Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1901-06-06
%4sH Son Of the Border.'8s 4
By E. e. LITTLE.

night the mob surged from one end o
Texas street to the other in reckless
abandon. Everybody that claimed t,
b, civilized hunted cover. Marsha
Hickok and Policeman Williams WERE
Watching at the Novelty where gen
orally there was the most friction.
1t was about this time that big Phi
Coe, keeping faith with bis comrades,
but with no eager avidity, leisurely
walked up in front Of the Alamo, then
packed with excited men, and fired
bis pistol at a dog, as be claimed.
Wild Bill told Williams to stay at the
Novelty, ran swiftly across to the
rear door, sprang into the crowded
Alamo, roughly inquiring as to who
was doing this shooting. In terse and
vigorous language BIZ talked to Dun.
bar Of the Alamo, roundly denouncing
the whole business. He declared
that the cowboys had promised him
there should be no shooting il he al
lowed this one last roundup. Coe
stood at the well.curb outside as all
this passed very quickly, and in re
Spouse to Bills second inquiry said
that he had fired the shot. Immedi-
ately he fired another, which grazed
Wild Bills side as he stood at the bar.
With that wonderful swftness which
stood him in good stead so many
times, Bill threw two guns on Coe,
shot him twice in the abdomen, ex.
claiming, "I've shot too low!" At
the same instant he turned and fired
twice at another man who came rum
ming down the dark sidewalk from
the north and burst on the scene,
showing two pistols in front Of him.
Coe fired one more shot and fell across
the well.curb. A hundred guns
clicked as Wild Bill fired his first shot
but before be had fired his fourth the
room was cleared and not one bad
man was left to stand by Coe. The
stranger, with two bullets within an
inch Of his heart, threw both hands in
the air, dropped his pistols to the
floor, and pitched forward stone dead.
1t was Mike Williams, the deputy,
brave fellow, who despite his chiefs
instructions to stay at the Novelty
could not keep away from the fight
Wild Bill cried out that he had killed
bis best friend, gathered the little
man in his arms, and with eyes full
Of tears laid him across poker table.
Long years Of combat had 50 little
deadened bis sensibilities, that the
next day | saw bis face still pinched
and white as a sheet over this death
OF his friend, the last man he ever
killed. But the fury that burned in
bis veins when he whipped the Nc.
Kandlas gang sprung to life again at
this accident, and he proceeded to
hold the Texas men responsible. That
night the desperate heroes OF border
strife hid in cellars and sunhower
patches, or on swift ponies found their
way to their cattle camps. For they
had broken up the fountains Of the
great deep Of wrath of the descendant
of the Covenanter and the Yankee,
and the blue-eyed son of the border
had "gone wild" again. Hickok
paused in his nights work to rout a
clergyman out Of bed for the wounded
Texan, who died like philosopher
and fighting man, as Others OF his
kind had died at another Alamo q
generation before.
They shipped Philip Goes remains
back to San Antonio; a dark eyed
woman who did not bear his name
took the next train for the South;
there was hurried exit Of cowboy,
courtesan, and gambler, and 1T was
finally decided that Dickinson county
was farming community and Abb
lene law abiding city forever.
Five years later, in the summer Of
1876, Hickok was prospecting for gold
in the Black Hills. 1t was about the
time Of the Custer expedition, but
the telegram that summoned Wild
Bill to serve with Custer went astray,
or he would have died just a month
later with the long-hsired brigadier
who spoke so well Of him. He had no
quarrel with anyone in the Hills, but
August 2, 1875, the man who eat
across the little round table from him
got up, dropped his cards, walked out
the back door, in Il moment entered