Equality 



FROM THE FORELOPER'S POINT OF VIEW 



By NELSON M. BLAIR 



We found it at last when we rummaged the 



place, 



Though neglected for many a day, 

 With a holster so worn it was not worth the 



name 



And a belt that showed signs of decay. 

 'Twas like meeting a friend who was long 



lost to view 



With an outstretched and welcoming hand, 

 And it brought to remembrance the faces and 



scenes 

 We knew when no man owned the land. 



Just a plain forty-five but it seemed like old 



times 

 When I "reached for" and "pulled" it once 



more 

 And its ready response when the "action" I 



tried 



Showed the same "sudden" traits as of yore. 

 When the measure of men was their courage 



and skill 



As the highway of Empire they blazed, 

 And the "things" that they did in their own 



simple way 

 Made the rest of the world stand amazed. 



When a friend was a friend who would see the 



thing through 

 Though the prospect looked slim from the 



start, 

 Whose word was a bond that was not paid in 



gold 



Nor offered for sale in the mart; 

 When the courts of Injustice did not hold the 



reins 



And men had no laws to despise; 

 When the weak and the strong by a Colt 



forty-five 



. Were made equal and all of one size. 

 Who says they are dead? They are living 



still 



In the hearts of the few who survive. 

 And their record is written in crimson flame 

 And signed with a "forty-five." 



