The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-13
REMARKABLE DUEL
OF COLORADO MET



Tine most aIieSIOEata IO0EiEg two
haE0cd gun ply mat L ever saw, Satd 2
Co.or'-dU gent-eTn--n IN ore O. inc h9dse
committee rooms, was the one that l. p
pCneo DIT Id y Unta, IL ny state, beTstt. II
't5Is DIVIDE Jim BratJOn and George
Cannon. DIS p-zeLish PAR O. real L,-I
men o. the type that has now pass
away as ever lanneu = OF twisted ..
bowie. Cannon vas Jhe proprietor OF the
.GIiJ EGs0 noiAeuOnA Ia La Junta, and
Il was 1T TINS place that he had some
trouble with BrdLuon. The aTgumtn
ended by Br5ttOu bactIng out OF tue q yr
with his hands up, Cannon having the
his gun wasn't lOaded-he had been clean
ms II anu nLu 40. 6Ot-S4I 4-r--,~~ .i-1
cartridges. He'd nave killed Bratton
htrWlSe, as q matter of course.
That same night bra ton sent word TO
Cannon that he meditated shooting him
up some on the IOuOwIng aay. ,4onnUIl
WASH { a man to take to the cliffs or the
cactus, having plenty OF nOtChes on MS
gun barrel himself, and he walked around
the next afternoon like d Light battery OF
artillery. Big Divide Jim BraLtOn
buIged him. however. by turning a corner
suddenly as Cannon paraded down the
man street, ana Jnen II was Cannon ;
hands that went up Ior a chInge. Brat
ton haC two guns covering him and Can
non knew his gait.
This saIu Diatton. is where 1 get
an even break Tor my coin. Now, you
like me so much, Cannon, that want YOU
TO sort Of show your appreciation of me
by walkIn around town linked arms with
me for "a while
II was up 10 Cannon to comply with
this peculiar request. Big Divide jim
Bratton 5abbed his guns back into his
best, and then he clUtched GannOn's left
arm and passed it through his right. The
disadvantage o. this arrangement accrued
to Bratton. IL lett Gannons gun arm
free, while IN case of argument BrattOn
would have to use his LETT gun. But Big
Divide Jim wasn't selfish.
Tho population OF La Junta was
amazed to see Big Divide jim BrattOn
! and George Cannon, who had always been
more or less sore on each other and who
h8d mad quarrel that meant the death
OF one or both of them on the night be
Il)rc, walking arm in arm UP and down
the main street of the town.
1t looked like a peripdtetic love feast
between the two of EN-. But they were
watching each other like cats. At the end
or the street BratJOn, still with his rignt
arm linked IN GannOn.s left, stopped sud
" George, I amt much on the blow
about any gun-suddenness that may
possess, but want to give you chance
IOL lnrung 1t into me last night in a
way that's eat up so much of the atmos-
pnere around here that there's not enough
air LETT in this neighbOrhOod for both OF
Us TO breathe at one and the same time
! J. m goln to count three, and when I say
three, II s brSak-aWay and a finish
/ gu We got loose right arm, but / ain
Z no hog. One-tWO-thTee!
! The event proved Big Divide jim
BrattOn the quicker man and the better
! marksman. He got Cannon through the
Bratton $ right wrist. Bratton had to
/ suffer his right hama to be cut off that
same night.
The last time / saw him was about
I seven years ago in Creole. He was sit.
/ ting on the edge of d bunk in his owr
cdDln, close TO q claim he was workin'
nadn't seen him since he'd lost his
/ hand. Us
Jim, said I, its too bad YOU should
/ nave lost that right hand. If the fellow
/ mat plugged you had gotten the left
1 nand, why
oh, don't know, said Bratton. phil.
J osophlcally. If I'd ha' lost nv left
wouidn, have been able TO play the fiddl,
/ any more.
I no reached under his bunk anC
/ brought forth an old violin. Then h.
J rugged up an attachment he had for hold,
/ ing the bow in his right stump and ht
] tor half an hour -
- l couldn't have done no fingerin' +
! ma lost my left hook. you know h,
I away" --'''''