The Cook County herald., 1903-08-01
HUMOR or he W EST
coWBcYs NOT 7. ALWAYS PAR.
+. Il :. T1AL TO SILK HATS. s. b z5# B
That Particular Headgear savored
Too Much of Eastern Civilization
How the Wearer Of One Made
, Himself Popular With the Crowd. ).

Recently the kilograms brought
from Pagan, Texas, a story of how i
the town roughs had set upon, and
killed a Bible agent whose sole Of
fense was that he wore, a long-tailed
coat, patent leather shoes and plug
hat. Comm enting on the story, the
wellington (Kan.) Mail declares that :
"a similar incident occurred in the
early days of Caldwell" However,
the plug hat shooting in Caldwell
was different affair from that of
Pagan. In April, 1872, one McCarty,
local "bad' man,, entered store
in Caldwell and found there DR.. An
dersOn, who was known throughout
the Southwest as "the plug hat man,"
because he was usually adorned with
that kind of headgear. Anderson was
not ''tenderfoot." He had been a
prominent member of the Butler
county vigilantes, and it was known
that McCarty had grudge against
him. When McCarty entered Thomp-
sons store and found Anderson there
he pulled a six-shooter and said:
watch me put hole through that
hat He did put hole through the
hat, and when Anderson protested
he fired again, this time putting a
hole through Anderson's head and
| causing his instant death. McCarty
was pursued by the indignant citi-
Zens of the town and took refuge at
the ranch of Curley Marshall. When
the ranch house was. surrounded he
refused to surrender and then the
house was set on fire. In the run
ming fight which followed, he man.
aged to escape, after wounding sew
eral of his pursuers, but a few days
later he was overtaken and his dead
body was left on the prairies.
There is no well authenticated &C.
count of a killing in Kansas on ac-
count of the wearing of a plug hat,
though it is popularly supposed that
the incidents were freqaent It is
| quite true that when stranger ap-
peared in one of the border towns
wearing this kind of head covering,
he was always greeted uproariously,
and the hat came to grief but the
affair usually went off in the best of
humor. The first plug hat worn into
Hays City, for example, was on the
head of the late Connell Henley, who
died at that place a few years ago.
In 1858 he went to Fort Hays to be
a clerk in the quartermaster's depart
ment. He was a good dresser, and
when he stepped from the train he
wore tall silk hat At once the
town loafers and joshers and killers
congregated at the depot. They said
nothing at all to Henley, but they
formed close behind him a process
sion, and whenever he walked they
walked, keeping up the lockstep. The
foremost man walked so close to
Henley that he could not even turn
around to see his tormentors, and it
was a sight--that procession solemn
ly moving along, each man with his
hands on the shoulders of the one in
front Of him and all keeping step.
Then an inspiration seized Henley,
and he steered straight for Tom
Drums saloon, the most popular
place in town. Walking up to the bar
he set his silk hat down. bowed po-
litely to the barkeeper, and said:
"These are my friends, and they are
all drinking with me-"
It happened that there was big
bowl of tom and jerry on the bar.
Some one emptied it into the plug
hat and some one else got a dipper
and passed the drink around. Pres
emily the liquor soaked through the
| ton of the hat and there11nOn II wac
placed on the top of post, and every
man in the crowd took a shot at it,
riddli1g it into rags.
Henley came off from the encoun-
te1 with every man his friend. He
had met, the rude introduction of the
West with good nature, and his place
was made.-Kansas City (Mo) Jour-