Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1901-05-30

and the most remarkable conflict /
, border annals insensible and at tn
. point Vt death. The floor Of bis dug
out looked like the deck OF viking
warship after glorious triumph. 81
months elapsed before he recovered
de had beaten ten men in a fair fight
killing eight Of them, but be bad VOL
his fight, saved his employers prop
erty, and henceiorth be was "Wilt
Bill" for all time.
At the close Of the Civil war all tn,
restles, and adventurous energy o
the country entered on the plains o
Kansas and Nebraska as its rightiu
heritage. Three great railroads were
built from the Missouri to the noun
tains. The collapse Of the Confed
eracy disbanded the army market fol
the long-horned cattle of Texas. Re.
fused a right of way through Mis-.
souri, for fear of the Spanish fever,
the Texas drovers brought their vast
herds across the Indian Territory,
over the Arkansas, to the newly built
railroads OF Kansas. Hays City sue
cevded Kansas City, Westport, St.
Joseph, aud St Louis as the QUILTING
point and metropolis of those who
sought the buffalo, the Indian, and
all the mysteries Of the border. Abb.
lene, soon to be followed by Ellis
worth, Newton, Wichita and Dodge
City, became the greatest cattle ship
ping mart in the world. Three hun.
dred thousand Texas cattle came
there in seventy, and more in seven
ty'one. Those were the halcyon days
Of the saloon keeper, the gambler, the
scarlet woman, the cowboy, and the
bad man, a return Of the period when
Capet and Hapsburg, and Robin Hood,
and Front de Beuf, sword in hand,
won for themselves fortunes and
thrones and scaffolds. 10 further
complcate the conditions aud add to
the air Of general storm centre, q
Yankee sailor named Colt had recent.
ly discovered that a revolving cylin-
der, with six holes in it attached to
one end ST pistol barrel, enables a
man to fire six shots without pausing
to load. This insignia of royalty
made little man as big as big man.
Those who wished to crowd modern
civilization into this primeval epoch
soon discovered that be who keeps
the peace is the most essential and
valuable adjunct to civilization.
The bad man is not necessarily bad
at all. He is often very good fellow.
Bad is merely synonym for danger
Gus. The "bad' man was formerly
the "good' man. He is simply the
frontiersman whose evolution has
kept pace with that Of the frearm-
product OF the border and the six.
shooter. Keen Of eye, quick of hand,
and strong Of will, he has that su-
premacy which always comes to the
man Of cool and clear.headed personal
valor everywhere, except IN society's
latest and most refined development.
The term was used rather to express
the feeling that he was, in the vernac.
ular OF the border, "a bad man to
monkey with" To govern and con.
troll communities in which vicious
men we're not infrequent, where all
were restless and the majority turbu.
lent, the ordinary forms and servants
Of justice were inadequate. Law and
order required the assistance Of Off
GERS who, though enlisted to keep the
peace, did not hesitate to be a law
unto themselves. II civilization was
afraid to endorse their actions, it was
at least proud Of the results Of the
labors Of the peace officer OF the Dor.
der. Hickck, Tom Smith, Patrick
Shugrue, Michael Shugrue, William
Tighlman, Hector Thomas, and
score OF other men as ma-shals, sher-
ifs, and deputies enforced the law,
made life safe and property secure,
and brought order out Of chaos by
their ready courage and good sense.
As Wild Bill Hickok was the original,
so was he the first Of Of the class.
The Hickoks came from Scotland,
settled in Vermont, Tough: under
Ethan Allen, migrated to New York,
to Illinois, and scattered through the
West, respectable and successful.
James Butler Hickok was born May
81, 1887, al Troy Grove, La Sale