The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-05-22
A TALE Of THE OLD
TIMES IN TEXAS
The Gun-Man. the Man Who Reached
Back and the Widows
Jack Ennoid in the Houston stylus,


: When the pistol shot suddenly rang
/. OUT in the village street and Emmett
: Foster staggered forward. paused. and
: then stretched prone in the duSt-it
!. created senSation-in way. but il
: was not attended by the rush of feet
to the spot that citizens of the older
. and more thickly settled portions of
: the earth would expect TO see when
!. the life Of good citizen is suddenly
: and ruthlessly condemned 70 take the
pistol route at the hands Of a much
|. less valued member of the community
, That is not the way things are done
in the less settled portions Of the great
State of TeXas-or even in the more
: denSely populated portions. for that
matter Men who know by experience
. what an absolutely careless character
is a pistol bullet, as regards persons
or objects that stand in its path. never
. rush headlong TO spot whence comes
. the sound of deadly strife. The inno-
cent by-stander or the anxious locker
on has too often been the final destin-
alton of flying pieces Of lead that were
. originally intended for entirely differ
ent resting places. While natural curl
osity to know what has happened Is
strong in the citizens of these com
|
by the all 30 owerfuI law of self preser-
walton; curiosity tells them to rush
; out to look, but caution teaches them
. that it is best first TO reconnoitre.
. So it was when Dune Smith fired the
; shot from his .45 that snuffed out the
spirit of Emmett Foster Men who
. had been in the street. lodged into
: doorways. Some few persons ran
. but not toward the scene of the shoot
. ing. They ran for shelter, not know
: ing hut that the first shot had been
. but the preliminary of fusilade
. When a few silent moments had
passed and there was no repetition of
the shot and no further signs of con-
; flict. heads began to peer forth. 1t
: was that Dune had turned on his
. heel-after a momentary scrutiny Of
. the body of his victim which disclosed
.. no sign of animation-and with his
smoking pistol still in his hand was
: walking rapidly to a post a hundred
feet away. He reached the horse. un-
. tied him-hs pistol still in his hand
: swung easily into the saddle, looked
. round for any possible signs Of hostil
. ity. none. and rode out of town
at his leisure.
Again. citizens of older and more set
. tied communities may be shocked a
this sudden dehaucherN of a human
. life with effort made by the fell
: low citizens of the deceased to pre-
!. vent the escape of the murderer-but
. such is TEXAS custom, Besides. they
: knew that Smith was not going to run
away, and that TO attempt to dispute,
. the matter of his present movements
with him was a job that belonged to
. the sheriff alone, such being the un-
. written law of the pistol Had
: brother. father son. or other close re-
lation of the murdered man been al
hand. the leisurely departure OF the
gun man might not have been 50 peace
able; but the average citizen of the
community where the gun man is
fixture is slow TO play the part of
avenger, officer either. He minds
his own business stricty-unless, a
before stated. the deceased We're kin
of his If the sheriff calls on him
afterwards to join a posse and help
get the killer, he does cheerfully-
However. here also there is eXcep-
tion, If the murderer happens to be
kin of his, in which case he seldom
permits his love for law and order to
interfere with his time honored feeling
for blood relations. with its duties and
responsibilities
When the dust of Dune Smiths pony
had become blot in the distance.
the crowd began TO gather. 1t was
discovered that Foster dead: d:
plumb dead" as several expressed it.
1t was an hour later that the sheriff
arrived on the scene. and ten minutes
afterward he was riding toward Dune
Smiths place, six miles out He had
no doubt about finding his man. and
no idea of any opposition being made
TO his desire to arrest him. In his
!. stoical mind the sheriff saw no reason
!. why Dune should run. 1t was not
!. the first time that his gun had been
: used on his fellow man, and he had
: not run before. The sheriff remember
!. ed that in the fifteen years that he
; had been peace officer in that com
Z munity there had been score of kill
!: ings,' and that with the exception Of
!; one five-year sentence that was only
: partially served, the law had failed
: TO inflict any penalty for the crimes
; committed This had come TO be the
: order of things. and the sheriff had in
: time come to accept them a. such.
{ When one man killed another he i'm
I. Tmediately arrested the killer, put him
Z in jail. and took care Of him until
the bond could he signed that set him
!. free.
!; The killer always got out Immediate
Z ly on the signing Of more or less val
|: able security bonds, since no one had
; ever run 10 avoid trial. 50 long a the
! sheriff could remember. Why run:
!: They always got clear sooner or later,
= The cases We're always POSTPONED "a
long as possible. and then hung jurieS-
D new trials, and appeals TO upper courts
: that permitted technicaNties 70 stan"
always before justice. had made the
cr3 3r1,-