt the terror though writing
in his death agony, would not hear TO
IL
whats the rise o. doin that Benz
gasped the diving terror Eyer got
me. but ia slTe 2 got you if Ia a
drawed little quicker Twon't do me
no sort o good fur you to SO and stand
trial, MUIR YOU either"
The "terrrr' was buried near the
lonely camp house and the foreman Of
the ranch took the trouble TO see that
the grave was net entirely nesis cted
Ben Franklin went back to Texas a
changed man. Instead Of the roliiebing
rough rider he became gloomy, haggard
and premSturely old. with the haunted