Bisbee daily review., 1911-12-30
WEIRD STORY
 OF OLO B|SBEE
Writer in Bingnamton, N, Y Tells of Billie Plaster
 and Ills Gun-Play

Probably no one in Bisbee ever heard of any such condition or circumstance as related in the fol- lowing story, but In the early days of that camp there were all sorts of people with all sorts of disposi- tions So far as the poker game mentioned we all know that there was a time in Bisbee when poker was the favorite game; there might have seen a Billy Plaster here or someone possessing such a cherac- ter as described, but certainly he never doused the glim of anything like the number of negroes as is attributed to him in the story, which is taken from the Binghamp- ton, New York Press. The nearest guess to the Identity of the author is the fact that 2. A. Stegmuller. at one time editor of the Bisbee Re view is now employed on the Bing- hampton Press. The story follows:
 Down about Bisbee, Ariz., oid timers still talk about Old Billie Plaster, who was a famous charac- ter in those parts until about fifteen years ago" said Todd c. Woodwork at the Imperial
 Nobody ever believed that Plaster was Billies right name That. how ever. was what he went by. He was supposed to be a scion of a promi- nent southern family Anyhow he turned up in Arizona soon after the war Everybody was friendly with him as far as possible, but Billie had one aversion that seemed un- conquerable. He hated negro worse than poison.
 It is said to be on record down there that Billie had been responsi- bIe for the untimely demise of about two s0Ozen negroes up to the time this story opens. The curious thing about it was that the shooting al most invariably took place in a fashion that made it difficult to ad- judge Billie guilty by the rules of evidence Either the negro was pro- yoked to attack or Billie arranged that his own gun would go off acci- dentally Conditions grew scanda- lous. 1t got so that no negro felt safe in that part of Arizona if Plaster was anywhere about, and other parts of the country had be- gun to hear about what was going on. The matter reached such a stage that leading citizens waited upon Mfr. Plaster and told him that he was making the name of Arizona a byword and a repTOach and he simply would have to arrange that no negro should be in his neighbor hood when his gun took a notion to go off. Billie promised.
 But not long after that, Billie was sitting in an open game in the back room of saloon near Bisbce There was a pretty good sized pile of money on the table, and when a well-dressed negro entered and took a seat at the table Billie who liked poker, simply glared and growled When the game was over he got up and walked to the door An still git niggers, he remarked as he went out
 Well, everybody knew what this meant. Some who were in the sal oon followed Plaster and urged him to remember that Bisbee was try ing hard to be a law abiding com munity, and that he simply must not carry out the threat his words implied Billie seemed to yield to persuasion and everybody breathed more freely.
 But the next day when there was a crowd in a certain saloon, and in it the negro, Billie came to the doorway and pushed open the swing ing door. He carried a revolver in his hand The cuss had gone and filed the trigger down so that 1t needed but the slightest jar to snap it.
 :" Here, put that gun up. shouted the bartender, who spied the weapon immediately, and several men jump ed to their feet and made as if to take the gun away.
 !" Look outi Look out:' shouted Billie, fussing with the weapon. This here old guns liable to do any thing Pears like it's got the devil in it Ah've been tryin' to fix it but An can't Look out, Look outi'
 As he shouted the warning sure