Wanted! Belle Starr!

by J. T. Edson

  “Gracias, Benkers, Florence,” the lady outlaw said quietly, a quick glance assuring her they had nothing further to fear from the three men. Lowering the smoking Manhattan and listening for anything to suggest the shooting was bringing people to investigate, she went on, “I’m sorry I got you into this!”

  “You couldn’t have guessed they’d be here,” the honey blonde replied. “And, unless I’ve misjudged them completely, they meant to kill us as well as you.”

  “You hadn’t misjudged them,” Belle claimed, holstering the revolver and taking a key from the pocket of her jacket. “Here, Florence, start getting our gear out of the storeroom. Help me to calm down the horses, Benkers. There’s nobody coming yet, but the sooner we’re on our way, the better.”

  In Conclusion

  Not only was the escape from Austin effected without further incident, the plan proposed by Belle Starr proved equally successful.

  Several factors allowed Amelia Penelope Diana “Benkers” Benkinsop and Florence Drakefield to leave the United States unhindered by being sought as fugitives.

  Due to the disturbances at the Capitol Building having led to a number of arrests, by the time the town marshal of Austin learned of the escape, he had other problems demanding his attention. When he was at liberty to give his full attention to the matter, various aspects combined to lessen his urge to recapture the departed prisoner. The fortuitous arrival of two genuine operatives for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency exposed the man responsible for the arrest as a fake and he fled to avoid being subjected to their attentions. If the jewelry had been taken from the safe, its owner being of some importance, the marshal would have felt obliged to take steps to recover it. Under the circumstances, having no liking for “Pink-Eyes” and Yankees in general, he had felt disinclined to cause himself all the extra work he knew would ensue from arranging extradition should he be successful in the hunt for her. Despite concluding she had been involved, on learning the identity of the Steeples brothers and having an even greater aversion for bounty hunters, he had also guessed what had happened. Considering the trio had met the fate they deserved, he saw no reason to take action on their account. Therefore, the problems envisaged by the lady outlaw failed to materialize.

  When satisfied it was safe to do so, Belle accompanied Benkers and Florence from Texas. They went their separate ways in Oklahoma Territory, after visiting her parents. Going to Kansas, where a friend was running a prosperous saloon in Mulrooney, the honey blonde had a further adventure before she and her maid arrived at New York and took passage on a boat to England. xxviii

  Appendix One

  Throughout the years we have been writing, we have frequently received letters asking for various Western terms, or incidents to which we refer, to be explained in greater detail. While we do not have the slightest objection to receiving such mail, we have found it saves much time-consuming repetition to include those most often requested in each volume. We ask all our ‘old hands’ who have read them before to bear with us and remember there are always ‘new chums’ coming along who have not.

  1. Introduced in 1873, the Colt Model P “Single Action Army” revolver with a caliber of .45 instead of the traditional .44 became popularly known as the “Peacemaker”. Production continued until 1941, when it was taken out of the line to make way for the more modern firearms required in World War II. Over three hundred and fifty thousand were manufactured in practically every handgun caliber with the exception of the .41 and .44 Magnums, which were not developed during the first production period from .22 Rimfire to .476 Eley. However, the majority fired .45 or .44-40. The latter, given the name, “Frontier Model”, handled the same ammunition and powder charge of forty grains used in the Winchester Model of 1873 rifle and carbine.

  1a. The barrel lengths of the production line Model P could be from three inches in the “Storekeeper” Model, which did not have an extractor rod, to sixteen inches in the so-called “Buntline Special”. The latter also was offered with an attachable metal ‘skeleton’ butt stock, allowing it to be used as an extemporized carbine. However, the main barrel lengths were: Cavalry, seven and a half inches; Artillery, five and a half; Civilian, four and three-quarters.

  1b. Popular demand, said to have been caused by the upsurge of action-escapism-adventure Western series on television, brought the Peacemaker back into the production line during 1955 and it is still being manufactured. For the first time, a model named the “Buntline Special” albeit with a barrel only twelve inches long allegedly due to the use of such a weapon by actor Hugh O’Brian while starring in the WYATT EARP television series came into being.

  2. We are frequently asked why it is the Belle Starr we describe is so much more shapely and attractive than portrayed in photographs which appear in various books. The researches of fictionist genealogist Philip Jose Farmer author of, among numerous other works, the incomparable TARZAN ALIVE, A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke, and DOC SAVAGE, His Apocalyptic Life with whom we have consulted, have established that the “Belle Starr” to whom we refer is not the same person as another equally famous bearer of the name. However, the Counter family have requested that we and Mr. Farmer keep her true identity a secret and we intend to do so.

  3. We strongly suspect that the trend in film and television Westerns made since the early 1960s to portray all cowhands as long haired, heavily bearded and filthy stems less from the desire of the production companies to portray ‘realism’ than because there were so few actors particularly to play supporting roles who were short haired and clean shaven. Also because the ‘liberal’ elements who were gaining control of the mass entertainment media seem to obtain some form of ego trip by showing dirty habits, conditions and appearances. In our extensive reference library, we cannot find even a dozen photographs of actual cowhands as opposed to Army scouts, mountain men and old time gold prospectors with long hair and bushy beards. In fact, our reading on the subject and conversations with friends in the modern West have led us to assume the term ‘long hair’ was one of opprobrium in the Old West and Prohibition eras just as it still is in cattle raising country today.

  4. “Make wolf bait”; one term meaning to kill. It derived from the practice in the Old West, when a range was infested by stock destroying predators not necessarily just wolves, but mountain lion, black or grizzly bears and coyotes of slaughtering an animal and, having poisoned the carcass, leaving it where it fell to be devoured by the carnivores.

  5. “Gone To Texas”; at odds with the law, generally in the United States of America at the time the saying came into general usage. Many wanted men and fugitives from justice entered Texas during the colonization period which had commenced in the early 1820s, due to the Mexican Government offering land to “Anglos” so they would act as a ‘buffer state’ against marauding Comanche Indians and continued until annexation as a State of the Union on February 16, 1846. Before the latter became a fact, such miscreants had known there was little danger of being arrested and extradited by the local authorities. Therefore, like Kenya from the 1920s until the outbreak of World War II, in spite of the great number of honest, law-abiding and hard working folks who genuinely wished to make their homes there, Texas during the days before independence was obtained from Mexican domination gained a reputation for being a ‘place in the sun for shady people’.

  6. “Mason-Dixon” line, also erroneously called the “Mason-Dixie” line. The boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland as surveyed in 1763-67 by the Englishmen, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. It became known as the dividing line separating the Southern “Slave” and Northern “Free” States.

  7. “New England”: the North East section of the United States, including, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island, which was first settled primarily by people from the British Isles.

  8. “Light a shuck”; cowhands’ expression for leaving hurriedly. It derives from the habit in night camps of trail drives and roundups on the open r
ange of supplying ‘shucks’ dried corn cobs to be lit and used for illumination by anybody who had to leave the campfire and walk in the darkness. As the ‘shuck’ burned away very quickly, a person had to move fast if wanting to benefit from its light.

  9. In the Old West, the jurisdictional powers of various types of law enforcement agencies were established as follows. A town marshal, sometimes called ‘constable’ in smaller places, and his deputies were confined to the limits of the town or city who appointed them. Sheriff, elected by and confined to his own county as were his deputies; however, Texas and Arizona Rangers could go anywhere within their respective States, but were technically required to await an invitation by the appropriate local peace officers before participating in an investigation. During the Prohibition era, as we explain in the Alvin Dustine “Cap” Fog series, Company “Z” of the Texas Rangers was allowed to initiate operations without awaiting an invitation. Although a United States marshal had jurisdiction everywhere in the country, his main function was the investigation of “Federal” crimes.

  10. The high heels and sharp toes of boots worn by cowhands were functional rather than merely decorative. The former enabled afoot to be slipped into or out of a stirrup iron in an emergency. In addition to help hold into the stirrup iron more firmly, the latter could be spiked into the ground as an aid to controlling an animal which was roped when a-foot.

  11. “Summer name”: an alias. A person in the Old West could supply any name he or she which on being introduced. The only acceptable way in which to express doubt was to ask, “Is that your summer name?”

  12. “Pick up his toes”: to inflict punishment. The term was derived from the name cowhands gave to a roping throw intended to trap the forefeet of an animal while it was in motion. Generally, the method was only employed to punish a horse which persisted in breaking out of the wrangler’s rope coral when part of a remuda. While extremely dangerous to carry out, the throw was used on a basis of ‘kill or cure’. If the offender was allowed to go unchecked, the other members of the remuda could pick up the habit. A description of how the throw was made and its effect is given in: TRAIL BOSS.

  13. Other incidents which took place during the visit of Amelia Penelope Diana “Benkers” Benkinsop to the United States of America are recorded in: BEGUINAGE IS DEAD! and Part Five, Belle ‘the Rebel Spy’ Boyd, “The Butcher’s Fiery End”, J.T.’S LADIES.

  13a. According to the researches of Philip Jose Farmer, q.v., by tradition, regardless of who the father might be, the eldest daughter always bore the name “Amelia Penelope Diana Benkinsop”. Information regarding a descendant of “Benkers” can be found in: BLONDE GENIUS and Part Two, Amanda ‘the School Swot’ Tweedle, “Fifteen The Hard Way’, J.T.’S LADIES.

  Appendix Two

  Raven Head, only daughter of Chief Long Walker, war leader of the Pehnane Wasp, Quick Stinger, or Raider Comanches’ Dog Soldier lodge and his French-Creole pairaivo xxix married an Irish Kentuckian adventurer, Sam Ysabel, but died giving birth to their first child. Baptized “Loncey Dalton Ysabel” although we doubt whether any minister of a church officiated the boy was raised after the fashion of the Nemenuh. xxx With his father away on the family business of mustanging catching and breaking wild horses xxxi and smuggling, his education had largely been left in the hands of his maternal grandfather. xxxii From Chief Long Walker, he had learned all those things a Comanche warrior must know. How to ride the wildest freshly caught mustang, or make a trained animal subservient to his will when raiding, a polite name for the favorite pastime of the male Nemenuh, stealing horses. To follow the faintest tracks and just as effectively conceal signs of his own passing. xxxiii To locate hidden enemies, or keep out of sight himself when the need arose. To move in silence through the thickest cover and on the darkest nights. To know the ways of wild creatures and, in some cases, imitate their calls so that even others of their kind might be fooled. xxxiv

  The boy had proved an excellent pupil in all the subjects. Furthermore, he had inherited his father’s Kentuckian rifle shooting prowess and, while not real fast on the draw, taking slightly over a second to bring out and fire his weapon, whereas a top hand could practically halve that time he performed passably with his Colt Second Model Dragoon revolver. By his exceptional skill in wielding one, he had won his Comanche man-name, Cuchilo, the Spanish word for “Knife”. It was claimed by those best qualified to know that he could equal the alleged designer in performing with the massive and special type of blade which bore Colonel James Bowie’s name. xxxv

  Joining his father in smuggling expeditions along the Rio Grande, the boy had become known to the Mexicans of the border country as “Cabrito”: a name which, although meaning a young goat, had arisen out of hearing white men refer to him as the Ysabel Kid and was spoken very respectfully in that context. Smuggling did not tend to attract those of a mild mannered and pacific nature, but even the roughest and toughest of the bloody border’s brood had soon come to acknowledge it did not pay to rile up Sam Ysabel’s son. Little in the Kid’s education and upbringing had been calculated to develop any over inflated sense of the sanctity of human life. When crossed, he dealt with the situation in the manner of a Pehnane Dog Soldier to which war lodge of most savage and efficient warriors he had earned initiation swiftly and in an effectively deadly fashion.

  During the War Between the States, the Kid and his father had commenced by riding as scouts for Colonel John Singleton ‘the Gray Ghost’ Mosby. Later, their specialized knowledge and talents had been converted to having them collect and deliver to the Confederate States’ authorities in Texas supplies which were run through the blockade imposed by the United States’ Navy into Matamoros, or which were purchased in other parts of Mexico. It had proved hard and dangerous work, but never more so than when they had become involved in the affairs of Belle ‘the Rebel Spy’ Boyd. xxxvi

  Soon after the end of the War, Sam Ysabel was murdered. While hunting for the killers, the Kid had met Captain Dustine Edward Marsden “Dusty” Fog and Mark Counter. xxxvii When the assignment upon which they were engaged was brought to its successful conclusion, xxxviii learning that the Kid no longer wished to continue the family business either as a mustanger or a smuggler, Dusty had offered him employment at the OD Connected ranch. It had been in the capacity of scout rather than cowhand that he had entered the service of the owner, General Jackson Baines “Ole Devil” Hardin, C.S.A., xxxix and his talents were frequently of the greatest use as a member of the floating outfit. xl

  The Kid’s acceptance had been of the greatest benefit all round. The ranch obtained the services of an extremely loyal, capable and efficient fighting man. Dusty acquired another trustworthy friend ready to stick by him through any mind of danger. For his part, the Kid was turned from a life of petty crime with the ever present possibility of his activities developing to serious law breaking and became a most useful member of society. Peace officers and honest citizens might have found cause to feel grateful when he became law-abiding. His Nemenuh education would have made him a terrible and dangerous outlaw had he been driven to adopt a life of crime.

  Obtaining his first repeating rifle a Winchester Model of 1866, nicknamed the “Old Yellowboy” because of its brass frame, although it was first marketed as the “New, Improved Henry” while in Mexico with Dusty and Mark, the Kid had soon became a master in its use. At the first Cochise County Fair in Arizona, despite having been compelled to use one of the newer model after his own was damaged in a fight, he had won first prize in the rifle shooting competition against very stiff opposition. This was one of the legendary Winchester Model of 1873s which had qualified to be given the title, “One Of A Thousand”. xli

  It was, in part, through the efforts of the Kid that the majority of the Comanche bands had agreed to go on to the reservation following the circumvented attempts to ruin the treaty signing ceremony at Fort Sorrel. xlii Nor could Dusty have cleaned out the outlaw town called Hell without his assistance. xliii Although his attempt t
o acquire the legendary weapon of Colonel Bowie had failed, xliv he had received a pocket-knife made from the same superlative steel. xlv A chance meeting with Martha “Calamity Jane” Canary had resulted in his accompanying her when she went to claim a ranch she had inherited. xlvi

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  i New readers can find information regarding the various types of Colt Model P ‘Single Action Army’ revolver, more commonly called ‘the Peacemaker’, in Footnote 1, APPENDIX ONE.

  ii Curare, sometimes called ‘woorali’, or ‘urare’. A highly poisonous, blackish and brittle, resinous extract of certain South American trees of the genus, Strychnos, particularly S. Toxifera. It is exceptionally fast acting and, by relaxing the ‘end plates’ between the nerves and muscles, prevents the heart and lungs functioning thereby causing death by asphyxiation and is used by the native Indians to improve the lethal potential of their arrows.

  iii Some of the events which led to such trail herds being delivered to the shipping pens of the railroad which passed through Kansas are recorded in GOODNIGHT’S DREAM, FROM HIDE AND HORN and SET TEXAS BACK ON HER FEET. Further information regarding the handling of a trail drive being brought north from Texas is given in TRAIL BOSS.