Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 June 1894 — THROW UP YOUR HANDS. [ARTICLE]

THROW UP YOUR HANDS.

The Most Sensible Thlnsj to Do When a Desperado Has the Drop on Yon. “When a desperado gets the drop on you the only thing for a sensible man to do Is to throw up his hands,” says James Skaggs, of Coffeyville, Kan., at the Lindell, to a reporter for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. “ r l i throw up your hands is no reflection upon your bravery out in the. wild West. To attempt to draw your weapon when a man has pulled down on you is to Invite a verdict of ’Came to death for being a fool. ’ The most desperate man will throw up his hands when he has the worst of the draw. He argues that if he is being arrested he will always have the chance of escaping. If his assailant simply desires to humiliate and intimidate him, why, there is the broad future to get even in. I have known Wells-Fargo stage-coach guards to throw up tneir hands at the first command and give up their arms. There is no use in saying that the robber will not shoot. Too many dead men have told that he does. I knew a little Wells-Fargo man who had a great reputation for bravery. The coach was held up ou the jSanta Fe trail. The guard was one of the first to surrender. The passengers were disgusted as they stood i n 1 i ne a n d were robbed. When the coach renewed its journey they were very harsh in the criticism of theii guard. The coach rolled on for a half mile and turned a bend behind some rocks. The guard then stopped the coach and unstrapped a Winchester from the side of the vehicle. Then he started hack on foot alone. Juajtas

he expected, he came across the men on the road dividing the booty. They did not perceive him until he got his Winchester at work and killed all three in their tracks Then he stepped forward, secured all the booty and the weapons of the robbers and rejoined the coach about nightfall, the driver having moved slowly, as he knew what the brave fellow was up to.”