Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-22
NERVY JIM WESTFALL

Tombstone made me think of Jim West
fall of my section. who. with five COM
panions. was killed by Yaquf Indians in
Old Mexico about six months ago." OBJ
served a gentleman from New Mexico.
Like Bankstreet, Jim Westfall had the
record down in the Pecos country. and
pretty generally throughout the south
west. of never having been stuck up at
the point of gun In his life.
1t wasn't. either, that a lot of them
didn't try to stick Jim up. He looked into
the wrong end of a gun many times. but
MS nands never went up. Jim had
theory that it was unnatural and monkey
his head unless he was reaching for some
thing he wanted.
'One Of the closest calls that Jim ever
had Of being sure enough stuck up was
the time that he had his run-in with Burt
Mankins. the day marshal of Durango:
Burt got the drop on Jim, all right, and
SO completely messed up Burt's reputation
that the day marshal had to mosey out
of Durango to duck the jibes and jeers
Of the gang that had been afraid OF him
THAT rather noted run-in occurred be-
cause Marshal Mankins had shot up one of
WestfalPs friends in a hOnkatonk melee In
Durango. The man killed by the marshal
had been a bull skinner along with Jim.
and Jim a lot disturbed in his mind
when he heard how his bunkmate had met
his pipe-out at the hands of the marshal
Of Durango.
"some O.. these days Jim was heard
to mutter half to himself. shore am
a-goin' t scramble up t. Durango an lead
that -murderin' shore-thing gun-poker
aroun' tn public parade groun' by his two
ears. That's what | shore am
Jim's hadn't the least doubt in life that
sooner or later he would go up against
this very job, for Westfa!fs gun was
notched UP like the nigh sidebar Of an old
"a shioned whatnOt and he wouldn't have
known what the white feather symbolized
If somebody had sent him ton of white
feathers by wagon freight.
"A busybody who had heard Jim's threat
and who went up to Durango told Marshal
Burt Manktns about 1t. Mankins wasn't
any cave hunter. Durango was seething
camp in those days, and Burt had worn the
day marshal badge for two years without
every having to go into the discard after
a mix-up. w., ...,,
whom he knew By reputation, had in mind
to do to him. he replied that he
expected to be moving Ing i arouna a n"7
that he'd Just as soon take his end in
any kind of trouble that zephyred along
from Jim Westfall as any other kind.
1.-TWO months to day after Westfan
mate in Durango he arrived In Durango
himself He reached there sober, and he
stayed sober. He didn't know that Mar
shall Burt Mankins had heard anything
of the threat he had made. If, indeed, he
even remembered having made the threat.
But he was there for business and so he
strolled around among the saloons. lean
ing up with old friends that he ran into,
and saying very little.
Along toward shutdown he sat down at
a table IN the saloon Of Fred Barr to rest
up for he had been prowling around for
some hours. Two minutes after Jim had
sat down the front door popped open and
Burt Mankins. with one of his guns on
line with Westfalrs heart. walked over to
the table.
"'Ombrey.' he remarked, quiet like, I've
been a-hearin' that you had some dizzy
kind Of Idea of leadin' me aroun' Du-
range by my fappers. and Manllins rested
his left palm on the table while he kept
his right-hand gun steadily pointed at
Westfalls breast.
'Westfall looked up into Mankins' face
with well-assumed expression of mystifi-
Your name bein'?' he said to Mankfns
in an inquiring tone.
"It was true that Westfall had never
seen Mankins before, but there isn't the
slightest doubt that he knew who Mankins
was when he saw the gun pointing his
way
"'Mankins is my name said the day
marshal You're Jim Westfall. I've done
heard heap about you. an tn las thing
t lead me aroun' by the side o. my head.
Was them remarks o your'n. made down
yonder in Pecos county. c'rectly reported?'
WELL replied Westfa1I coolly splitting
podner, but, since you show signs o bein'
a some inquisitive. cayuse. Why.
And. quick as the dab Of cats paw.
Westfall reached over and caught the
wrist of Mankns' hand that held the gun.
Then Westfall. a man of immense strength.
leaped over the table and twisted the
gun to the floor and gasp with pain
caused by the wrenching of his arm.
"Westfall kicked the gun into the cor
ner and snatched the other out Of Man
kinS belt MaDkInS was completely dis
armed and wholly at the mercy of the
man from the Pecos.
fall, since you all show signs o. befn'
somewhat inquistive cayuse, wy. yes. I
did say that l was a-goin' lead you
same bein' just what I'm a-goin' t. do
''Whereupon Jim planted his knee in the
small Of Mankins back. grabbed him from
and out Of the saloon. and thus he prodded
Day Marsha: Burt Mankns. a bad man
himself all over the streets OF Durango
while the camp looked on and said moth
ing, the affair being plainly none Of the
camps business. The day marshal nudged
out of Durango that same night:
Not long after after that Westiall had
Mex, that made him aces all over the
southwest. Virgil carp was runnim
things in his corner of New Mexico at
Westfall cleaned him. After the game was
over Eary as sore as barb-wired NAV
erick over the bundle he had dropped. let
out the hint that Jim WestfalI had done
some dealing from the middle and bottom,
and intimated that 1t wouldn't be an I'M
wise thing for Westfa1l to vamoose out Of
Barstow for the cactus country
"Westfall heard of these remarks an
hour or so after they were made. He went
straight to the back room, where he'd been
told Virgil carp was playing seven-up
with bunch Of his hangers-on. He
,,.omped over to the seven-up table in
couple of strides. gave the table bang
with his fist that made the cards dance,
and then stuck his face within four inches
Of Earp's.
carp, said Westfall. for two bits an
a poncho chucked in I'd take them two
guns o. your'n away from you an stick
'em down your gizZard.
Virgil carp, who showed the we'll
known carp yellow streak on several oc-
casions later on, looked troubled. He SIM
DIV wasn't there in the pinch.
IAN I'll give you this much tn best
of it, at that, you NANCY coyote, said
Westfall and he deliberately pulled both
guns from his belt, slammed them down
on the card table right alongside Earp's
hands and stepped back five PAGES from
the card table. feeling of his knife.
carp caved and cayed proper, as the
saying runs.
said weakly to WestfaH.
WestfalI walked back to the table,
nfeked up his guns, stuck them in his belt.