The border vidette., 1929-01-19
"HELLDoRADo" GIVEN PRAISE

The following story relating
to Col. BILLY" Breckenridges
new book "Helldorado" appear.
ed in the December issue of Sun.
set, written BY Joseph Henry
Jackson:
For the past year or two, mar
ratives of the old west have
made their appearance in book
form in rapid, almost bewilder
ing succession. The country
or the book-pu blishing business
of the country at least-has evi
IDENTIFY become, as the new phrase
would have it, west-conscious, !"
(or should it be west-minded'?)
and the publishers have decided
that if the 5lic wants the old
west they'll give it the old west
and plenty of it. Personal mar
rative, near histories, reminis.
cences, biographies, novels, mo
dern and Observation-Disclosures has
been no let-up in the flood and.
so far, there has been no sign of
it ending.
The remarkable thing has been
that so much of it has been
good. True. there have been
some pesudo-historical books
such as the lamented Suffers
Gold" which purported to be
a true" biography and wasn't
and others which start argu,
ments. such as Burns Saga Of
Billy the Kid" which aroused
the ire of Eugene Manlove
Rhodes to Che extent of pub
lished refutation (n Sunset in
fact) or some Of Mr.. Burns ob
servations anent the worthy Pat
Garrett, and there have been
still others open to attract, more
or less, On ground of fact or Of
Interpretation or whatnot. But,
by and large, these new books
about the old west have been
both accurate and interesting.
Recreations of the old scene
such as Burns Tombstone" per.
sonal narratives such as Sirigo's
Rita and Spurs" biography
such as Vestal's Kit Carson"
or Nevin's Fremont" books
like these and others have hit
the nail on the head with respect
to the facts and have found
ready and responsive audiances.
And it is-for the West at any
rate-a splendid thing that such
narratives, especially those made
up chiefly of personal recollec
tions should get into print be
fore the stuff of which they are
made is lost entirely.
Such book is Helldorado:
The True Story of Tombstone"
by William NJ. Breckenridge.
Colonel Billy" Breckenridge
went to Arizona, to Phoenix, in
1878 and was made deputy sheriff
at the age of twenty-two. Phoe
nix was lawless enough, but not
really bad" town and be had
no especially exciting adven.
lures. What be did get, how.
ever, was good training for the
jobs be was to hold for mcst of
the remainder of his life. A
year later the news of Ed. Sch
iefiin's strike was broadcast to
the world and along with every
other ablebo2ied man in Arizona,
Breckenridge headed to Tomb
stone. Somehow he fell natur.
ally into the same job be bad
held in Phoenix. He had ha
bit Of bringing in his man with
a minimum of trouble and so be
kept on being a deputy. For
the five years that Tom bstone
was a real boom town Breaker ;
ridge served warrants. placed
attachments, got together posses
and went hunting human quar-.
ry. Always he seemed to come
back with the. goods; almost
never did be resort to firearms
although be was an excellent
shot. The story is told of him
that be was once asked how
many men be had killed. TT wo,
he replied. How many have you
shot at?' was the next question.
Two" answered Breckenridge.
Naturally be knew all the
bandits and bad men, the gamb.
lers, rustlers and dodgers of. the
law as we'll as many Of those.
also famous in the history of the
old west. whose duty it was to
enforce the law. The pages Of
"Helldorado" are full of their
names; the carp brothers, Doc
Holiday, John Ringo. Curly
Bill, Frank Leslie, the Clantons
| NTH uhono tho FarD partv ha n