The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1900-03-15
MIR. JOHNNIE POTTS.
A TEXAS TERROR OF COWBOY
DAYS.
After a Night of Revelry He Fell, hot
In a Fight With One of His Com
panions-Was Game to the Last and
Died with His Boots On. "

Died with His Boots On. "
One of the typical terrors of Texas
was Johnnie Potts. When his system
was not filled with the peculiar and
h~air-raising beverage sold for whisky
in the border towns, Potts was rea-
sonably peaceful, though never socia-
BILE in his disposition, but when he
was loaded with what was commonly
termed "old hell's delight" he was one
of the most dangerous of his class.
1t was in the early part of March,
1884, that Ben Franklin and others OF
the cowboys of the at 5" range went
to 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
a more than ordinary big-hearted and
jovial spirit, showed his sympathy for
his unfortunate companions who did
not have the opportunity to participate
in the pastime of painting the town
red, by bringing back to camp a jug
of the liquor dealt out at Caldwell
saloons. The night at the ranch was
one of revelry, gambling and drinking.
Potts drank heavily and as the hours
wore on he became more noisy and
quarrelsome. 1t was nearly morning
when he arose from the camp table,
and, staggering against the desk of the
bookkeeper of the cattle company,
upset the ink and disarranged the pa
pers. The bookkeeper made some
protest, which, with Johnnie Potts, was
the signal for trouble. Pulling his six
shooter he proceeded to kick over such
furniture as there was about the camp
house as a sort of preliminary to gen.
eral hostilities. The other range riders
were not so full of red liquor that they
did not realize that it was only a
question how many would be able to
get out of range when Johnnie began
to shoot.
Franklin, who was quicker to think
and act than his companions, with a
swift movement caught the terror
from behind and throwing him to the
floor disarmed him. Johnnie raved like
a mailman and applied to Franklin all
the epithets known to the cowboy YER
nacular until he had worn himself out
and sank into a drunken slumber. The
next morning Ben Franklin concluded
that as a representative of the great
state of Texas he should demand ar
apology from the terror for his con
duct of the previous night. With mos
| members of the cowboy class this re
> quest would have been complied will
as a matter of course, but Johnnie
Potts had the opinion that it was be-
meath the dignity of a real terror tt
apologize for anything and would not
Ben Franklin, on the other hand, al
though an unusually good-natureC
member of the fraternity, felt tina
when a Texan demanded an apology i
: must come or blood. The range rid
O ers stood close together, there was NJ
consultation of seconds or measur
ing off SO many PAGES. There wer
three sharp, loud reports, the fashe
i and smoke of the "forty-fours" an,
the thing was over. Franklin wa
quicker by the fraction Of a second
h and Johnnie's pistol arm was shat
tered before he could pull the trigger
It The ball from his revolver went will
g and the second ball from Ben's gul
plowed through Johnnie's vitals. The
l. a curious thing happened whicl
showed the Texas chivalry of Johnni
Potts, the terror" Franklin, file
with remorse, now that the shootin
was over, wanted to hunt up a Unite
} States deputy marshal and surrende
Le himself into the hands of the law, blu
II the terror" though writhing in hi
u death agony, would not hear Of il
y whats the use O. dom that, Ben?
gasped the dying terror Yer &c
. me, but I'd Jul a got you if I'd
. drawed a little quicker. 'Twon't do m
no sort O. good fur you to go an
=. stand trial, nur you either. The "tel
:, ror'' was buried near the lonely cam
house. and the foreman of the ranc
~ took the trouble to see that the gray
was not entirely neglected. Ben Franz
lin went back to his home a change
man. Instead of the rollicking roug
rider he became gloomy, haggard, an
prematurely old, with the haunte
;, look of a man who ever saw the pi'
ture of a nights debauch, a fatal du
= and the lonesome, unmarked grave
- Johnnie Potts, the terror"
ne
ut They Earn a Living Picking Worms.