The sun., 1909-11-14
DNAL CLAIMS or
IN KNIFE AND GUN
Two Cases on the Mississippi Which
Show That They Are
Equally Reliable.

GquAuY Nch1pics
Everything on tn oil Mississip' o
been q heap difrent since the wah I'm
what twas afo'.' said Caleb Mix. the vet
eran bartender ON tho Mississippi River
packet City OF Natchex. Them days
everybody 'peared to know Just where
he stood. and there want NO strugglin'
an heavtn' up an down Tor to get into
q new plaoe or to hang onto the place
you had. A nigger was q nlgger an
q gambler was q gambler an a planter
was just naohully kingpin o. tho whole
airth. an there you was. But a'ter the
wah nobody knowed who he was nor
where he stood. an mo- special he didn't
know nothin' about how t'othsr feller
stood.
Il reckon there want nobody hit
harder n the gamblers was. Afo' the
wah they was as reg'lsr part OF boats
outfit as the mate an the rousters. They
was pizen lot. never knowed one on
en- Z want dog whom you got at the
reel inside OF him but they knowed their
place. same . everybody else did. an
f'r the most part they KEEP In 1t. More n
that. they had q law o. their own. such
a. twas. An they didn't never call on
nobody for to settle their dif1culties
for Gun. II there was any settlin' to be
did they tended to Il their own selfs.
'thouten they'd get pulled up sudden like.
case o. tn old man oatohin' 'em doin'
dirt or sousepin' like that.
s'Peared like there was on'y one thing
what thsy reckoned a. bein' wrong. an
that was f'r t'other feller TO try to do
EN- up crooked. II they oatohed any
body doin' that. or II anybody 'cused
them o. doin' Il there want no argu-
msnt nor no putin It on. II were q
case o. which'd be the quickest with his
weepins.
You'd think mebbs what that'd mean
they was arays fghtin'. balm az there
want none on EN- t wouldn't play
crooked his own self: but that want
the way It worked out, Known the
other Teller was Just an liable for to shoot
as he was made 'em he'll roarin' careful
not to get caught. Same as twas among
gentlemen them days. II one on 'em
insulted another he knowed he'd have
to answer for 1t, an that made 'em the
most politest people there was. o. CO.'S
the gamblers copied 'em about that too,
but the most o. the fights among the gam
blers, when there was any. was over the
card table.
AN fghtl Well. they sure would fight.
One thing you couldn't never cay ag'in
no old time gambler Z ever knowed
was Z hS' d shirk fight. no matter whether
he was right or wrong. Feared like
they reckoned 1t was part o. their bust
ness an they'd just as soon fight a. deal
cards. just naohully they was al'ays
p'parsd. You mought find q gambler
'thouten any di'monds in his shirt II he'd
been runnin' In hard luck. They wouldn't {
part with 'em till the very last. bein' as
they was sort O. stock in trade. you
mought say. but II il come TO tn wu'st
they'd sell tn di'monds or borry money
on 'em.
But you wouldn't never find gambler
'thouten his weepirfs, whether they was
knives or guns, an what they carried
was tn best Z money cd buy. There
want 90 many revolvers afore the war
as there il now. bein' a. they was new.
an want made like they was later on.
There was some carried 'em reok min
that FIVE or six shots was better'n one
or two. but tn old time fighters was slow
tal<in' 'em up. They useter claim what
a man't knowed how to shoot didn't (
have no call to shoot but onost or twicet
anyway. an they reckoned it was better
to put bullet into . man what was big
enough to so't o1stun him an turn him
sick. even II IL didn't kill nor 1t was to
fill him up full o. small holes. So Q good
many carried the old fashioned derripgers.
They was Q wicked little rife barrelled
gun. no longer'n your finger. an they
mostly carried 'em in the vest pocket.
but they carried almighty big ball an
they shot like cannon. Some on 'em was
double barrelled. but mostly they carried
'em in pairs. single barrel.
cotton to nothin' In the way o. firearms.
They useter say what a man with a gun
hadn't no show anyway a'ter he'demp-
tied il. o. course the gun hghters'd d
ray a man had no business to miss when
he fired. but the others'd answer that a
good many did miss into q fight no matter
how clever they was an the thing to
have was a knife. A man cd keep usin'
that as longs he cd stand an see. an
was liable for to do mo- damage with II
nor he could with a gun any way.
Don't asst me which on 'em was right
reckon any man is best Oh with the
kind O. weapin he on use best. an I've
saw some monstrous good work done
both ways. Bull Mathews an Bill Pinck-
ney was settin' in q game one night on
the old Creole Belle with two other
gamblers. There want no suckers on
the boat that trip. an II was dog eat
dog. They'd been playin' f'r hour OF
two. an consid' able money d changed
hands. when somspin' was said abou,
a foul hand. an the lie was passed
was In the s'loon at the time. an heer d
the words. but afo' cd make out who
twas talkin' Mathews fred I'm his vest
pocket. not takin' time to draw. An at
the same time Pinokpey drawed a knife
I'm the back Of his neck an throwed
It IN the same motion. They hadn't neither
one ON 'em rose I'm his chair. an they
didn't neither on EN- get up a'tsr that
beln' they was both dead.
you couldn't tell, I'm nothin' like
that, which was best, q knife r q gun
bein' thoy was both best. but I seen one
fight on the Belle o. tn Bayous when