Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24

He aspired to be known as q bad man
from away back" Gun and knife, both,
were his instruments Of death, and he
was ambidextrous In their use.
He paid his way at the ranch by
breaking ponies and put in his odd time
shooting and throwing the knife. All
his gun practice was intended to de-
velop speed on the draw as well IS ac-'
curacy.. He wore his gun well down on
the right thigh. where IL was fastened
with thong attached to the lower END
of the holster and passed about the leg
above the knee. On the draw ne passed
his finger through the trigger guard
and gave the gun o whiri which spun 1t
once around and hip high before his
hand caught it, The thumb caught and
! held the hammer at the end of the
whirl. so that the one operation brought
the gun to full cock for the first shot.
Subsequent shots were made by fan
ming the hammer into full cock as
continuous pressure was put on the
trigger.
Red Fork Ranch was infested with
snakes of q variety locally named
chicken" snakes. The sod roof of the
older building sheltered many and they
ranged through every part Of the two
log houses.
The bad man had much practice in
side tha houses, shooting the heads from
these snakes. Rarely did he miss. !
Another fayorite test was to pin a six
inch square of paper to the building and
place six shots In succession within the
space while standing ct q distance Of IS
feet. No misses there. Again he would
toss o tin can into the air to distance
Of 90 or so feet, and after the toss. draw
his gun and place two. three and some
times four shots In 1t before 1t struck
the ground
He was almost as quick and accurate
with his bowie knife. It was favorite
trick to draw from the left shoulder
where the scabbord held 1t at the back
OF the neck. 1t was covered by his coat
collar and ostensibly was to be used In
doors. Like a flash. he would snatch
the two-edged weapon with the right
hand and throw 1t at q mark. It was
released at the end of back-handed
throw. and turning over once during
the flight, would pierce the mark point
foremost. Many chicken snakes fell VIC
Tins to this knife as they were gliding
away with the head raised six or eight
inches from the ground. He would also
throw at his six-inch paper mark, and
strike 1t from distance Of so feet. This
man was q double-actioned instrument
Of death.
THE real nature Of the man was re-
- vealed In his treatment of others
was present at Red Fork during the
stay Of the killer and was often the VIC
tim OF his spleen. The very sight of me
at any time was the signal for a torrent
Of foul invective. This was unusual In
the cattle country. where youth was an
object of solicitous regard.
I was naturally fascinated by the per-
formances Of this man In breaking
horses, as well as by his practice with
q class by himself. He would rope,
throw and saddle his mount single
handed. Then he would straddle the
PROSTATE animal and work the binding
ropes loose from the feet until the ami
NAL jumped erect. The rider never
touched leather" as he sat the first
uck-lumps through: then he raked the
animals neck with his spurs. In wanton
cruelty. Sky-hunting or side-wheeling.
all efforts OF the animal to unseat him
were the same to this rider, futile.
The enemy against whom this man
was preparing lived at Caldwell, and to
Caldwell he betook himself as soon as
his confidence had been sufficiently es-
tablished. He found his enemy on the
street and stole upon him from behind,
but before he could attack. his victim,
warned py some premonitlon, turned,
beat him to the draw, and shot him
down. All his practice hadn't supplied
him with the nerve to face a cool, cour-
ageous man suddenly and conquer, The
act for which the victor nearly lost his
life was merely that of having faced
our killer down In an argument in
which he was clearly wrong
All Red Fork Ranch had hreathed a
sigh Of relief when the killer took his
departure. all hreathed a sigh Of graft
tude when 1t was made clear that he
could never return.
That 1t took nerve as we'll as skill to
hold the reputation Of an old-time gun
man and live Is certain. Some of these
men with regulations as crack shots
have confessed that nerve rather than
skill pulled them through. They even
disclaimed unusual nerve by saying.
When man Is out to git We, We fist
have to git him fust"
My ring Of experience was growing
was not to be shorthorn for long.
fronvrf1ht JQ1Q1