The semi-weekly messenger., 1906-03-30


prominent place in song and story. He
has been responsible for the noise and
smoke of meIodrama. and even been
used as "bogy" to keep the adven
turous son of the east from investing
his pocket money in a choice assort-
ment Of department store revolvers
and Fourth of July ammunition before
starting for the wild west in quest Of
gold and collection of scalps.
The American bad man" is unique.
Often creature Of strong opposites,
ready to rejoice with the lucky, weep
with the sOrrowful. and celebrate with
the hilarious: always on the side Of the
underdOg; ready and anxious to stake
his aIl-which includes in his case his
long life in any fair game of chance
or in the defense of any oppressed
Weakling.
= The written and unWritten history Of
J. the great west teens with the adven-
lures Of hundreds of true knights Of
the plains, whose exploits will be re-
corded and exaggerated a century
hence, until the story will rank with
the dOings of the mailed followers of
Richard Occur de Lion and other gilt
tering defenders of the faith. No wear
er of q fair lady's cOlors in the days
of chivalry ever displayed more true
courage or did more cOvertly acts than
are truthfully recorded of the quick,
full growth fighter of the western
states
The bad man. must not be taken
literally, as the name was, in the early
sos by common consent given TO any
man who could, by reason of his su-
periOr ability as a marksman, be able
to cover his antagonist in a fraction of
second. thus earning the advantage
of what, in the parlance of the great
plains, is known as the drop"
The drop is what the gun fighter
worked for and figured for from the
moment he strapped on a pair of A
calibre Colts until he was laid out with
his boots on, owing to having failed to
pull his gun before the other man.
Careful adjustment of belt and hOl-
ster, the free easy slide of the gun in
and out, so that there was no pOssibili-
ty Of a stick or hand when in the act
of drawing, were matters of constant
care and study. and long practice ena-
bled the gun fighter to pull his gun"
and bring it on the object with action
almost quicker than the eye. So ex-
pert were the shooters of the frontier
that to an onloOker it seemed that the
gun fairly 1eaped to the swiftly drop
ped hand, when, with few flashes of
fire and a series of sharp cracks all
was over but the clearing away of the
smoke and the carrying out of the
dead.
Gun Fighter Never Rushes In.
When the author of the sensational
novel writes of the western desperate
pressing "the cold rim of his revolv-
er" against the brow of his enemy he
shows how little he knows of those
about whom he writes. In truth, when
a gun fighter prepares to draw, he, if
close to the other man, steps far
enough back to allow freedom Of ac-
ton and prevent his foe sweeping the
gun aside while he uses his own weap-
on. The knife fighter will close in and
rush his man; the gun fighter never
The average plainsman. COW punch
er, teamster, miner. and prospector
wears his Colt in a holster hanging
from his cartridge-filled belt, worn
slack so as to fall low enough to meet
the right hand when dropped a little
below the waist. The holster is of
heavy leather. and when the wearer
expects trouble it is tied down so that
the act of drawing will not pull the
case up with the gun, but let it spring
free ready for instant use.
The dwellers in towns wear the pis-
tol or pistols in the hip pocket, out of
sight, or in the waist bands. just under
the WaistcOat. third and deadly way
is in a holster suspended under the
left arm and held in place by straps
over the shoulder and around the chest
This enables the Wearer to pull with
out reaching for his hip, and is con-
sidered the quickest method, after the
belt holster.
The Derringer carrier usually has
gun in each outside pocket of his coat.
and for quick work shoots through the
garment without taking time enough
to get the gun clear of the pocket This
plan is deadly for shot range, but un-
available al a distance of few yards.
Since man-killing and consequently
man-hunting became a trade the quick
pull has advanced from the saddle ho1-
Ster of the Olden time to the present
~fnethOd, which cannot be SuSpassed for
deadly rapidity.
After the days of 40 the bad man
multiplied rapidly and spread over
the newly settled west. He appeared
in every new camp and on every newly
opened trial. His occupation was bar
keeper, gambler. dive keeper, or rust
ler and often he for a time would be-
come attached to- some ranch outfit
and lead a peaceful life until some
row caused him to cut a new notch in
the butt of his gun and change the
scene of action.
The bad man of the western camp is
not a mold-up, rustler, stage, or train
robber. but just simply a bad man to
fool with. seldom seeking trouble. but
always killing his man when trouble
comes. He is frequently selected for
marshal, sheriff, or deputy in a tough
camp, and then turns his attention to
the killing of other bad men.
Wild Bill Best of His Type.
By far the most celebrated Of this
type was Wild Bill character in the
history of orr west without a parallel
in the history of the world-brave as
a lion, true as steel. a man of his word
under all conditions. and the quickest
and deadliest pistol shot the world ever
knew. James 3. Hickok. or Wild Bill,
was born in Lasalle county, ILL.,, in
1887, of Vermont parentage. He went
to Kansas and shortly after joined
train for the Pacific coast, only to set
tie down later at Rock Creek. about
fifty miles west of Topeka, as the su-