424 The Wilderness Hunter, 



ness, thought it best to settle the matter before there was 

 time for cooHng, and accordingly, headed by Simpson, 

 the mayor, the judge, the Turk, and other prominent 

 citizens of the town, they broke into the jail and hanged 

 Fowler. The point in the hanging which especially 

 tickled my friend's fancy, as he lingered over the reminis- 

 cence, was one that was rather too ghastly to appeal to 

 our own sense of humor. In the Turk's mind there still 

 rankled the memory of Fowler's very unprofessional 

 conduct while figuring before him as a criminal. Said 

 Simpson, with a merry twinkle of the eye : " Do you know 

 that Turk, he was a right funny fellow too after all. Just 

 as the boys were going to string up Fowler, says he, 

 ' Boys, stop ; one moment, gentlemen, — Mr. Fowler, 

 good-by,-' and he blew a kiss to him ! " 



In the cow-country, and elsewhere on the wild border- 

 land between savagery and civilization, men go quite as 

 often by nicknames as by those to which they are lawfully 

 entitled. Half the cowboys and hunters of my acquaint- 

 ance are known by names entirely unconnected with those 

 they inherited or received when they were christened. 

 Occasionally some would-be desperado or make-believe 

 mighty hunter tries to adopt what he deems a title suit- 

 able to his prowess ; but such an effort is never attempted 

 in really wild places, where it would be greeted with huge 

 derision ; for all of these names that are genuine are 

 bestowed by outsiders, with small regard to the wishes of 

 the person named. Ordinarily the name refers to some 

 easily recognizable accident of origin, occupation, or 

 aspect ; as witness the innumerable Dutcheys, Frencheys, 



