The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-11-17
some STORIES OF
TEMPLE HOUSTON
Mas Son Of the Renowned
Ranger, Sam Houston
of Texas.
A POWERFUL ATHLETE
Had Marvellous Control Over the In
dians by Whom He Wa
Loved and
Revered.
ATHLETE
From the Washington Star.

From the Washington Star.
Temple Houston who died in pow
rty and obscurity in Woodward, Okla,
he other day. was a sparkling KAN
Die for the theorists who maintain that
here is such a thing as the transmits
zion OF mental traits" observed a vet
.ran inspector of indian agencies.
Temple was the youngest son of Sam
Houston, that renowned. Die II
launtless man of mystery and melan-
holy, governor of Tennessee and pres
dent OF the republic Of Texas. l never
Jaw Sam Houston, of course, but I've
net many old frontiersmen who knew
lin well. / knew Temple Houston for
nearly thirty years. He was exactly
he same manner Of man as his father.
according to all OF the stories about
sam Houston h We're related to me
" men who were intimately associated
With the sire. He possessed the same
Intellectual traits and eccentricities, the
anne scorn for mug conVentionality,
he identical recklessness and utter ig-
torrance of fear. And in appearance
Temple Houston resembled his father
o much that the old-timers adverted
20 him as the spit out OF the old mans
! MOUTH
I'm his younger manhood. before dis
ipation gained the same sort of a
dutch upon him that it gained upon
lis renowned father, Temple Houston
vas one of the most splendid looking
hen of his time, an all but invincible
tthlete in all of the rough sports of the
touthwest, of the most commanding
presence and carriage, and a thorough
>red from head to heel. He was born
with his fathers superior intellect, and
would have made Il great name for
himself as a criminal lawyer had he
iot. throughout his life. buried himself
II the new settlements where there was
little chance for him to gain such dis
inction except in the outposts of covil-
cation. He had his her dislike for
hickly-settled districts, and he lived
Ind died without ever having seen Il
great city.
Drink began to get a strange hold
lpon him before he reached his Goth
rear. He was idolized by all Texans
Is we'll as by all hands in the old In
Ian Territory, but the cup was his
downfall. running the more than fair
:hance that was his for many years of
becoming a commanding political figure
n the southwest. l knew a mar
% hate drink so bitterly II to declaim
against 1t so passionately rs Temple
Houston, and still he yielded to it. He
vas a periodical drinker. and an ex-
:remely difficult man in his cups New
.rtheless. he used to make frequent adj
~iresses before church congregations in
Texas. and he always chose as his sub
ect the evils Of drink. carrying people
IF their feet with his eloquent arraign-
nents Of the liquid damnation;' nor
we're his words any the less forceful or
powerful for good because everybody
listening to him knew perfectly we'll
that Temple Houston himself was per-
| hitting his own frequent indulgence in
hoo1yv ~ frL ,1r,,I LS, 1;Po - y, 81, IL.
reer: He could not conquer himself.
cut his tremendously earnest talks OIL
temperance drove many Il r~un-bogged
Texan to lifelong sobriety.
Demolished a Gambling Establishment.
1T happened. however, that all of
he many encounters and mix-ups in
which Temple Houston figured through
sut his militant life occurred when he
was perfectly sober.
He had not taken a drink of liquor
Tor a year. for example, when he ac-
:omplished his famous feat of literally
licking the gambling establishment of
finn Penield, in Guthrie, to kindling
wood.
THAT happened in the early days of
Guthrie. Jim Pent1eld started the first
:aro bank and all-around gambling
plant in the new settlement. One night
Temple Houston, who had only got into
I1ulllA 1C lev" IlOuIS
before on some law business, wandered
INTO the Penfield plant before the big
business of the night had begun. The
only player in the o was a reckless
roung chap from st. Louis, with whose
father Houston was we'll acquainted.
Temple recognized the boy, who was
more than half drunk, as oon as he en-
cred the room. and nodded to the
Youngster. Then he stood and watched
the fare play for a while, to get the
sun out of h box as the gamblers
express it, before sitting in himself.
He hadn't been standing by five
minutes before he observed with aston
lshment that Sam Callahan, the dealer.
was taking advantage of the drunken
louble-slip thing--which was made
easy enough for the reason that the
tipsy young fellow wasn't keeping any
cases, but idiotically depending upon
his memor to inform him as to the
cards that We're in and out of the box.
Houston didn't say anything at first.
He had always understood Penfield's
gambling plant to be on the level, and
he wanted to be sure he wasn't max
Ing any mistake. Presently Penfield
himself walked over to where Houston
was standing, and, after an exchange
of greetings. stood and watched the
game himself. Callahan, the dealer,
to6uIiA uVAAOSioLSAS mNoAh q pilOly play
and rake-down on the tipsy boy from
ST. Louis. Houston shot a lightning
side glance at Penfield to see if the
proprietor had noticed the cheating.
His y caught Penfield's, who had
turned a quick slanting gaze upon
Houston to note whether the latter had
seen the dirty o work.
Houston strolled over to the Win
dow, threw his cigar out of it and then
returned to where Penf!eld was stand
ing.
".Penfield,' he said. quietly, you've
got a crook for a dealer, and you know
1t. Which is by way Of saying that
you're a ID crook yourself
Nobody kne better than Temple
Houston what 1t was going to mean
for him to express himself that way.
But he was an individual who always
stood back of his words. The express
sion of deadly rage had hardly begun
to wrinkle Penfield's face before Hous-
ton wrapped both of his powerful arms
around Pentleld's rugged body. With
his left hand Houston snatched PEN
fields gun out of the gamblers rear
right-hand pocket. Then. suddenly
Strengthening up and thrusting PEN
field away from him. Houston landed
a terrific blow with his mallet-like
right fist on the point Of Penf1eld's jaw,
! knocking the gambling house proprie-
tor senselesS.
Laid Out the Dealer.
"By this time Sam Callahan. the