by J. T. Edson
117 Further details about the career of Martha Jane Canary are given in the Calamity Jane series, also Part Seven, ‘Deadwood, August the 2nd, 1876’, J.T.’S HUNDREDTH; Part Six, ‘Mrs. Wild Bill’, J.T.’S LADIES and she makes a ‘guest’ appearance in, Part Two, ‘A Wife For Dusty Fog’, THE SMALL TEXAN.
118 How Mark Counter’s romance with Belle Starr commenced, progressed and ended is told in Part One, ‘The Bounty On Belle Starr’s Scalp’, TROUBLED RANGE; its ‘expansion’, CALAMITY, MARK AND BELLE; THE BAD BUNCH; RANGELAND HERCULES; THE CODE OF DUSTY FOG; Part Two, ‘We Hang Horse Thieves High’, J.T.’S HUNDREDTH; THE GENTLE GIANT; Part Four, ‘A Lady Known As Belle’, THE HARD RIDERS and GUNS IN THE NIGHT.
119 Belle Starr ‘stars’—no pun intended—in WANTED; BELLE STARR. She also makes ‘guest’ appearances in: THE QUEST FOR BOWIE’S BLADE; Part One, ‘The Set-Up’, SAGEBRUSH SLEUTH; its ‘expansion’, WACO’S BADGE and Part Six, ‘Mrs. Wild Bill’, J.T.’S LADIES.
120 We are frequently asked why it is the ‘Belle Starr’ we describe is so different from a photograph which appears in various books. The researches of the world’s foremost fictionist genealogist, Philip Jose Farmer—author of, amongst numerous other works, TARZAN ALIVE, A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke and DOC SAVAGE, His Apocalyptic Life—with whom we consulted have established the lady about whom we are writing is not the same person as another equally famous bearer of the name. However, the Counter family has asked Mr. Farmer and ourselves to keep her true identity a secret and this we intend to do.
121 Told in GOODNIGHT’S DREAM and FROM HIDE AND HORN.
122 This is established by inference in Case Three, ‘The Deadly Ghost’, YOU’RE A TEXAS RANGER, ALVIN FOG.
123 See IVANHOE, by Sir Walter Scott.
124 ‘Cave Adsum; roughly translated from Latin, ‘Beware, I Am Here’.
125 Some information about Jessica and Trudeau Front de Boeuf can be found in CUT ONE, THEY ALL BLEED and Part Three, ‘Responsibility To Kinfolks’, OLE DEVIL’S HANDS AND FEET.
126 ‘Pairaivo’: first, or favorite wife. As is the case with the other Comanche terms, this is a phonetic spelling.
127 ‘Nemenuh’ - ‘the People’ the Comanches’ name for themselves and their nation. Members of other tribes with whom they came into contact called them, frequently with good cause, the ‘Tshaoh’, ‘the ‘Enemy People’.
128 A description of the way in which mustangers operated is given in .44 CALIBER MAN and A HORSE CALLED MOGOLLON.
129 Told in COMANCHE.
130 An example of how the Ysabel Kid could conceal his tracks is given in Part One, The Half Breed’, THE HALF BREED.
131 Two examples of how the Ysabel Kid’s knowledge of wild animals were turned to good use are given in OLD MOCCASINS ON THE TRAIL and BUFFALO ARE COMING!
132 An example of how well the Ysabel Kid could impersonate the call of a wild animal is recorded in: Part Three, ‘A Wolf’s A Knowing Critter’, J.T.’S HUNDREDTH.
133 One occasion when the Ysabel Kid employed his skill with traditional Comanche weapons is described in RIO GUNS.
134 Some researchers claim that the actual designer of the knife which became permanently attached to Colonel James Bowie’s name was his oldest brother, Rezin Pleasant. Although it is generally conceded the maker was James Black, a master cutler in Arkansas, some authorities state it was manufactured by Jesse Cliffe, a white blacksmith employed by the Bowie family on their plantation in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.
135 What happened to James Bowie’s knife after his death in the final assault of the siege of the Alamo Mission, San Antonio de Bexar, Texas, on March 6th, 1836, is told in GET URREA! and THE QUEST FOR BOWIE’S BLADE.
136 As all James Black’s knives were custom made, there were variations in their dimensions. The specimen owned by the Ysabel Kid had a blade eleven and a half inches in length, two and a half inches wide and a quarter of an inch thick at the guard. According to William ‘Bo’ Randall, of Randall-Made Knives, Orlando, Florida—a master cutler and authority upon the subject in his own right—James Bowie’s knife weighed forty-three ounces, having a blade eleven inches long, two and a quarter inches wide and three-eighths of an inch thick. His company’s Model 12 ‘Smithsonian’ bowie knife—one of which is owned by James Allenvale ‘Bunduki’ Gunn, details of whose career can be found in the Bunduki series—is modeled on it.
137One thing all ‘bowie’ knives have in common, regardless of dimensions, is a ‘clip’ point. The otherwise unsharpened ‘back of the blade joins and becomes an extension of the main cutting surface in a concave arc, whereas a ‘spear’ point—which is less utilitarian—is formed by the two sides coming together in symmetrical curves.
138 An occasion when Big Sam Ysabel went on a mission without his son is recorded in THE DEVIL GUN.
139 Told in THE BLOODY BORDER and BACK TO THE BLOODY BORDER.
140 The circumstances are described in GUN WIZARD.
141 When manufacturing the extremely popular Winchester Model of 1873 rifle—which they claimed to be the ‘Gun Which Won The West’—the makers selected all those barrels found to shoot with exceptional accuracy to be fitted with set triggers and given a special fine finish. Originally, these were inscribed, ‘1 of 1,000’, but this was later changed to script, ‘One of a Thousand’. However, the title was a considerable understatement. Only one hundred and thirty-six out of a total production of 720,610 qualified for the distinction. Those of a grade lower were to be designated. ‘One of a Hundred’, but only seven were so named. The practice commenced in 1875 and was discontinued three years later because the management decided it was not good sales policy to suggest different grades of gun were being produced.
142 Told in SIDEWINDER.
143 Told in HELL IN THE PALO DURO and GO BACK TO HELL.
144 How Annie Singing Bear acquired the distinction of becoming a warrior and won her ‘man-name’ is told in IS-A-MAN.
145 Told in WHITE INDIANS.
146 Told in Part two, ‘The Poison And The Cure’, WANTED! BELLE STARR.
147 Told in WHITE STALLION, RED MARE.
148 Mark Scrapton, a grandson of the Ysabel Kid, served as a member of Company ‘Z’Texas Rangers, with Alvin Dustine ‘Cap’ Fog and Ranse Smith—respectively grandson of Captain Dustine Edward Marsden ‘Dusty’ Fog and Mark Counter—during the Prohibition era. Information about their specialized duties is given in the Alvin Dustine ‘Cap’ Fog series.
149 Alvin Dustine ‘Cap’ Fog informs us that at his marriage to Elizabeth ‘Beth’ Morrow, Waco used the surname of his adoptive family, ‘Callin’.
150 How Waco repaid his obligation to the family which raised him is told in WACO’S DEBT.
151 Told in TRIGGER FAST.
152 Frank Derringer appears in QUIET TOWN, THE MAKING OF A LAWMAN, THE TROUBLE BUSTERS, THE GENTLE GIANT and COLD DECK. HOT LEAD.
153 Told in THE MAKING OF A LAWMAN; THE TROUBLE BUSTERS; THE GENTLE GIANT; Part Five, The Hired Butcher’, THE HARD RIDERS; Part Four, ‘A Tolerable Straight Shooting Gun’, THE FLOATING OUTFIT; Part Two, ‘The Invisible Winchester,’ OLE DEVIL’S HANDS AND FEET; THE SMALL TEXAN and THE TOWN TAMERS.
154 During the I870’s the Governor of Arizona formed this particular law enforcement agency to cope with the threat of serious organized law breaking in his Territory. A similar decision was taken by a later Governor and the Arizona Rangers were brought back into being. Why it was considered necessary to appoint the first force, how it operated and was finally disbanded is recorded in the Waco series and Part Six, ‘Keep Good Temper Alive’, J.T.’S HUNDREDTH.
155 At the period of this narrative, although having accorded a reputation for knowledge in medical matters, Marvin Eldridge ‘Doc’ Leroy had not yet been able to attain his ambition of following his father’s footsteps by becoming a qualified doctor. How he did so is recorded in DOC LEROY, M.D.
156 Told in THE DRIFTER, which also describes how Waco first met Elizabeth ‘Beth’ Morrow.<
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157 Told in HOUND DOG MAN.
