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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1909)
Why a Woman Kills When Uses Man as a AT last!" i Tho woman Btnnds bnck. Sho lookH at her hand. In it Is a now rovolvcr Bho has never fired ono before. And nt her feet lies n small, crumpled-up henj of humanity tho dead alwnyB seem to grow smnller-i-tho thing he fore her wa8 onco a man. And sho has killed hint with ono sure, straight Hhotl "Die as you deserve!" sho screams, and then hIio looks nt tho thing of steel In her hand. For n moment sho is all nerve. Then sho realizes. This thing in her hand is n pistol, Bomothlng sho has never used before. Yet at her first shot she has hit tho bull's-eye she has killed a man, Onco she would have been afraid to take up n pistol; now she has used It with deadly ef fect. Once she couldn't have hit the target. Now she has shot dead the -nan she hates. Sho has killed him vlth ono shot! Her aim has been ab solutely truo to tho mark she meant It to reach a man's heart! Tho police records of Now York for the past two years .reveal a dozen cases In which women who had uover handled firearms have shot and killed men with unerring aim. In most cases only ono shot wna Hred, n further evidence of their deadly aim. In tile cases In which more than ono shot was fired tho other bullets went wild, showing conclusively that a woman's ability to shoot straight lies In her Instinct to point straight and pull tho trigger1 without taking aim, says a writer in tho Now York World. Their First Shot Fatal. Ono of tho best known cases, that Illustrates this Is the case ot Sara Koten, a New York hospital nurse, who shot and killed Dr. Martin Aus pltz last June. Sho la accused of hav ing for days before the shooting nerved herself for the deed. Sho had never handled a revolver In her life, but when she finally made up her mind to kill him, according to the charge against her, she finished him with one shot. With ono shot Anlsla Louise Do ' 3lu.dy, a young French womun, who had never used n revolver, killed Gus tav Simon, a wealthy manufacturer at No. 040 Broadway, In November of tho preceding year. Sho had an argu ment with him over monoy matters and without warning shot, liltu through tho heart. Tho caso of Madeline Wassar Lang lotz, who shot and killed her father in August of the samo year, is still fresh in tho memory of many. Her father had killed her mother and was about to attack her llttlo sister. Sho picked up a revolver; sho had never llred one before. But sho killed him MOMHZ Instantly. Sho waa acquitted by tho coroncr'u Jury within a few hours of tho crime. Tho enso of Bertha Clacho, tho so called "white slave," who Hhot and killed Entll Oerdron, Is well remem bered. Feeling that sho had been abuBOil beyond endurance, she pur chased a revolver and killed Gordron with tho first and only bullot sho fired front It. Seem Never to Miss Their Aim, Thoro aro many moro, nil of thorn proving conclusively that tho woman with a pistol almost nover mlssos her mnu. And why Is It? J - -JW Usually She Target Why does tho woman with tho pis to so seldom miss her aim? It is ab solutely one chance In a thousand that sho falls to shoot truo. Policemen tho cotintry over will tell you this. Tho frail, hysterical creature with the now pistol which Bho nover dnrod touch before so she will toll you Is far nioro dangerous than tho best target phot or the most dangerous thug or highwayman that over held up a passer-by. Cowboys and bad men of tho west, brought up to use Colts nnd Reming tons as playthings, men who can shoot off tho heads of rattlesnakes from their ponies, iuIbb their men tttno and again. But a woman seems nover to miss hers, afraid of tho revolver as sho Is. I Ever seo a row In a cowboy saloon? 1 The room Is crowded with six-shooter experts. Soiuobody shoots and then everybody shoots. When llfty or sixty shots have been fired the guns nre empty, tho smoko clears away, tho lamps are relighted and probably no body 1ms been killed. Nearly all tho shooters could hit a dlmo at i!G yards. Yet ono angry, overwrought womnn, who has never fired a pistol In her life, brings down tho man she wants to kill every time. Men Rarely Hit Mark. The averago American man knows something about a revolver; but ho can rarely hit anything with It. No body over saw n policeman who could shoot straight further than at n three foot range. Thugs and hold-up men know that time and again they got away In a fusillade of bullets which are just aB apt to kill somebody across tho street or In tho next block as fo bring down tho Intended targets. The' Jesse James men with their pistols wero no match for tho sturdy farmers with their shotguns. You must bo an oxpert to shoot straight with a revol ver. It takes long practice and steady nerves. You must know tho entlro theory of tho gun. Why la It then, that a woman, who Is all nerves, trembling with excite ment and rosontment, hits her mark every tlmo? Alono nnd calm, were sho practising with a pistol, sho would bo ub npt to shoot herself as hit tho target. Yet when sho Is nerved to It she shoots Btralght every time. There nro frequent outbreaks In tho foreign colonics of tho country's largo cities In which tho hot-tempered bring some long-standing feud to a climax at tho pistol point. Tho scene Is usually a crowded dauco hall or a dim alloy and tho men are massed -close. But when tho police come they usual ly find tho dead ail wounded surpris ingly few, considering tho short range and the number of shots fired from so many weapons. The men who on- gage In these rows have bundled wea pons almost from Infancy. They come front neighborhoods whero It Is cub tomnry for all tho mnlea to bear arms and uso them promptly when a per sonal question arises, Shoot Straight by Instinct. Their women aro unarinod and un familiar with tho steel that Is tho badgo ot manhood In their social life. But right In Now York thoro aro nl wayB ponding two or three cases In which a woman of this typo has taken a pistol In her hand for tho first tlmo to avongo hor ' wrongs nnd fired It straight; nnd true. Thoro is a curious psychology of pja- tol shooting, Into which tho condi tion of n womnn, strung to a high ner vous tension, and her unfnmlllarity with the weapon lit perfectly. In nn Instant, uud by Instinct, slio In on n par with tho greatest marksmen of tho age. Were Hho to try to repeat hor pcrformauro against tho biggest of targets nt ton paces It would ho safe to give any odds that Bho could not hit it nt nil. Tho theory of pistol shooting It truo point, a steady hand ami the dis charge of tho weapon at the Instant of point when tho hand Is steady. Tho pistol oxpert never runs his eyo along tho sight until tho bright stool tip tt tho barrel's end covers tho mark ho wishes to puncture. Tho best shots nmong tho cowboys will flro from the hip almost as well as from tho shouh dor. When thoy flro from nny posl- tlon their Btcndy eyes aro on tho tar get, not on the gun barrel. Unerring Index Finger1. If you a woman, for example will select anything In tho room, n door knob, tho head ln4n picture, a figure In tho wall paper, and suddenly point your Index finger at It you will find by running your eyo along tho finger that you have drawn a perfect lino on tho mark. If you will take a paper cutter In your hand, or a pocket knife, or n stick, and try the snnte experi ment, holding tho object nlong your In dex finger, you will find your aim Is almost, IT not quite ns good. If you aro not nervous about a re volver and will tnko an empty ono In hand, to try tho samo trick, you will discover to your surprlso that you havo tho barrel end covorlng your tnr get. Tho trick Is to point first and sight afterward to see how accurately you havo pointed. If you want to ex tend this practice to target shooting with a revolver flro when you point nnd do your sighting after you havo fired, if you do any Blghtlng nt nil. The Blghtfl on a revolver aro a joke, required by some tradition. When you conto to try shooting on tho point you will not bo aa BitccesBful ns when you aimed tho empty pistol, because your mind la divided between tho effort to point straight and tho speculation aB to what will happen when you pull tho trigger. You will bo thinking about tho jump of tho weapon, Its "kick," nnd wondering whothcr Hying powder wlU hit. you in tho oyo, or how tho roport will affect your ear drums. Tho nervous antici pation of tho roport alone is npt to destroy tho success ot your Instlnctlvo point. Your hand trembles, too, and you do not slioot at the Instant of point, but delay long enough to let your excited nerves wabhlo tho muz zle. But If you could only forgot thnt tho revolver would mako a nolso, or kick, or that It had a bullet In It; If tho weapon had a trigger with n light pull that would ttot drag your point from tho target, you could do some very romarkablo shooting by depend ing solely on tho Instinct which d' rects your Indox finger when von thrust it nt any object. How Soldiers Are T.ught. In tho United States urmv tin- nu n aro trained to shoot with a revolver on the point system. The ynldlur Is Itifatructed to crook his elbow and rnlso his weapon to n position bcsldo his hcud with tho muzzle straight to ward tho sky. This Is tho position taken by tho pistol duelist whon he Is wnltlng tho word to fire. At that word tho soldier and the duollst aro both taught to tlnjust or shovo tholr weapons' toward tho target, pulling tho ttiggor ub thoy do ho. This thrust or shovo of tho weapon forward In an effort to roach tho Ideal condition of the Instlnctlvo point, which means good shooting In proportion nB It Is ap proximated. Tho cowboy who fires from tho hip shoots on tho samo Bhovo of tho wea pon forward. Tho motion is exactly as if you wero trying to poke tho tar got with tho rovolvcr muzzle, and you pick out with your oyo tho point you wish to poke. This Is tho samo trick almost as thrusting with a straight sword, tho bullet acting as tho nword tip. Now, tho explanation for tho In credible mnrksmanshlp displayed by an agitated womnn lies In the Instinct to point straight. Sho has nover fired n plutol bofore, and sho nover thinks of aiming It. Sho does not think of tho Jump or tho report. Sho is ton agitated, too excited, loo hysterical, to consider nny of these things. Sho doos not even think about tho point. Sho liolntB Instinctively, nB you will with your Index finger. Her mind Is con centrated with torrlblo Intensity on the ono Iden of vengeance, of putting n bullet Into tho hnted face or heart before her. This Intensifies tho point Instinct. And her nervouB tension Is such thnt her hand, thrusting out a pistol, Is as steady as tho proverbial rock at tho Instant of shooting. Tho, name nervous tension gives her fin gers strength to pull tho stlffest trig ger nt tho instant Bho points tho re volver. Expert Shot for the Moment. In short, for tho fraction of a sea ond thlB woman who haB never fired a pistol approaches tho Ideal condition of the oxpert pistol shot a sure point, n stendy hand, IndllTorenco to tho jump or tho report and tho r.uro trig ger pull. Usually tho roport Instantly reduces this awful, Iron-nerved llguro of vengennco to n limp, sobbing, tour ful heup. Sometimes the brainstorm lusts long enough for tho firing of Bev ernl shots. If any mlsa It will usually bo tho last ono or two fired. In nny ovont, this samo woman who has executed p.uch swiftly accurate satisfaction for.' her Injuries could not hit nny sort of a murk with her pistol under anything like normal condl tlonB. The chnncea nro that sho would scream and drop tho weapon when It was discharged, and her bullot would bo likely to plerco tho sky or bury itself in tho ground. In any ovont, tho result would ho an accident. - For tho same reason a hold-up man is na dangerous as n mad dog. Ho la usually tho cheapest, most con teniptlblo typo of man to bo found In alt the criminal class. Ho la apt to bo frail, almost a weakling, hlo nerves shattered with drugs and drink. Ho Is nervous nnd afraid when ho stands soino stout citizen up at tho point of his revolver. If tho citizen resists, If he starts for tho hold-up man, or strikes nt him, tho thug Is upt to shoot In sheer fenr, and fenr of that sort, completely dominating u creature of Biich a type, Is very apt to mako hint point on Instinct nnd shoot deadly straight, But the avorago, normal man who tries to shoot with a revolvor has probably fired a fow times nnd Is painfully conscious of tho fact that ho can't hit a barn door. Ho tiiea to aim, ho dolays too long with hla point. His muzzle wabbles; tho bullet may strike anywhere, liven whon pos season wtin wratn, uw avorago healthy, normal man has n nervous . vHtom Btrong enough to resist tho omploto control of himself by tho I usslon which controls his actions He still thinks, as ho ahootB, what ho is doing, IIo has his attontlon partly inverted to tho weapon. Add tho tur get has a fair chance. But tho overwrought woman who thlnku sho Is dosporntoly wrongo nover seems to iiiIkb. A Half Shell Story. Tho oystor hasn't risen a frnctlou of an Inch In tho soclnl scale slnco'tho I'aloozlc ago, No, Indood; but n an other way Mr. Mum Oystor baa been traveling In seveu-lenguo boots. woolly-houdod, sun-worshipping, skin. clothed, barefooted savngo of early Britain waa tho firBt oyster enter, lmnglno him; picture him on tho beach, on tho sands, say, within Bight of tho chnlk cllffa of Dover. Probably first ttiod it on tho dog. Dog, o courso, survived, thrived j then dogs master tasted, opened hla eyes wido nnd smacked his HpB. I'm-uin! Noth Ing tnstlor than a headless mollusk Trust Cnosar ns nn eplcuro, Best thing ho found In Brltnlu was tho oys tcr, and forthwith took him to Homo. A FAIR BY BERNICE (Copyright, by J. U. Tho Hut hud gone forth. James Al len must rldo possessively around a thousand owes beforo thcro should bo added unto him tho fairest maid in all tho Pecos valley, Mercreda Torres. So ruled old Podro, Morcrcdn's father, and Allen know thuModcB' and Per sians' laws wero weak, wlnd-Bhnken recdB bcsldo tho Bolld rock of Pedro's grim determination. Poor Jim! Ho did not ovon own tho mustang on which to do tho riding. Ab for tho owes Jim rushed from cdro's presence In a sudden pasaton, nnd tho tiny vlllugo of adobe houses sot In tho ralddlo of Now Mexico dropped into dim porspectlvo as Jim's long, angry strides boro him towards tho rango which rimmed tho valloy. The full blaze of noon held tho bar ren land in thrall. A dry wind whis pered through tho withered grass and shook tho ghoDtly ougebrush. Above tho valloy a treeloss plain stretched out to meet a turquolso Bky. Tho white wool of a dozen flocks relieved tho dullness of tho landscape. When tho young man had walked his passion off, ho faced tho situation bravely nnd mado his patns. Old Pedro had a double purpoao In the- promulgation ot this edict. Jim was n lawyer. Ho had gono to school In Denver, hnd raked and scraped nnd pinched to get his education, nnd hnd planned to remain thoro to practice, hut when tho tlmo enmo to loavo tho alloy hlB widowed mothor had fallen 111 with a tedious malady, and Jim, of course, stnyed with hor that she might bo among hor people. Jim's mothor was n Mexican, aB was Mercrcdas father, though the other sldo of each house canto from good Now England stock, nnd Pedro, foarful of tho Yan kee blood in each, sought to bind Jim to tho valloy. Tho young man opened up a modost office In tho village and flung a shin- Mercreda Squeazed His Hand. Ing Bhlnglo to tho lazy brcozo that I crept down from tho range. But foos wero scarco as molars on a hen-farm. Might ruled In tho vnlloy. Tito Moxi cans and greasers settled their differ ences with fluts and knivfiB, and Jim nkod out Ills ncanty Income by work ing nt tho dipping-station just outaldo the village. In u ycar'o tlmo Jim had gathorod a hundred owes Into hiu tiny corral. Fits of alternate hopo and do3pnlr hud bridged tho interval. Whon a two gave birth to twins, Morcreda straight way predicted that an epidemic had sot In, and rosy-flngerod Hopo plied the calculating pencil on a doublo ba sis. But whon n gay rnuchcro rodo Into town, or a hlltho young cowboy from the foothills swung through tho village stroetB, despair hold Jim In Ub parnlyzlng clutch. But a great day dawned for Jim nnd for Mercreda. It found tho forraor, clad In buckskin punts and Jumper, busy at tho dipplng-stntlon. Tho flacks ot Tony Gomez flllod tho corrnlB and wore struggling through tho annu al dipping process to provent disease. Jim, tho erudlto, held tho post of hon or on a raised platform above the Btenntlng vat. From tho yards below a narrow enmo tea towards nun, up which a steady stream of nheop was forced by tho wily collies. JJm dropped tho frlghtoned croaturcn ono by ono Into the hot sulphur dip with the nonchalance of n housewlfo shell ing pens, and shouted orders to tho Mexicans armed with throat hooka who guided tho floundering sheep through tho long, narrow vat towards tho dripping pens. From his olovatlon Jim saw a vast (lock of lambs draw near outaldo tho dipplng-stntlon, surrounded by snap ping collies and dark-skinned borders, A dURty horseman plunged Into view, p. burly westornor, whoso nnmo wns known to every sheepman on tho range, and asked for tho owner of tho station, Tho owner wbb absent from tho valloy and thoro was no one to represent him. Jim called old Gomoz, who came forth with glowering face tnd angry mlon. Tho stranger demand ed immodlnto possession, Ho made tho jtartllng statement thnt ho had con tracted for tho station for tho entlro week, nnd drew forth a written docu ment to substantiate his claim. Ho explained hla haste, and Insisted that lbs Mexican should give way to his tlockH, II? was under contract with n score of ranchmen In Colorndo. A FEE I C. CAUGHEY Llpplncott Co. special train wns to meet him at tho nearest station, and the law required that tho lambs should he dipped be foro crossing tho stato line. With molllfluont flow, ot Spanish vowels, In striking contrast to his vol canic mnnnor, old Gomez called upon tho resldonta ot henvon to witness his intention, nnd I he fires ot hell to otornally consume him it he budged an inch for a luridly modified Ynnkcc Tho stockman coaxed, threatened, an finally turned his pony'a head towards the villngo for legal assistance. Jim hurried homo to change his clothes, and was quietly seated In his ofllco when the stranger sputtered in. Jim explained tho futility ot tho usual legal process when tho ugly Moxlcnns wero aroused und suggested a com promise, to which tho stockman glad ly consented. All day Jim enmped on Gomez's trail. His native instinct, il lumined by his Ynnkeo wit, w,on tho day. With smooth worda and J20 tho corrals wero cleared. Tho delighted stockman slapped Jim on tho back nnd told him to come to tho hotel, thnt evening for his fco. Jim hurried homo to consult with hln mothor, and stopped ont tho way to toll .Mercreda. "I ought to havo G0," ho Insisted, "for it was worth that to him." Mercreda squoozed hla hand, and his mother gazed proudly upon tho man who could cam $G0 in a singlo day. Arrayed iu his bravest upparel, Jim sullied forth, walking on nlr, but bo foro ho reached tho llttlo dobo hotel he gradually ucarcd tho earth again. Ho wns obliged to stop and recall Morcrcda's proud look and hla motlv or's wonderment to keep hlB courngo nt tho proper pitch. "What If tho stockman should offer mo $5?" Jim asked himself. A cold chill pierced hla splno at the thought. Tho stockman mot him with n cheer ful greeting. "Well, sir," ho began, hon thoy' were comfortably seated, "what do 1 owe you? Lot's get tho matter nettled." Jim hesitated and cleared his throat. "It saved you considerable, Blr," ho vonturcd. "I know it did, and 1 am willing to pay for It," wna tho roply. But Jim wan loath to enst tho die. "I'll tell you what I'll do," said tho stockman; "I'll JttBt spread out hero on my kneo what I think (ho job 1b worth, and you can toll mo It it is satisfactory." All hopo of ?G0 vanished, nnd Jim wns mustering up his courage to fnco Morcreda. Tho Btockman drew a httgo wallet from nn insido pocket and carefully untied It. Jim watchod him moodily, and buw him draw out a bill and smootA it carefully upon his kneo; another ono wnB added and nnothor, until flvo ono-hundrod-dolhu bills lay clinging together. "How'e that?" asked tho Btockman laconically. Jim could not roply nt onco, By n Buddou metnmnrphoatB tho timid sbcop dlppor wna transformed Into tho successful young uttornoy. Hla hcud wna held orect, n bright spot burned in cither cheek, a blazo of triumph Bhono In bin eyes. His palms pressed hard against his rigid knees In u des perate effort to appear calm and un concornod. Presently hla power of apooch returuod. "Botlor mako It an other fifty," ho said, and thoro was n ting In his voice nn it Now Moxlco wero hiu. "I'll do It Just for luck," roplled the stockman. Next morning whon Jim went out to feed his (lock ho found it hnd boon nugmonted by 900 owes, each bearing on Us left our old Pedro's brand. A trim muBtang was totnored near tho gato. A scrap of papur clung to tho brldlo, on which wns Kcrnwlcd In Pedro's writing, "I ntek present to my sou Jeem." Jim swung himself Into tho saddle. Twice round tho llttlo flock ho raced and disappeared down tho road In u cloud ot dust. Tho mustang Boomed to know Its rldor'B mind, for when thoy ronched tho hedge In front of Podro'a cottage he leaped it like n rabbit. A moment njoio and Jim stood on tho tiny porch with his arms; about Morcreda. Polygot Walter Was American. At a restaurant in tho Wall Btreet district In Now York wlw-ro tho waltorH nil apeak French and many of them Germau there Ib a popular waiter who is known to various regular customers ub Franz, Frank and FranoolB. Ho speaks German und French with oqunl fluency, nnd on that account was tho subject of n bet which he hnd to decldo ycBterday. Ono man who had known tho waiter for years said that Fran, was a German, nnd another was Just, us certain that ho wns French, nnd a third said thut both men wero wrong and that tltn linguist waiter undoubt edly came from Alsutlu, or from thut part of Switzerland where evory child speaks throo lauguuges, each, with it. foreign nccont. They wore nil sur prlHod to hoar that Frank, as he pre fers to bo called, was bom in the 'Eighth ward, nnd has nover boon furthor from Now York than Wash ington, Tho landed gentry of Great Britain upifnd on fox and sing hunts four umT a half million sterling a year $00,000 u day.