Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-18
CHAPTER XVI.

See what the geography book says about
Arizona-the same size England? Shucks!
There's homely ignorance from an Office
duck who dreams he can use a tape meas
ure to size up desert. In England, If you
wander round after dark, you're apt to fall
off and get wet in the ocean. But you can
sure stray off the edge of Arizona without
the least chance of wet, because the des-
ert just rolls on more continuous than ever
till you're due to die of thirst There's a
pra ctical difference in size, which your book
theorst wouldn't be apt to survive
Again, by the books were a community of
sixty thousand pink and white citizens, all
purely yearning for right and justice By
the facts, were really split up into two
herds-the town men. who use the law, and
the range men, who naturally prefer a six
gun
l aim politely to say the best I can for
the town men. You see, If a gentleman feels
that he's just got to waltz in and rob the
graves of his own parents one may not UNI
| derstand his symptoms, but one has to try
| and think of him charitable. Our town men
| has mostly been found out acting self-indul-
| gent, and beer chased around by the police
| That's why they 1ocked to Arizona, which
| is convenient at the gates of hades with the
| breath of fame by way of excuse for a eli
| mate. There's a sort of comfortable smell
your feeling about old Arizona
1 which attracts such ducks Anywhere else
| they would get their necks stretched. but
| in Arizona they can elect judges and police
| out of their own tribe. Then if they happen
/ to indulge in a little bigamy. or thieving or
| shooting, the lawyers get them off They
1 love the law which proves them up inno-
| cent, SO you may class them all as law
| abiding citizens.
| Now as to US plainsmen. The bad side OF
us is plumb apparent to the naked eve. and
/ if there's a good side It's known to our
| friends. not advertised to strangers we
| amt claiming to be law-abiding citizens
| when we know the Judge for sure-thing
politician, the lawyers for runaway iail
birds. and the jury all for sale at the rate
| of dollar a thief. We're lawless. sure
enough, until we see the law dealt out by
honest men.
| Are you fed up with one-eyed sermons
| from a cow-thief? Well, suppose we apply
| the facts.
| Here was two boys of our tribe begged
down to their witllers in trouble. The town
| men howled for their blood, young Ryan Of
| fered plenty wealth for their raw scalps
| the law claimed them for meat-and every
\ plainman on the range got right up on his
hind legs for war To our way of thinking
| robbery and killing are bad medicine but
| innocent, holy joys compared with Arizona
law. So naturally by twos and threes the
punchers quit work on the roundup to come
1 and smell at old Grave City and find out
! why she'd got swollen head. They hung
| around saloons. projecting to see IL some
| thing had gone wrong with the local breed
| of whisky: they gathered and made war
! talk in the street: they came around me,
/ wanting to know whether or not to break
out and eat that town.
Boys" says /. IF you-all stalks round
with mean eyes and dangerous smiles, these
cyclone cellars and send for the army We
don't want the army messing around our
game. Just you whirl in now and play
/ signs of peace. ana make good medicine.