Evening star., 1901-02-02
SETH BULLOCK.
The Interesting Person Who Succeed
ed Sitting Bull in DeadvOOd.


Curtis Guild. jr., Of Boston, accompanying
Gov. Roosevelt on his western trip, acci-
dentally heard mentioned one day the name
of Seth Bullock. Mr.. Guild asked after
ward:
Mr.. Bullock's own answer to that ques-
ton is most fitting:
II am the man who succeeded Sitting Bull
in the Deadwood country"
If you can imagine a sparse, lean man.
with the nose of an eagle, the eye Of a
hawk, the parchment skin Of one who
knows more Of the plains than the pave
ment, an unwilling tongue and an indom-
table scorn of fear or death, you will have
in your minds eye the portrait OF one OF
the few survivors of the Original western
pioneers" Mr.. Bullock is unique not alone
for what he has been or Is, but because in
his class he is almost alone In the country
which stretches from the MISSOURI to the
basin Of the Snake river He is man OF
standing and a property owner OF Dead
wood. but civilization has taken from him
his real occupation, and the days OF knight
errantry are ended under the skies which
arch above the grave OF custer ana the
Clipped monument of wild Bill;
Here is the man who was the f1rst sneriIl
of Lewis and Clark county, Montana,
man that every desperate in the territory
laughed at one morning and the next was
fleeing before. Not a talkative man, not
enduring all things in heat and cold, tire
less relentless, friend to all In nature, but
friend to few of men.
They quote Seth Bullock as haVlng salo
once upon time:
"The only men 1 like is those that does
things" ,-,,
And in his vocabulary doing things"
does not consist in following commercial
pursuits, in trading and bartering, in cap
ftalizing great corporations or mastering
the secrets Of "pinching'' dollar. His kind
of action was trailing big game, rounding
up cattle, mastering wild horses, defying
lawbreakers, riding with the mountain wind
and defeating the mountain storm This Is
the action which calls not only for enor-
nous physical strength and courage. but a
moral quality suspected by few noveiists,
analyzed by still less.
Riding down into Deadwood Gulch, your
guide points to clump of trees. Perhaps
he is "Bnr' Fraser-"Bill" Fraser, who
glibly introduces himself as:
the way for Seth Bullock to get into this
ere town."
Mr.. Fraser waves his hand mildly toward
this clump Of trees, and says:
That's where he did 1t. and over there.
pointing in another direction, ''is where he
did it again"
sires you finally ascertain that the spots
are where Mr.. Bullock faced the famous
road agents, shot them down in their tracks,
captured them and sent some to their just
deserts.
but" says Mr.. Fraser, reassuringly.
'sSeth Bullock wouldn't hurt anybody what
was right. He was just doing his duty.
Doing ones duty in primeval ways ap-
pears to be the keynote to the character OF
this silent man. who twenty-five years ago
made it possible for a law-abiding man to
live in Deadwood without having to fight
for his life. What he accomplished was In
q quiet way.
..He was the most persuasive man ever in
these parts" says "Bnr' Fraser. You can
readily believe that when from well-authen-
ticated sources you learn Of how he gave
the lawiess element every opportunity to
get away from him, kindly warned them of
their danger, left loopholes for them to es-
cape through, but when all these chances
were despised and tossed aside, shot down
the ringleaders with as little compunction
as one would dispose Of worm.
He would walt until the last minute. =
says the irrapressible "Bill," and then he'd