The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-09-01
A MAN OF NERVE.

| the new dlgEngS- 1 went INTO the Monte
Cristo Hotel at Salid2 one June even
ing looking for a room picked up
a pen 10 register. but the clerk stopped
me with the Information that the house
was full.
do YOU mind doubling up?'' he asked
with whom?" I asked.
''Wm. BIcDougaH. of BlackhaWk." said
the clerk. He's a miner. I guess, but
he's alone in the only bed we got left
It's double bed ard if you don't
mind
1 was dreadfully tired. so I said. IAN
right and in two minutes was in the
presence of big BIZ
The clerk who had led me to the room
introduced US, and after few words OF
commonplace McDougall turned over and
fell asleep. I turned out the gas and
paratory tossing NY bedfellow woke up,
! jumped out of bed and relighted the
| gas. Then he got into bed and in a mo-
| ment was asleep. Now, 1 can't sleep with
a light in my room, and as soon as
was sure that my strange ''bunky" was
deep in slumber I arose and quenched
| the light again. In ten minutes he was
| striking matches.
What are you doing?" I asked
Lighting the gas he growled. ''I
can't sleep in the dark"
Well, 1 can't sleep in the light. I
grinned.
He looked steadily at me for mo-
ment as If in hesitation. He was a
giant in stature. His short brown hair
was curly. His face was smooth, his
eyes large and gray ana his mouth big.
but curved with lines of gentleness and
! humOr. There was tired look on his
face, and he smiled bit sadly, I
| thought, as he said:
Are YOU very sleepy?"
Dead sleepy. sir I answered, won
dering where his gun was.
We'll, then, Sleep" he said quickly
shutting off the gas. Il b'lieve I'll go
| out and buck roulette for a few hours.
I felt selishly cheap then and offered
| to compromise matters by leaving the
| light turned low, but he wouldn't hear
TO it. 1 asked him how it came that
| darkness Weakened him, but he only said.
I'm see you later" numbered into. his
clothes and went away. That was the
| first time 1 saw Big Bill McDougaH In
the mornino he was gone.
It was Lieutenant Van Vliet who told
noe about McDougaH afterward. and
therefore I knew it was true. I met
Van Vliet in Santa Fe some time in
| 1898 while Fort Marcy was yet in op-
Grafton. and somehow I CHANGED to men
! NApAA 4OlS Dill : idlllc diil llLt AllttAEAil
about the gaslight at Salida. He knew
the man at once and told me his his
tory.
He came out here in 1884, said Van
Vliet and his mission was nothing
more nor less than to find his little
brother. Bill McDougall was a sophO-
more at Yale when Geronimo was rails
ing hell all over this part of the coun-
try. Colonel McDougall CBilTs father
Mrs McDougall and their youngest child
were waylaid by Geronimos Apaches
| somewhere between Silver City and AL
! buquerque ] was in the cavalry then
| and helped to bury the McDougalls.
That is, we buried the colonel and his
wife. We never got a trace of the child.
since that Geronimo's gang kidnapped
him.
"Of course, the papers were full Of the
story of the McDougall murder and the
appearance Of the boy. 1t was then
that Bill came West. I met him at Fort
| Bliss after he had made his record as
a ranger, and he told me his story. He
had no money and but one ambition His
| heart was set on finding his little broth
er, and every dollar he could earn or
win went in the came direction. Sorue-
! times when mining failed he would
! teach school. He drifted from town TO
| town ami from camp to camp, always
! looking for the lost child. He never lost
an opportunity TO kill an Indian. and
| he hated a greaser IS the next worse
1 thing to an Apache. When he had a
stake and found himself in a good. live
/ camp. ne WOULD gamble. He killed
a white fellow at Ell Paso In October,
1856 1t was a row over faro and Bill
| never quite got over it. For months
he was almost insane with :he fear that
| perhaps ne had killed the very bOy he
was looking for and even when he was
acquitted of murder and found out all
about his antagonist he worried.
THAT killing is the reason why he
/ can't sleep in the dark. He told me af-
terward that darkness made him dream
! that he was shooting his little brother.
Most OF the men thought he WAS crazy.
but I never thought so. He got morbid
and hopeless as the years went by with
no trace of the child and I suppose that
made him seem queer He killed a lot
of Indians in one way and another. but
| it's got so now that the authorities won t
permit him TO hang around the reserva-
lions. They know what IL means Bill
can find mere pretexts for picking a
quarrel with an Indian than any dozen
agents YOU can name He just gloats
over shooting Indians He won't shoot
Q white man. and some Of the smart
Alecs think he isn't game, but it isn {
Z
simply afraid chat some day he'll XIII
his lost brother. Seems kind OF daffy.
don't it. but that's the whole secret Of
BIZ NcDaugalrs reputation-or lack of
it."
I happened TO be in Seattle when Bud
Shank killed Big Bill McDougan. I read
the story in the POst-Intelligence the
next morning. and being almost fondly
mindful OF the victim I took an unusual
interest in the details IL seems that
Shank and McDougaH had a midnight
row over 4 deal in a game of stud
poker. The former was proprietor Of
the Joint and Bill was constant Wis
itor. whose inroads upon the finances Of
other players had already made him an
object of respect and fear. Shank had
the name. they call IL. rep out West
of being a very quick man with his
"cannous." and If was a common predic-
ton in the purlieus Of Seattle that II
Shank and Big BIZ ever came to-
gether. there would be doings-"
What puzzled me about the affair was
the unanimity Of all accounts TO the
effect that McDoueall might have killed
Shank IL he had wished. All the Wit
nesses agreed that Bill had "the drop"
on his enemy. that he had leveie5 his
pistol. bu, at the last moment had drop
ped his arm and permitted shank 70
draw and IRE nfs-- ar il-7- 7i-'L N--e
enough. for 3[cDougall fsll over. but the
gambling house boss emptied his pis--5
and made what the bad men cali "a
good job Of Il.
To make a long story short. ] was So
interested In poor BIZ that T got Cap
tain Denuehy Of the police 70 50 over
u the hospital for visit 20 the oyinE
man He knew THAT the end Was ~
hand. and after The police officer had
asked him a dozen questions calculated
10 put H-ht on the killiug I remluse3
Bill Of our chance meeting ~ Saliia-
1 told him what Van Wet hid t0fd uc
t-r.aar.- Aru.t-ff