Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1905-02-16
. Desperate
Remedy
bsc oMETiMEs the visilantes were

b IN OMETIMES the vigilantes were
all right" remarked the man
from Arizona, who squirted six drops
Of tabasco into each drink that ne
poured out, "and sometimes they were
all wrong. In my opinion they were
oftener dead wrong than half right
But this may be prejudiced testimony.
I never liked the vigilantes' metnoos'
II IL undeniable that they were whatyou
might call q necessary evil In some
PARTS Of the west. But they always
oyerdid the thing They grew arrogant
domineering. They generally wound up
by wanting to be the whole WORKS.
Then, in most cases, something would
turn up to finish the vigilantes. hap
pened to be on hand when the some
thing happened that pulled the curtain
down on the vigilante business In Ari-
IONA. There has never been vigilante
| in Arizona from that day to this
ut happened in Flagstaff, in 1884.
They we're never called vigilaptes IN
Arizona. They were referred to as
Strangers. The Strangers got pref
| " tight hold on Flagstaff. They weren't
popular, but they had majority. They
called themselves sheriff's posse, and
| for awhile they rode over Flagstaff
proper They turned several tricks,
with the aid Of the rope, that were
nowhere near on the square, and they
killed several men who were pretty
generally thought to be innocent BY
Flagstaff folks who didn't take any
stock in the Strangers haphazard way
Of doing things, So that when this
thing happened I'm going to tell you
about, there was a pretty strong under
current Of feeling in Flagstaff against
the Strangers. 4..,l5 VA
1.-THE beginning of the Strangers
wind-upI was when one OF the most
prominent Of their number began to pick
on the Burns boys, Charley and Frank,
Old man Burns ran the Burns house In
Flagstaff, and these boys were his sons,
Charley was about 80 and Frank was
2a They were both square men, as
men went down in the southwest In
those days. They didn't pretend to be
sanctifIed, but they kept asIweil with
in the law as any Of us. There was no
reason on earth why they should have
been singled out to be picked on BY
the Strangers, but they were. One day
the prominent Stranger that men
toned walked into the Burns house.
Charley and Frank were playing seven-
i up, for dollars at q table not far from
the desk. A few bystanders were pok-
ing arohnd., This Stranger man be-
gan shooting It into Charley Burns In
| q pretty strong way Of limiting about q
stage robbery that had been pulled on
not far from Flagstaff q couple Of weeks
before. Charley wasn't = coward, BY q
whole row Of 'dobes, but he knew that
| II he went at the Stranger he'd mot
only get 1t himself. but that his broth
er and his old father would probably
| have to dangle. Anyway, he wasn't
fixed. He had laid aside his belt for
more comfort in sitting down. SO he
didn't say much in reply to the Stran-
gier's digs. Frank, his younger broth
err. fumed, but he didn'tcut IN until tne
Stranger walked to the bar at the end
Of the ONCE to get q drink. Then h
said in an angry undertone to his
brother:
/ Charley, II you're not man enough
| TO take your own end against that juni-
Der, I am
arm not dxed, said Charley.
Frank passed his brother q gun I'M
der the table.
atNcw cali him. he said.
acharley sort q hesitated. He was I
coolsr man than his brother, and h,
wsr,sa 81 hsen ont Of trouble II h,
is a.. -. 49,. ~,