2004-1-20
(THEME)
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 American
West. Experts disagree about who were the most dangerous gunmen of
the Wild West. However, we will tell you about two of them. One was
an outlaw. One was a lawman.
(WESTERN MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
There have been hundreds of movies and television programs about
the wild and lawless American West. Thousands of books have been
written about it. This famous time in American history only lasted
about seventy years. The first recorded shooting incident by a
person who was a professional gunman took place in Texas in
eighteen-fifty-four. This violent period ended in about
nineteen-twenty-four.
Some people living in the West at
this time became famous. These include men who worked as
professional officers of the law, and others who were criminals.
Their names were Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, Billy the
Kid, Wild Bill Hickok and the brothers Jesse and Frank James.
Books, movies and television programs have made these men more
famous today than they were when they were alive. Some of the
stories about them are true, but most are only stories.
Here are two true stories of the Old West. Our first story begins
with a very old photograph that was made in the little town of
Pecos, Texas.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Close your eyes for a few moments and imagine a very old
photograph. The photograph was taken inside a saloon -- a place that
served alcohol drinks. It was also where people played card games
for money. The photograph clearly shows a group of men sitting in
chairs around two tables. Other men are standing against the wall.
It is easy to tell that it must be a cold day because several of
the men are sitting near a wood stove for warmth. Most of the men
are looking at the camera. Most wear boots and the large hats made
famous by cowboys.
One man wears a smaller, white hat. He is not looking at the
camera. He is playing a card game called faro. No one is sitting
near him. His left hand is on the table near the cards he will play
in the game. His right hand is below the table -- not far from the
gun he always carried. His face shows little emotion.
VOICE ONE:
This is one of the few photographs known to exist of a very
dangerous 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 at
least twelve people. Jim Miller often said he had killed more than
fifty people. The real number of people he killed will never be
known.
Jim Miller killed people for money. He charged about
one-hundred-fifty dollars to kill a person. He also killed anyone
who caused him trouble. One man died a few days after he had spoken
in court against Miller. There is no evidence to show who killed the
man. However, people were sure Jim Miller was guilty of the crime.
VOICE TWO:
Miller was successful at what he did because there was little law
enforcement in the areas of Texas and Oklahoma where he lived. And,
people were afraid to say anything against Miller. They knew it
would mean their lives.
One law officer got into a shooting incident with Miller. The
lawman shot Miller three times in the chest. Miller fell to the
ground. The officer was sure he had killed the dangerous man. A few
minutes later, Miller got to his feet. He had not been hurt. He was
wearing a steel plate under his shirt. The bullets had hit the
steel. The force of the bullets had knocked him down, but had not
hurt him. Later, the law officer died from gun shot wounds. No one
was sure who shot him. However most people knew Miller had killed
again.
VOICE ONE:
In nineteen-oh-nine, Miller made a mistake. He was paid money to
kill a man in the little town of Ada, Oklahoma. He killed the man in
the dark of night. Later, Miller was arrested for the crime. The
citizens of Ada knew he had been arrested several times but had
always been released for lack of evidence. Also, many people were
afraid to speak in court against Miller. Many of the citizens of Ada
thought Miller would escape justice again.
On Sunday morning, April nineteenth, the citizens of Ada attacked
the jail where Miller was being kept.
They took him to a barn and hanged him. No one was ever arrested
for the hanging of Jim Miller. Most people thought justice had been
done. One man said, "He was just a killer. He was the worst man I
ever knew."
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
The Old American West had more than its share of bad people like
Killin' Jim Miller. However, other people worked hard and found good
lives in the West.
One of these was a man named John
Horton Slaughter. He was sometimes called "Texas" John Slaughter. He
was born in Louisiana in eighteen-forty-one. His family moved to
Texas when he was only three months old. He grew up with little
education. However, he learned to raise cattle. He learned to speak
Spanish. And he learned much from the Native American Indians.
He also fought against Indian raiders from the time he could ride
a horse and carry a gun. He fought against both the Apache and the
Comanche 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. History
records show that John Slaughter took part in at least eight
gunfights. This does not include his time as a soldier in the Civil
War or fighting against Indians. The records show that he was forced
to kill at least four men and possibly two others. These recorded
shooting 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 were
dealing with an extremely serious man -- a man who could be very
dangerous. One friend of John Slaughter said Texas John was the
meanest good man he ever met.
VOICE TWO:
John Slaughter worked all his life in the cattle business. He
took part in some of the first movements of huge cattle herds from
Texas to the railroads in the state of Kansas. He moved from Texas
to New Mexico and then to Arizona.
In Arizona, he bought a huge ranch to raise cattle. The ranch had
more 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 of
Douglas, Arizona, the town near his ranch. Several groups of
criminals were working in the area at the time. Soon, many of these
outlaws were in jail. Most refused to fight Texas John Slaughter.
They surrendered instead. Those who would not immediately surrender
faced Sheriff Slaughter's guns.
After two terms as the sheriff, John Slaughter helped the United
States Army seek out the famous Apache warrior Geronimo. He helped
start the bank in Douglas, Arizona. He later became a representative
in the Territorial Government and worked to have Arizona admitted as
a state.
VOICE ONE:
John Slaughter continued his work on his ranch. He became very
wealthy. When he was not working, he was in a local hotel playing
card games for large amounts of money. He would often play these
games 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 player
and a representative of the state of Arizona.
He died in his sleep in February, nineteen-twenty-two, at the age
of eighty-one. Viola Slaughter, his wife of forty-one years, was by
his side.
VOICE TWO:
The wild times in the American West ended at about the time of
John Slaughter's death. It was still the American West, but men like
John Slaughter made sure it was no longer wild. They helped to bring
law and order to the West.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by
Mario Ritter. I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS, a
program in Special English on the Voice of America.