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(From the Democratic Review.]
The Shot in the Eye.
story of Texas Border Lite.
DT C. WILKINS EMI
Nly word for it, reader, I should ne-
.ventured to construct a pro-.
ressed romance .out of incidents so wild
. 23( 1 -strange as those of this narration.
only with the hop.e•that you will
' 4l .,..cpept in good faith Ihe assurance given
the same spirit, that theie things
did occur while I was in the
country, and most of them within my
.-., - ...persrmal knowledge—that I venture to
relate- them -at all. Remember, the
1- Irene is laid on a frontier county of
texas,-and if you have even a remote
'conception of the history of that repub
'‘'tand the general character of its so
-4 elements, you will be prepared for
igood deal. BLit, though you might
even have visited its cities and older
enlements, you would still find it dal
: cult to realize all that is true.of frontier
life, unless, by extended travel and ex
r_ perience, your faith should be fortified.
When you can have to say, as I can,
what mine eyes J),,a4e seen and ears
heard,"—on that ground alone you
will be fit audience though few," to
receive,.-as matters of course, relations,
which would doubtless, for the mo
ment, shock others as monstrous in
improbability. The man of high cul
tivation will find great difficulty in un
derstanding how such a deed as I am
about to
,relate, requiringmonths to
consurnate, would Have been carried
through in the face of law and the local
authorities—but the man who knows
' this frontier will tell him that. the rifle
and bowie-knife are all the law and
lo
eal authorities recognized. Witness
the answer cif President Houston gave
when'application was first made to him
- for his interposition with the civil force
to quell . the bloody " Regulator Wars"
which afterwards sprung up in this
very same county—" Fight it out
among yourselves, and bei d—d to
you." A speech entirely characteristic
with the man
,and the country, as it
then was! It was in the earlier stages
of the organization of this same "
gulntor " association that our story corn-
menses.
Shelby county, flying in . Western
Texas, on the: border .of the "Red
I4nds," was rather thinly settled in
the latter part of '39. What popula
tion it had was generally the very worst
,cast of border life. The bad and des
perate men who had been driven our
:ruder formed a rallying-ground and
bead quarters here—seemingly with
with the determination to hold the court
iy,goud against the intrusion of all bon
-get persons, and, as a sort of Alastia"
jof the West, for the protection of' out
,
and villains of every grade. And,
indeed, to such an extent liad this pro
cription been carried , that it had be
come notoriously as much as a man's
'lfe or conscience was worth who set
ad with any worthy pur
?ose in view ; for lie must either fall
an their confederacy—lea-re--or die !
this was perfectly understood; and
te objects of this confederacy may be
adity appreciated, when it is known
i hat every now and then a party of men
itould sally out from this settlement,
punted and equipped like Comanchees,
with the view Of carrying off the horses,
?lundering or murdering some marked
izen .of: a neighoriug county,--then
re
r4rning with great speed, they would
htband their plunder, resume their ac-
ttitorned appearance. and defy pursuit
investigation. Not only did they
attil together for their operations in
'his wv; but a single man would car
ora fine horse or commit a murder
‘ltlth a most open audacity, and if he
q succeeded in escaping here, was
Iblitly protected. 1 do not mean to
understood that the whole popula
` at this time were men of such
1p avowedly.
There were some few whose wealth
degree protected them in the obser
ices of a more seemly life—though
were compelled to at least wink
the doings of their ruffianly and more
ierous neighbors ; while there was
another, but large class of sturdy
tightforward emigrants, who attract
solely by the beauty of the country,
come into it, settled themselves
wherever they took a fancy—
chtraFteristic recklessness neither
lag nor inquiring who were their
ighbors, but trusting in their own
it arms and hearts to keep a footing.
:purse all such were very soon en
in desperate feuds with i the horse
res and plunderers around them ;
they wire . : notyet strongenough
Ike head efficiently—were one af
6'1074 0
f a •
lc
r;
0 4, r
OforeiN
0
ter another finally ousted or shot. It
was to exterminate this honest class,
that the more lowless and brutal of the
other associated themselves and assum
ed the name of ,‘ Regulators." They
numbered from eight to twelve—add
under the organization of rangers. com
manded 'brm beastly wretch named
Hiuch, they professed to undertake the
task ofpurifying- the county limits of
all bad and suspicious characters ; or
in other" words of all men who dared
refuse to be as vile as they were;
if they Were, who chose to act inde
pendently of them and their schemes.
This - precious neighborhood soon be
came the scourge of all that region.—
Whenever an individual was unfortu
nate enough to ;Make himself obnox
ious to them, whether by a successful
villainy, the proceeds of which he re
fused to share with them, or by the
hateful contrast of the propriety of his
Course—he was forthwith surrounded—
threatened—had his stock driven off
or killed wantonly—and if these annoy
ances and hints were not sufficient to
drive him away, they would publicly
warn him to leave the county in a cer
tain-number of days, under the penalty
of being scorged or shot. The com
mon pretext for this was the accusation
of having committed some crime, which
they themselves had perpetrated against
him•. Their hate was entirely ruthless
and never stopped short of accomplish ,
ing its purposes ; and in many a bloody
fray and cruel outrage had the question
of their supremacy been mooted, until
at last there were few left to dispute
with them, and they tyrannized at will.
Among these few was Jack Long,
as he was called, who neither . recog
nized nor denied their power, and in
deed never troubled himself about them
one way or the other. He kept him
self to himself, hunted incessantly, ,aid
nobody knew much about him. Jack
had come of a wild-turkey breed,"
`as•the western term is for a roving-fami
ly ; and though still a young man, had
pushed on ahead' of the settlement of
two territories, and had at last followed
the game towards the south, and find
ing it abundant in ; Shelby county had
stopped here, just as he would have
stopped at the foot of the Rocky Moon
•tains, had it been necessary to pursue
it so far. He had never been in the
habit of asking leave of any power
where he should settle, and of course
scarcely thought of the necessity of do
ing so, now ; but quietly set to work-,
built himself a nice log cabin,•as far off
from every body - as he could get. And
the first thing that was known of 'him,
he had his pretty young wife and two
little ones snugly stowed away in it,
and was slaying the deer and bear right
and left.
The honest brotherhood had made
several • attempts to feel Jack's pulse
and ascertaing his availability; but he
had always seemed so impassively
good-natured, and put them off so plea
santly that they could find no ground
for either disturbing or quarreling with
him. What i 3vas more, he was physi
cally rather an ugly looking ,‘ custo
mer," with six feet four inches of brawn
and bone; though the inclination just
discoverable in his figure to corpulency,
together with a broad, full, good4hu
mored face, gave an air of sluggishness
to his energies, and an expres=sion of
easy simplicity to his temper whieh
offered neither invitation to gratuitous
insult nor provocation to dislike. He
was the very impersonation of inoffen
sive, loyal honesty, slumbering on its
conscious strength ; and these men,
Without exactly knowing why, felt
some little disinclination to waking
him. He had evidently never been
aroused to a knowledge of himself, and
others felt just as uncertain what that
knowledge might bring forth as he-did,
and were not specially jealous of the
honor of having it first tested upon their
own persons. So that Jack Long might
have been left for many a day in quiet.
even in this formidable neighborhood,
to Cultivate his passion for marksman
shjp at the expense Of the dumb, wild
things around him but for an unfortu
nate display he was accidentally induc
ed
to make of it.
Happening to fall short ag ammuni
tion, he went one day to. store "
for a fresh supply. This cabin, to
gether with the blacksmith's shop and
one or two oilier huts, constituted
the "country town," and as powder
and liquor were only to be obtainea
there. it was the central resort of the
regulators. Jack found them all col
lected for a shooting match, in prepara
for which they were getting drunk as
fast as possible, to steady their nerves.
Hinch, the Regulator . captain, had al
ways been thq hero . of . such occasions;
for, in addition to being a first rate shot,
Regardless of Denunciation from any Quarter.—qpv .P
-RTEU
InKAinosm.t i , Immo:Foram razimiu s , Tac o ammoill as s , IleiltSc.
it was known that it would be a dan
gerous exertion of skill for auy man to
beat him—for he was a furious and vin
dictive bully, and would not fail to
make a personal affair of it with any
one who should mortify -his vanity by
carrying off the prize from him. In
addition, the band of scoundrels he
commanded was entirely at his service
in any extreme, so that they made
fearful odds for a single man to contend
with.
Every body else in the county was
aware of this state of t things but Jack
Long, and he either didn't know or
did n't care. After they had fired se
veral rounds he went lounging listlessly
into the crowd which had gathered
around ilia target, exclaiming in admi
ration over the last brilliant shot of
Hinch, which was triymphantly the
best. The bully was ras usual bluster
ing vehemently, taunting every one
around him, and when he saw Jack
looking very coolly at the (anions shot,
with no grain of that deferential admi
ration in his expression which was de
manded, lie snatched up the board, and
thrusting it insultingly close to his face,
roared out—
Here ! You Jack Long-Shanks—
look at that !—Take a good look !
Can you beat it ?" Jack drew back
with a quiet laugh, and said good•hu
tnoredly— •
Psha! You don't brag on such
shootin' as that, do you ?"
Brag on it ! I'd like to see such a
moon-eyed chap as you beat it ! •
" I don't know as I'd be very proud
to beat such bunglin' work as that."
" You don't, don't you ?" yelled the
fellow, now fairly in a rage at Jack's
coolness. " You'll try it won't you ?
You shall try, it by G—d ! We'll see
what sort of a swell you are !"
" Oh, well !" said Jack, interrupting
him as he was proceeding to rave for
quantity ; "just set up your board, if
you want to see me put a hall through
every hole you can make !"
Perfectly astonished at this rash
bearding of the lion—for it was diffi
cult to tell whether contempt or simpli
city dictated Jack's manner—the men
set up the board while he walked back
to the stand, and carelessly swinging
his heavy rifle from his shoulder, fired
seemingly as quick as thought. " It's
a trick of mine," said he, moving to
wards the mark, as he lowered his gun;
" I caught it from,shootin' varmints in
the eyes ;—always takes 'ern there.—
It's a notion I've got—it's my fun."—
They all ran eagerly to the target, and
sure enough his ball, which was larger
than flinch's, had passed through the
same hole, widening it !
" He's a humbug ? It's all by acci
dent ! He can't do that again ?" shout
ed the ruffian, turning pale, till his lips
looked blue, as .the board was held up.
" ket the 'ears of a buffalo calf
against his, that he can't do it again !"
"I you mean by that, to bet your
own ears against mine, take you
up !" said Jack, laughing, while the
men could not resist joining him.—
Hinch glared ground him with a fierce
chafed look, before which those who
knew him best quailed, and with cotn 7
pressed lips silently loaded his gun.—
A. new target was put up, at which,
after long and careful aim, he fired.- - -
The shot was a fine one. The edge
of the ball 'just broke the centre.—
Jack, after looking at it, quietly remark
ed.—
Plumbing out the centre is my
fashion; 111 show you a kink or two,
Captain Hinch, about the clear thing in
shootin'. Give us another board there,
boys !"
Another was set up, and after throw
ing out his gun on the level, in the
same rapid careless style as before, he
fired; and when the eager crowd
around ,th 4 target announced that he
Lad driven the centre cross clear out,
he turned upon his heel, and with a
pleasant nod to flinch, started to walk
off. The ruffian shouted hoarsely af
ter him:—
" I thought you were a d—d cow
ard ! You've made two good shots by
accident. and now you sneak off to brag
that you've heat me. Come back, sir 5 .
You can't shoot before a muzzle half
as true !"
Jack walked on without noticing this
mortal insult and challenge, while
flinch laughed tauntingly long and
loud—jeering him with exulting bit
terness as long. as he could make hin►-
self heard, as "a flash in the pan,"—
~ a dunghill cock who had spread his
white fe'ather," while the men who had
been surprised into a profound respect
for Long^,land were now still more as
tonished at what they 'considered his
backing out, jqined clainorously in
hooting his retreat.
The fools ! They made a fatal mis
take, in supposing he left the insult un
resented for any fear for himself. Jack
Long had a young and pretty wife at
home, and his love for her was strong
er than his resentment for his own in
dignity. His passions were slow, and
had never been fully roused—none of
them at least but his love, and that pre
sented her instantly, forlorn and desex
ted, with her little ones, in this wild
country,,hould 'he throw away his life
with such desperate odds ; and seeing
the turn the affair was likely to take,
he had prudently determined to get
away before it had gone too far. But
had any of those men seen the spasm
of agony which shivered across his
massive features, as these gibing voices
rang upon his ears in insult which no ,
proud free hunter might endure, they
would have thehint, to beware ofchaf
ing the silently foaming boar any longer.
This was an ,ill-stared day for Jack,
though ; from this time troubles began
to thicken about him. The even tenor
of his simple, happy life was destroyed,
and indignity and outrage followed .
each other fast. Hinch never forgave
the-unlucky skill which had robbed him
of his'proudest boast that of being the
best marksman on the frontier ; and
he swore in base vindictive hate, to
dog him to death, or make him leave
the country. Soon after this a valuable
horse belonging to a rich and powerful
_planter, disappeared. He was one of
those men who had compromised with
the Regulators, paying so much black
mail for exemption from their depreda
tions, and protection against others of
the same stamp ; and he now applied
to Hinch for the recovery of his horse,
and the punishment of the thief. Tliis
Histeh, under their contract, was bound
to do and promised to accomplish forth
with. He and some of his men went
off on the trail of the missing horse, and
returning next day, announced that
they had followed it with all their skill
through a 1 great many windings, evi
dently intended to throw off pursuit,
and at last traced it to Jack Long's pick
et fence, and there could be no doubt
but he was the thief ! The planter
knew nothinnif Jack, but that lie was
a new comer,' and demanded that he
should be forced to give up the horse,
and punished to the extremity of the
frontier code. But this was not Hinch's
policy vet awhile. Ile knew the
proofs were not strong enough to make
the charge plausible, even before the
Lynch Court, of which he himself was
both the prosecutor, judge and execu
tioner. His object was first to get up
a hue and cry against Long, and under
cover of a general excitement, accom
plish his devilish purposes without
question or mock trial even. So that ,
after a great dbal of manmuvreing, for
eight or ten days, during which time
the charge against Long was indus
triously circulated by his myrmidons,
so as to attract general attention and ex
pectation, as to the result of of his in
vestigations—he proclaime'd far and
wide, that he had found the horse at
last, hid in a timber bottom . near Long's !
This, of course, seemed strong confir
mation of his guilt, and though the mob
were most of them horse thieves, to all
intents, yet it was an unpardonable
crime for any one to practice profes
sionally among themselves; so that
Long was loudly
. denounced, and
threatened on every side, and ordered
to leave the county forthwith.
These proceedings Jack by no means
comprehended, or felt disposed to be.
moved by ; but gave them one and all
to understand, that he meant to remain
where he was, until it entirely suited
his inconvenience to go ; and that if his
time and theirs did not happen to agree,
they might make the most of it. And
Jack was such an uncompromising
snaggish lookin g somebody, and his
reputation which hadnow spread eve
ry where--'-of possessing such consum
mate skill with the rifle, that he thought
it a condescension to shoot game any
where else but in the eyes—was so
formidable, that no individual felt dis
posed to push the matter to a personal
collision. He might still, therefore,
have been left in quiet, but Hinch had
unfortunately, take!' tip the int pre,ssion,
from Jack's conduct in the shooting
match affair, that he Must be a coward.
and if this were true, then all his s kill
amounted to but little ; and like-.:any
other bloody wolfish brute, he followed
him up the more eagerly for this very
reason, which would have disarmed a
generous foe.—Besides, Jack had given
fresh and weightier matter of offence,
in that he had refused to obey, and de
fied his authority as Regulator. The
very being of That authority seemed-to
require now that a wholesome example
should be made of him, for the awing
of all refractory persons hereafter.—
The wretch, who was cunning and fe
rocious, and had sworn in his inmost
heart to ruin and disgrace Long, from
the moment of that triumph, now avail
ed himself remorselessly of all his in
fluence, and knowledge of the society
around him, to accomplish it. 'Sever
al horses now disappeared, and 'robbe
ries of other kinds, perpetrated with
singular dexterity, followed in quick
succession. All these things he man
aged, through the clamors of his seoun
drely troops, to have laid. directly or
indirectly, to Jack's door.
But in the popular estimation they
counted as nothing, in, fixing the charge
of dangerous malice upon poor LOng,
in comparison with one other incident.
About this time not only Hinch him
self, but every other person who had
made himself conspicuous, by insisting
upon Jack's guilt, and the neeesssityot
punishing him summarily, began to
lose, every day or two, valuable stock,
which was wantonly shot down some
times in sight of their houses; and it
soon began to be'remarked that evL ry
animal lost in this way, had been shot
in the eye! This was instantly asso
ciated, of course, with Jack's well
known and curious predeliction for that
mark in hunting, and a perfect storm of
indignation followed. A meeting was
at once convened at ‘, the store," of
which the planter was chairman ; and
at it, by a unanimous vote, a resolution
was passed condemning Jack Long to
be whipped and driven out of the coun
try—and Hinch with his regulators
appointed to carry it into effect! He
could hardly contain himself for joy;
for now, whatever extreme his pitiless
malignity might choose to indulge itself
in, lie had no fear of afierclaps or ques
tioning. The meeting had:been a mere
form at any rate. But these formali
ties" are all-powerful everywhere, and
unsettled and elementary as was the
condition of society here, this ruffian
leader of ruffians felt the necessity of
acting under their sanction, though he
himself had dictted it. He would and
could have consummated his purposes
without ; but the faint life of conscience
within him—by a species of logic pe
-1 euliar to itself—felt relieved of the
grievous responsibility of such a crime,
in the sense of participating with so
many 'others. Many a man has gone
to the devil in a crowd who would have
been horrified at undertaking the-jour
ney alone.
It was the third day after this meet
ing. Jack, during all these persecu
tions, had deported himself with the
most stolid indifference. Avoiding all
intercourse with the settlers, he had
continued to-hunt with even more assi
duity than usual, and was in a great
measure ignorant of the unenviable no
toriety he was enjoying. He 'had
heard something of the charge with
which his character had been assailed,
but attributed them all to the jealous
enmity he had incurred at the shooting
match. He could understand perfectly
how one man could hate another who
had beat him in shooting, and thought
it natural enough ; but he could not
understand how that hatred might be
meanly and desperately vindictive, and
therefore gave himself no uneasiness
about it. He was only anxious that
his wife should not hear and be annoy
ed by any of these things, and preserved
his usual cheerfulness of demeanor.
He had just returned from hunting,
and laying aside his accoutrements,
partook of the simple meal her neat
housewifery had prepared for him ;
then stretching himself upon the buffa
lo robe on the floor romped widr his
two rosy cheeked boys, who rolled
over his great body, and gambolled and
screamed in riotous joy around him ;
but mother wanted some water from
the branch, and the frolic must be given
over while Jack would go and bring it.
So jumping up, he left the little-folk
pouting wilfully as they looked after
him from the door and started. The
stream was only about, a hundred yards
from the house, and the path leading to
it was through a dense high thicket.—
It was against Jack's religion ever to
leave his house without his gun ; but
the wife whom be loved above all tl o
universe of sentiment and everything
else, was in a hurry for the water, and
the distance was so sLort,—eo he sprang
daily out with the vessel in lie hand,
laving the rifle behind. The water
had been dipped up, and he was re•
turning along the narrow path closely
bordered by brush, when be felt a light
tap on each shoulder, and his career
strangely impeded. He had just time
to perceive that a lasso had been thrown
over him,• which would confine his
arms, when he saw himself suddenly
surrounded, and was rushed upon by a
a
EDT Is la IZio clicooutatteat, cow.
number of men. lie instantly recog
nized the voice of . Hinch, shouting,
" Down with him ! Drag him down ! ft
as the men who had hold of the lasso
about his body jerked at it violently in
the efforts to throw him. All his tre
mendous strength was.put forth in one
convulsive effortt which would have
freed him, but that the infernal noose
had fallen true, and bound his arms.—
As it was he dragged the six stout men
who held it after his frantic bounds
nearly to his own door, before he was
prostrated, and then it was by a heavy
blow dealt him over the head with the
butt of a gun. The last objects which
met his eye as he sank down, were-the
horrified faces of his two children -and
wife looking out upon hint !
The blow deprived him of his sen
ses for some time, and when he reco
vered he found himself half stripped,
and lashed to a tree a short distance
from his house,—Hinch in front of
him, with a knotted rope in his hand,
his wife on the ground, wailing and
clinging with piteous entreaty round
the monster's knees, his children weep
ing by her, and outside this group a
circle of men with gun's in their hands.
That fearful awakening was a new
birih to Jack Long ! His eye took in
every thing at one glance. A shudder,
like that of an oak rifting to its core,
sprang along his nerves, and seemed
to pass out at his feet and through his
fingers, leaving him as rigid as marble;
and when the blows of the hideous
mocking devil before him fell upon his
white flesh, making it welt_ in - Purple
ridges, or spoutldull black currents, he
felt them - no more than the dead lintel
of his door would have done ; and the
agony of that poor wife thrilling a fran
tic echo to every harsh slashing sound
seemed to have no more e ff ect upon his'
ear than it had upon the tree
.above
them which shook its green leaves to
the self same cadence they had held
yesterday in the breeze. HIS wide
open eyes were glancing calmly and
scrutinizingly into the faces of the men
who stood around—those features are
never to be forgotten for while Hinch
lays on the stripes with all his furious
strength, blaspheming as they 'fall, that
glance dwells on each face with a cold,
i keen, searching intensity, as if it mar
j ked them to be remembered in hell !
The man's air was awful—so '
concen
centrated—so still—so enduring ! He
never spoke..er groaned, or writhed—
buethose intense eyes of his !—the
wretches couldn't I , tand them, and be
gan-to shuffle and get behind each oth
er. But it was too late ; he had them
all—ten men l—Tlity were registered.
We will drop the curtain over this
horrible scene. Suffice it to say, that
after lashing him until he fainted, the
regulators left him ; telling his wife,
that if they were not out of the country
in ten days he should be shot. He did
go Within the specified time ; and, as
it was said, returned with his family to
Arkansas, where his wife's fatherlived.
The incident was soon forgotten in
Shelby county amidst the constant re
currence.of similar scenes.
About four month's after this • affair /
in company with an adventurous friend,
I was traversing Western Texas, our
objects were, to see the country, and
amuse ourselves in hunting for a time
over any district, we found well adapted
'for a particular sport—as for bear-hunt
' ing, deer-hunting, buffalo-hunting, Stet
Either of these animals is to be foetid
in greater abundance, and of coarse
pursued to greater advantage in peculi ,
ar regions ;—and as the were anxious
to make ourselves familiar with all the
modes of the modes of life in the coun
try, we made it a +point to stop where- ,
ever the promise of any thing specially
interesting offereditself. Prairies, titn
her and water were better distrbuted to
Shelby than any county we had passed
through--the timber predominating
over the prairie, though interlaid by it
in every direction.' This diversity of
surface attracted a greater variety and
quantity of' game, as well as afforded
mere perfect facilities to the sportsman.
Indeed it struck us as- a perfect Hun.
- ter's Paradise ; and. myTrierd happen
ing to remember a man of some . wealth
who. had removed from his native coun
ty, and settled, as he understood in
Shelby, we inquired foriltim, and very
readily found him.
Whatever else may be said or. ain't
of the Texans, they are unquestionably
most generous and hospitable. We
were frankly and kindly 'received, and
horses, servants, guns, dogs, and what.
ever else was necessary to ensure our
enjoyment-of the sports of the country,
as .ell as the time of our host himeelf.
were forthwhh at our disposal, and we
were soon, to our hearts' content,,C,n.
gard..in every kind of exciting Chase'.
COXcLUDED NEXT WEEk.I
Ino