Authentic Tales of the West: Part 18
A New Sheriff
Arnold Ashford’s Journal Entry #18
Well, shortly after helping Dr. Teller save that young man, a new Lawman came riding into town. A tall, man with a dark visage and a darker countenance; Harry Houston couldn’t have been more different from Rusty Cobb, both physically and in demeanor. Whereas Rusty was affable as the day is long, with a ready smile and a ready hand to help, Harry Houston regularly ‘responded’ to folk with nothing more than a cold blank stare. Where Rusty was all heart, the people of Abilene soon began to wonder if Harry Houston had a heart.
Even now I cannot answer that question. What I can answer is that he had a fiery hatred for criminals and their ilk. The one time I was able to have as close to a conversation as I’ve seen anyone have with Harry, I asked him what brought him to Abilene. He told me he’d read about the killing of Rusty Cobb, and he aimed to bring his killer to justice. I suppose he was willing to talk to me about it, because I was the one who wrote about it and was directly involved in it. I told him everything I could remember about that night and he just listened intently, staring directly into my eyes, unblinking and taking in every word.
Within a week or two of Houston’s arrival in Abilene, another Gunslinger came to town. I found out later that his name was Elson Dillon; I had just heard him loudly boasting in the Saloon that he was “The Cattle Baron of Texas” and that “The Beef Czar” was here in Abilene to take over this little cattle operation. His men started kicking up a ruckus, when without any warning whatsoever a shot rang out and one of Dillon’s men had his head snap back wildly, dead before he hit the bar top.
The second and third shots came not a second later and hit Dillon in his shoulder and stomach. Harry Houston charged straight at Dillon, knowing that his men were cowed, grabbed him by his shirt collar and smashed him backwards into the table. “I know you Outlaw scum keep tabs on each other. You wanna tell me where Bret Beauville is? Well…do ya?”
— Check back next week for a new entry in Ashford’s journal —