EXPLORATIONS - Outlaws and Lawmen of the Wild West, Part 2

EXPLORATIONS - Outlaws² and Lawmen of the Wild West, Part 2
By Paul Thompson

Broadcast: Wednesday, January 21, 2004

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today, we present the second of two programs about the Old American West. Experts disagree about who were the most dangerous gunmen of the Wild West. However, we will tell you about two of them. One was an outlaw¹. One was a lawman.

(WESTERN MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

There have been hundreds of movies and television programs about the wild and lawless American West. Thousands of books have been written about it. This famous time in American history only lasted about seventy years. The first recorded shooting incident by a person who was a professional gunman took place in Texas in eighteen-fifty-four. This violent period ended in about nineteen-twenty-four.

 
A picture including gunfighters Wyatt Earp (top right), Luke Short (bottom left) and Bat Masterson (second form right bottom.
Some people living in the West at this time became famous. These include men who worked as professional officers of the law, and others who were criminals. Their names were Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, Billy the Kid, Wild Bill Hickok and the brothers Jesse and Frank³ James.

Books, movies and television programs have made these men more famous today than they were when they were alive. Some of the stories about them are true, but most are only stories.

Here are two true stories of the Old West. Our first story begins with a very old photograph that was made in the little town of Pecos, Texas.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Close your eyes for a few moments and imagine a very old photograph. The photograph was taken inside a saloon -- a place that served alcohol⁴ drinks. It was also where people played card games for money. The photograph clearly shows a group of men sitting in chairs around two tables. Other men are standing⁵ against the wall.

It is easy to tell that it must be a cold day because several of the men are sitting near a wood stove for warmth. Most of the men are looking at the camera. Most wear boots and the large hats made famous by cowboys.

One man wears a smaller, white hat. He is not looking at the camera. He is playing a card game called faro. No one is sitting near him. His left hand is on the table near the cards he will play in the game. His right hand is below the table -- not far from the gun he always carried. His face shows little emotion.

VOICE ONE:

This is one of the few photographs known to exist of a very dangerous man named James Miller⁶. He was also known as "Killin' Jim" or "Killer⁷ Miller".

History records show that he was responsible for the deaths of at least twelve people. Jim Miller often said he had killed more than fifty people. The real number of people he killed will never be known.

Jim Miller killed people for money. He charged about one-hundred-fifty dollars to kill a person. He also killed anyone who caused him trouble. One man died a few days after he had spoken in court against Miller. There is no evidence to show who killed the man. However, people were sure Jim Miller was guilty of the crime.

VOICE TWO:

Miller was successful at what he did because there was little law enforcement⁸ in the areas of Texas and Oklahoma where he lived. And, people were afraid to say anything against Miller. They knew it would mean their lives.

One law officer got into a shooting incident with Miller. The lawman shot Miller three times in the chest. Miller fell to the ground. The officer was sure he had killed the dangerous man. A few minutes later, Miller got to his feet. He had not been hurt. He was wearing a steel plate under his shirt. The bullets⁹ had hit the steel. The force of the bullets had knocked him down, but had not hurt him. Later, the law officer died from gun shot wounds. No one was sure who shot him. However most people knew Miller had killed again.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen-oh-nine, Miller made a mistake. He was paid money to kill a man in the little town of Ada, Oklahoma. He killed the man in the dark of night. Later, Miller was arrested for the crime. The citizens of Ada knew he had been arrested several times but had always been released¹⁰ for lack of evidence. Also, many people were afraid to speak in court against Miller. Many of the citizens of Ada thought Miller would escape justice again.

On Sunday morning, April nineteenth, the citizens of Ada attacked the jail¹¹ where Miller was being kept.

They took him to a barn¹² and hanged him. No one was ever arrested for the hanging of Jim Miller. Most people thought justice had been done. One man said, "He was just a killer. He was the worst man I ever knew."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The Old American West had more than its share of bad people like Killin' Jim Miller. However, other people worked hard and found good lives in the West.

 
Texas John Slaughter¹³
One of these was a man named John Horton Slaughter. He was sometimes called "Texas" John Slaughter. He was born in Louisiana in eighteen-forty-one. His family moved to Texas when he was only three months old. He grew up with little education. However, he learned¹⁴ to raise cattle. He learned to speak Spanish. And he learned much from the Native American Indians.

He also fought against Indian raiders from the time he could ride a horse and carry a gun. He fought against both the Apache and the Comanche tribes¹⁵.

VOICE ONE:

John Slaughter was not a very tall man. He was really very small. However, criminals became afraid just looking into his eyes. History records show that John Slaughter took part in at least eight gunfights. This does not include his time as a soldier in the Civil War or fighting against Indians. The records show that he was forced to kill at least four men and possibly two others. These recorded shooting incidents took place when he was an officer of the law. There may have been several more.

People who knew John Slaughter said there was no doubt they were dealing¹⁶ with an extremely serious man -- a man who could be very dangerous. One friend of John Slaughter said Texas John was the meanest good man he ever met.

VOICE TWO:

John Slaughter worked all his life in the cattle business. He took part in some of the first movements of huge cattle herds¹⁷ from Texas to the railroads¹⁸ in the state of Kansas. He moved from Texas to New Mexico and then to Arizona.

In Arizona, he bought a huge ranch¹⁹ to raise cattle. The ranch had more than twenty-six-thousand hectares. Part of it was in Arizona, part in Mexico.

In eighteen-eighty-six, he was elected the lawman or sheriff of Douglas, Arizona, the town near his ranch. Several groups of criminals were working in the area at the time. Soon, many of these outlaws were in jail. Most refused to fight Texas John Slaughter. They surrendered²¹ instead. Those who would not immediately surrender²⁰ faced Sheriff Slaughter's guns.

After two terms as the sheriff, John Slaughter helped the United States Army seek out the famous Apache warrior²² Geronimo. He helped start the bank in Douglas, Arizona. He later became a representative in the Territorial²³ Government and worked to have Arizona admitted as a state.

VOICE ONE:

John Slaughter continued his work on his ranch. He became very wealthy. When he was not working, he was in a local hotel playing card games for large amounts of money. He would often play these games for more than twenty-four hours at a time.

John Slaughter represented what was good about the American West. During his long life, Texas John Slaughter was a gunfighter, lawman, soldier, cattle rancher, Indian fighter, professional card player and a representative of the state of Arizona.

He died in his sleep in February, nineteen-twenty-two, at the age of eighty-one. Viola Slaughter, his wife of forty-one years, was by his side.

VOICE TWO:

The wild times in the American West ended at about the time of John Slaughter's death. It was still the American West, but men like John Slaughter made sure it was no longer wild. They helped to bring law and order to the West.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS, a program in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

2 outlaws   

歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯

参考例句：

• During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
• I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

3 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
• She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。

4 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

7 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

8 enforcement   

n.实施, 执行

参考例句：

• MPs called for tougher enforcement of the existing laws on drugs. 下院议员呼籲加强现行毒品法律的执行力度。
• The court is ineffective because it lacks the necessary enforcement machinery. 法院效率低是因为缺乏必要的执行机制。

9 bullets   

n.弹药；军火

参考例句：

• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。
• The bullets and cannon-balls were flying in all directions. 子弹和炮弹到处乱飞。

10 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

11 jail   

n.监狱，看守所；vt.监禁，拘留

参考例句：

• The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
• If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西，最终会被抓进监狱的。

12 barn   

n.谷仓，饲料仓，牲口棚

参考例句：

• That big building is a barn for keeping the grain.那幢大房子是存放粮食的谷仓。
• The cows were driven into the barn.牛被赶进了牲口棚。

13 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

14 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

15 tribes   

n.部落( tribe的名词复数 )；（动、植物的）族；（一）帮；大群

参考例句：

• tribes living in remote areas of the Amazonian rainforest 居住在亚马孙河雨林偏远地区的部落
• In Africa the snake is still sacred with many tribes. 非洲许多部落仍认为蛇是不可冒犯的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

17 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

18 railroads   

n.铁路，铁道( railroad的名词复数 )；铁路系统v.铁路，铁道( railroad的第三人称单数 )；铁路系统

参考例句：

• Water transportation was outmoded by railroads and good pikes. 水上运输已因铁路和良好的税道而变得过时了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A severe snowstorm blocked up railroads. 一场暴风雪使铁路中断。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

20 surrender   

v.投降，自首；屈服；交出，放弃

参考例句：

• He preferred to die rather than surrender to the enemy.他宁死也不愿向敌人投降。
• Liu Hulan would rather die than surrender before the enemy.刘胡兰在敌人面前宁死不屈。

21 surrendered   

n.电子放单；Telex releasedv.投降( surrender的过去式和过去分词 )；放弃，抛弃

参考例句：

• The bandit chief surrendered himself to despair and took his own life. 匪首在绝望中自杀了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She gradually surrendered her dream of becoming an actress. 她渐渐放弃了当演员的梦想。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

23 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。