Cowboy shooting then and now

Guns Magazine, July, 2003 by Clint Smith

As the din of thundering horses' hooves fills the darkened room, the tall man wearing the white hat draws the silver-plated Colt in a flash matched only by lightning. "Drop the gun," our white-hatted friend declares to the mustachioed man in the black hat. There is a pause... "Watch out" clears your lips, but not to worry, the bad man's draw and turn is slower than the chocolate slowpoke melting in your mouth.

A thumping boom fills the room. A growling sound emits from the bad man as he clutches his now empty gun hand. "We're going to go see the Sheriff now and get this settled once and for all," declares our hero.

As the doors swing open to the outside the sun blinds you, but it's worth it. The story ended good for us -- nobody got killed, the bad men are in jail and the singing cowboy got an icky smooch from the blonde haired girl. And -- imagine the thought -- we got through the whole movie without one bared breast or gory chainsaw massacre.

And there you have it, the silver-screen style of cowboy shooting, vintage 1957.

THE WAY IT REALLY WAS

In the real world, it wasn't always so pleasant an ending. Many a long-standing feud boiled into gunplay. This one played out not once but three times before it was finally resolved permanently. On June 12, 1894, Pecos City Sheriff Bud Frazer drew down and shot Jim Miller. Three shots hit Miller, one in the right arm, one in the leg and the supposed fatal shot to the chest, which was in fact not lethal due to the fact Miller was wearing a steel breast plate which turned the projectile. Frazer did not "finish" Miller on that day, a fact he would later regret.

Round Two: While Frazer was visiting friends in Eddy, Texas, December 26, 1894, a second fight ensued and the now ex-Sheriff Frazer shot well, placing several shots in the chest area of his apparently bullet resistant opponent. Frazer had still not gotten the word that he was wearing out Miller's shirt but not his bullet resistant plate.

All the appropriate people were contacted and the legal mumbo jumbo was discussed but to no avail. Miller swore out charges, Frazer responded and the jury acquitted Frazer thereby setting the stage for the final episode.

The final round: On the evening of September 14, 1896, the final chapter in the Miller -- Frazer feud was settled. G.A. "Bud" Frazer sat down to his last game of cards in the local Toyah, Texas saloon. As he passed through the saloon door, and without any hesitation, Jim "Killer" Miller let fly with both barrels of a 12-gauge shotgun, removing the top part of Frazer's head. The feud was over once and for all.

As you can tell from the description of these actual events, there was very little of the "high noon" challenge to come out into the street. There was the use of personal armor, shotguns and damn little personal chivalry. And then as now, handgun effectiveness was in question.

And there you have the real "cowboy way" circa the 1890s.

THE GREAT AMERICAN MYTH

So what of the "cowboy way?" Of all the icons associated with the American way of life, the cowboy - the true cow-pushing cowman - maybe the most misrepresented. First off, in our country's 220 plus years of existence, the true era of pushing cows across the country was a relatively short time frame, 30 or perhaps 40 years at the most if you stretch it.

In my last ten years living in south Texas I have heard and seen lots of people calling themselves cowboys, cowmen and cattlemen etc., while peering out of the GMC truck windshield. I don't think so.

In reality, the true cowboy's life was probably harder than a whore's heart. The glitter as is shown by the Hollywood interpretation has very little to do with the way it really was. I've traveled by modem vehicle from south Texas to the Kansas cow town of Dodge City. Along the way I saw nothing that would lead me to believe the brush poppers of old just rounded up some long horn cattle and casually drove them over a thousand miles stopping at all the convenient Diary Queens along the way.

The moving of cattle was a hot, dirty and dangerous task. There was little to do but hard work, and this was followed by more of the same. Most often the cowpuncher's rifles were carried in the chuck wagon to eliminate fouling when using ropes or while working cattle in thick brush. Simply put, the rifle butt was in the way.

Revolver holster designs of the era show a strong propensity for being deeply throated, which allowed the piece to be protected. They also commonly featured a tie down for the hammer spur to protect the revolver from being snatched while passing through brush or even worse yet, cocked while in the holster.

Because of mechanical design and application, it was in fact a wise idea to carry the hammer down on an empty chamber to prevent the revolver from discharging if it was lost from the holster or struck a blow on the hammer. Percussion revolvers could be staged so the hammer rested between two caps. The same could be done to the later metallic-cartridge revolvers but it often didn't work as well. One was better served to lower the hammer on an empty chamber.