The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1908-09-18

southern California, / met up with
Jack Vickers, who many years ago IN
the Western country was called the
man too bad to pack a gun" said
New York roamer. He's peaceful,
+, quiet spoken old man now.
Jack Vickers always was quleI
spoken man for that matter. i He got
his name because he beat to the
ground with hands and teeth whole
passed. of bad men who attacked MIN
at different times. He had theory
that man who could think quickly
and handle himself quickly and knew
a little bit about the art OF acting
didn't need any shooting tool to put
it on thhe skilfullest gun fighter tnat
ever famed a IA.
"Vickers had been everything about
the West and Southwest prospector,
miner, freighter, COW gouger-before
met up with him. He was an editor
when l worked for him in Leadvllie.
He was printer by trade, from Phila-
delphia, of all towns. He was rather
understood but muscular.
During the time l was with Wick
ers only one of the gunners got after
him. Vickers in the paper took fall
out of a braggart named Jeff Hudson.
''Vickers had known Hudson IN
Tombstone and had his record pat.
He Spread the record on the minutes,
too. Hudson, was doing lot of claim
jumping around Leadville and getting
away with that stuff on his reputation
as gun man.
There were a lot Of Eastern chaps
in the Leadville rush, and these were
the kind Hudson picked out to impose
upon. One of these Fasteners told
Vickers how Hudson had run him off
fairly staked and duly registered
claim, and then Vickers got his pune
turing tools out and began to hand it
to the hard one from Arizona.
Jack wrote the stuff and set it up
himself. He said that Hudson was an
imitation and bogus; that he'd
killed three men in Arizona and New
Mexico by shooting them in the back,
and that he'd shot one man in Kern
his bunk; that he really didn't have
the nerve of fiddle crab, but just a
big way of talking; that he'd never
earned an honest dollar in his life;
that Leadville didn't need him lit
tie bit, and that if the decent folks
self-respect and to keep the camp
from becoming hog camp it was up
to them to boot JEFF Hudson over the
south trail just. as soon as they could
spare the time to do it. And all like
that. Fighting, gilling stuff, of course.
when saw that stuff slapped
bang in the middle of the first page
figured that that Office wasn't going
to be very sanitary pretty soon. l was
just out from the East. Moreover,
had met up with JEFF Hudson, and !
considered him pizen bad.
you're going to get killed, Jack,
said to Vickers the minuate / read
that JEFF Hudson thing.
"Vickers only laughed drily and
went on smoking his corncob pipe.
when the story was read and di-
gested lot of Leadville's quieter folk
dropped in on Vickers and told him
that he was taking needless risk.
"'You don't stand to get any
thing by jumping on Hudson, Jack
they told him. He's in camp to
stick. You can't run him out More
over, he'll kill you as sure as eggs is
eggs. Better vamp back to Arizone,
eh?'
"'Hudson will do the vamping,' was
Vickers' only reply to that. I am go
ing to run him out of this camp and
I'm not going to be killed. Let it go
at that
ssHudson was in Denver when the
thing came out, and he didn't get
back into camp until two days later.
He heard about the attack on him in
the paper as soon as he lit back. Some
barkeep flashed it on him.
ssHudson had his usual rum parcel
with him. and when he read the story
he did a teeth grinding specially that
made the barkeep duck under the
counter Hudson didn't recall Wick
ers. hadn't met UP with him in Lead
vine, and so he didn't know who was
back of the wallop.
"eWho is the coyote? ne howled
at the barkeep.
"TittIa feller-a sawed of-named
Jack vickers; come here rom Tue.
son. some quick in handling himself
too explained bystander-
Hudson started right away for our
ONCE. I'd heard that he was IN camp
and that's why l happened to decide
that there were some new ssa tte