Ill Cowboy Land. 425 



Kentucks, Texas Jacks, Bronco Bills, Bear Joes, Buck- 

 skins, Red Jims, and the like. Sometimes it is apparently 

 meaningless ; one of my cowpuncher friends is always 

 called " Sliver " or " Splinter" — why, I have no idea. At 

 other times some particular incident may give rise to the 

 title : a clean-looking cowboy formerly in my employ was 

 always known as " Muddy Bill," because he had once been 

 bucked off his horse into a mud hole. 



The grewsome genesis of one such name is given in 

 the following letter which I have just received from an 

 old hunting-friend in the Rockies, who took a kindly 

 interest in a frontier cabin which the Boone and Crockett 

 Club was putting up at the Chicago World's Fair. 



" Feb i6th 1893 ; Der Sir : I see in the newspapers that your club 

 the Daniel Boon and Davey Crockit you Intend to erect a fruntier 

 Cabin at the world's Far at Chicago to represent the erley Pianears of 

 our country I would like to see you maik a success I have all my life 

 been a fruntiersman and feel interested in your undertaking and I hoap 

 you wile get a good assortment of relicks I want to maik one sugges- 

 tion to you that is in regard to geting a good man and a genuine 

 Mauntanner to take charg of your haus at Chicago I want to recom- 

 mend a man for you to get it is Liver-eating Johnson that is the naim 

 he is generally called he is an olde mauntneer and large and fine look- 

 ing and one of the Best Story Tellers in the country and Very Polight 

 c^enteel to everyone he meets I wil tel you how he got that naim Liver- 

 eating in a hard Fight with the Black Feet Indians thay Faught all 

 day Johnson and a few Whites Faught a large Body of Indians all day 

 after the fight Johnson cam in contact with a wounded Indian and 

 Johnson was aut of ammunition and thay faught it out with thar Knives 

 and Johnson got away with the Indian and in the fight cut the livver 

 out of the Indian and said to the Boys did thay want any Liver to eat 

 that is the way he got the naim of Liver-eating Johnson 



"Yours truly" etc., etc. 



Frontiersmen are often as original in their theories of 

 life as in their names ; and the originality may take the 



