![]() ![]() While I do not advocate people taking the law into their own hands, I would like to see us adopting some of the values of the old West. Vigilantes or groups of citizens would have found the killers and dispensed swift frontier justice. Had this happened in Tombstone Territory, Dodge City or any other Western town, there would have been no need for a reward. More than anything else, she was killed by cowards. The event that prompted the reward from the government, the murder of Dana Seetahal, a female lawyer, breaks every code of Western morality. She owned a saloon and her morals might have been questionable, but nobody dared to insult or molest her. A good example is the relationship between Marshall Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty in the television series Gunsmoke. Women, because there were so few of them, were treated with respect, even if they were prostitutes. " People who were "lily-livered, yellow-bellied, back-shooting varmints (vermin)" were particularly disliked, especially those who operated from ambush. You must not shoot an unarmed man, and you must not shoot an unwarned man. A man was not a man unless he could coolly face death and fight for his good name." The code of these gunslingers was what Westerners called a 'rattlesnake's' code, because even a rattler gave fair warning before it struck.Įugene Manlove Rhodes wrote, "It was not the custom to war without fresh offence, openly given. "The gunfight, according to the popular mythology of the West, was the ultimate expression of the cowboy's code. He returned stray cattle because his own livestock might wander. He asked no questions of strangers because in leaner days he might himself have preferred not to have his affairs pried into. A cattleman fed a visitor because he might himself be far from home next month. According to one author, "The code was a sort of frontier version of the golden rule. Zane Grey, the acclaimed author of cowboy tales, called it 'The Code Of The West'. The fact is that, despite hair-trigger tempers and even faster recourse to firearms, there were rules that were generally observed. Recently, when the government offered a reward for information about who killed a prominent female attorney, an opposition member of parliament said Trinidad and Tobago had become the "wild, wild West". "No," said the old-timer, "but when Wyatt Earp gets done playing the piano, he's gonna shove that gun up your butt, and it won't hurt as much if it's greased up first." "Will that make me a better gunfighter?" asked the young man. The old man replied, "See that axle grease over there? Coat your gun with it." That'll give you a smoother draw." The young man did it, drew his gun in a blur, then shot a cufflink off the piano player.Įlated, the young man asked, "Any more tips, grandpa?" ![]() "Cut a notch out of your holster where the hammer hits it. Sign up for The Gleaner’s morning and evening newsletters. ![]()
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