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VOICE ONE:
I’m Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.Today, we present the second of two programs about the Old AmericanWest. Experts disagree about who were the most dangerous gunmen ofthe Wild West. However, we will tell you about two of them. One wasan outlaw. One was a lawman.
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VOICE ONE:
There have been hundreds of movies and television programs aboutthe wild and lawless American West. Thousands of books have beenwritten about it. This famous time in American history only lastedabout seventy years. The first recorded shooting incident by aperson who was a professional gunman took place in Texas ineighteen-fifty-four. This violent period ended in aboutnineteen-twenty-four.
Some people living in the West atthis time became famous. These include men who worked asprofessional officers of the law, and others who were criminals.Their names were Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, Billy theKid, Wild Bill Hickok and the brothers Jesse and Frank James.
Books, movies and television programs have made these men morefamous today than they were when they were alive. Some of thestories about them are true, but most are only stories.
Here are two true stories of the Old West. Our first story beginswith a very old photograph that was made in the little town ofPecos, Texas.
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VOICE TWO:
Close your eyes for a few moments and imagine a very oldphotograph. The photograph was taken inside a saloon — a place thatserved alcohol drinks. It was also where people played card gamesfor money. The photograph clearly shows a group of men sitting inchairs around two tables. Other men are standing against the wall.
It is easy to tell that it must be a cold day because several ofthe men are sitting near a wood stove for warmth. Most of the menare looking at the camera. Most wear boots and the large hats madefamous by cowboys.
One man wears a smaller, white hat. He is not looking at thecamera. He is playing a card game called faro. No one is sittingnear him. His left hand is on the table near the cards he will playin the game. His right hand is below the table — not far from thegun he always carried. His face shows little emotion.
VOICE ONE:
This is one of the few photographs known to exist of a verydangerous man named James Miller. He was also known as “Killin’ Jim”or “Killer Miller”.
History records show that he was responsible for the deaths of atleast twelve people. Jim Miller often said he had killed more thanfifty people. The real number of people he killed will never beknown.
Jim Miller killed people for money. He charged aboutone-hundred-fifty dollars to kill a person. He also killed anyonewho caused him trouble. One man died a few days after he had spokenin court against Miller. There is no evidence to show who killed theman. However, people were sure Jim Miller was guilty of the crime.
VOICE TWO:
Miller was successful at what he did because there was little lawenforcement in the areas of Texas and Oklahoma where he lived. And,people were afraid to say anything against Miller. They knew itwould mean their lives.
One law officer got into a shooting incident with Miller. Thelawman shot Miller three times in the chest. Miller fell to theground. The officer was sure he had killed the dangerous man. A fewminutes later, Miller got to his feet. He had not been hurt. He waswearing a steel plate under his shirt. The bullets had hit thesteel. The force of the bullets had knocked him down, but had nothurt him. Later, the law officer died from gun shot wounds. No onewas sure who shot him. However most people knew Miller had killedagain.
VOICE ONE:
In nineteen-oh-nine, Miller made a mistake. He was paid money tokill a man in the little town of Ada, Oklahoma. He killed the man inthe dark of night. Later, Miller was arrested for the crime. Thecitizens of Ada knew he had been arrested several times but hadalways been released for lack of evidence. Also, many people wereafraid to speak in court against Miller. Many of the citizens of Adathought Miller would escape justice again.
On Sunday morning, April nineteenth, the citizens of Ada attackedthe jail where Miller was being kept.
They took him to a barn and hanged him. No one was ever arrestedfor the hanging of Jim Miller. Most people thought justice had beendone. One man said, “He was just a killer. He was the worst man Iever knew.”
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VOICE TWO:
The Old American West had more than its share of bad people likeKillin’ Jim Miller. However, other people worked hard and found goodlives in the West.
One of these was a man named JohnHorton Slaughter. He was sometimes called “Texas” John Slaughter. Hewas born in Louisiana in eighteen-forty-one. His family moved toTexas when he was only three months old. He grew up with littleeducation. However, he learned to raise cattle. He learned to speakSpanish. And he learned much from the Native American Indians.
He also fought against Indian raiders from the time he could ridea horse and carry a gun. He fought against both the Apache and theComanche tribes.
VOICE ONE:
John Slaughter was not a very tall man. He was really very small.However, criminals became afraid just looking into his eyes. Historyrecords show that John Slaughter took part in at least eightgunfights. This does not include his time as a soldier in the CivilWar or fighting against Indians. The records show that he was forcedto kill at least four men and possibly two others. These recordedshooting incidents took place when he was an officer of the law.There may have been several more.
People who knew John Slaughter said there was no doubt they weredealing with an extremely serious man — a man who could be verydangerous. One friend of John Slaughter said Texas John was themeanest good man he ever met.
VOICE TWO:
John Slaughter worked all his life in the cattle business. Hetook part in some of the first movements of huge cattle herds fromTexas to the railroads in the state of Kansas. He moved from Texasto New Mexico and then to Arizona.
In Arizona, he bought a huge ranch to raise cattle. The ranch hadmore than twenty-six-thousand hectares. Part of it was in Arizona,part in Mexico.
In eighteen-eighty-six, he was elected the lawman or sheriff ofDouglas, Arizona, the town near his ranch. Several groups ofcriminals were working in the area at the time. Soon, many of theseoutlaws were in jail. Most refused to fight Texas John Slaughter.They surrendered instead. Those who would not immediately surrenderfaced Sheriff Slaughter’s guns.
After two terms as the sheriff, John Slaughter helped the UnitedStates Army seek out the famous Apache warrior Geronimo. He helpedstart the bank in Douglas, Arizona. He later became a representativein the Territorial Government and worked to have Arizona admitted asa state.
VOICE ONE:
John Slaughter continued his work on his ranch. He became verywealthy. When he was not working, he was in a local hotel playingcard games for large amounts of money. He would often play thesegames for more than twenty-four hours at a time.
John Slaughter represented what was good about the American West.During his long life, Texas John Slaughter was a gunfighter, lawman,soldier, cattle rancher, Indian fighter, professional card playerand a representative of the state of Arizona.
He died in his sleep in February, nineteen-twenty-two, at the ageof eighty-one. Viola Slaughter, his wife of forty-one years, was byhis side.
VOICE TWO:
The wild times in the American West ended at about the time ofJohn Slaughter’s death. It was still the American West, but men likeJohn Slaughter made sure it was no longer wild. They helped to bringlaw and order to the West.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced byMario Ritter. I’m Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS, aprogram in Special English on the Voice of America.