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Captain Jim Smith was the man. And pleased enough was he
when told of the turbulence of the country and the certainty of plenty
doing in his
line.
But by the time they reached the Mescalero Agency, the feud
was ended; the peace of exhaustion after years of open war and ambush had
descended upon Lincoln County, and the Mescaleros were glad enough quietly
to draw their rations of flour and coffee, and range the Sacramentos and
Guadalupes for game. For Jim and the band of
Indian
Police, which he
quickly organized, there was nothing doing.
Inaction soon cloyed
Captain Jim. It got on his nerves. Presently he conceived a resentment toward the agent for bringing him down
there under false pretences of daring deeds to be done, that never
materialized. One day Major Llewellyn imprudently countermanded an order
Jim had given his Chief of Police, under conditions which the Captain took as a personal affront. The next thing the
Major knew, he was covered by Jim's gun listening to his death sentence.
"Major," began
Captain Jim, "right here is where you cash
in. Played me for a big fool long enough. Toted me off down here on the
guarantee of the best show of fightin' I've heard of since the war--here
where there ain't a man in the Territory with nerve enough left to tackle
a prairie dog, 's far 's I can see. Lied to me a plenty, didn't you?
Anything to say before you quit?"
Since that time Major Llewellyn has become (and is now) a
famous pleader at the New Mexican bar, but I know he will agree that the
most eloquent plea he has t this day made was that in answer to
Captain Jim's arraignment. Luckily it won.
A month later
Jim called on me at El Paso. At the time I
was President of the West
Texas Cattle Growers' Association, organized
chiefly to deal with marauding rustlers.
"Howd'y, Ed,"
Jim began, "I've jumped the Mescalero
Reservation, headed north. Nothin' doin' down here now. But, say, Ed, I
hear they're crowdin' the rustlers a plenty up in the Indian Territory and
the Panhandle, and she's a cinch they'll be down on you thick in a few
months. And, say, Ed, don't forget old
Jim; when the rustlers come, send
for him. You know he's the cheapest proposition ever--never any lawyers'
fees or court costs, nothin' to pay but just
Jim's wages."
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