Wanted! Belle Starr! (25 page)

iii
Some of the events which led to such trail herds being
delivered to the shipping pens of the railroad which passed through
Kansas are recorded in GOODNIGHT’S DREAM, FROM HIDE AND HORN and
SET TEXAS BACK ON HER FEET. Further information regarding the
handling of a trail drive being brought north from Texas is given
in TRAIL BOSS.

iv
The events which led up to and followed the incident in
Ellsworth, Kansas, are described in CALAMITY, MARK AND
BELLE.

v
Resembling the Colt Navy Model of 1851, apart from having a
spring plate interposed between the caps and the hammer, as
produced by the manufacturers who had long since gone out of
business the Manhattan Navy Model revolver had a barrel six and a
half inches in length. The one carried by Belle Starr, when
concealment was necessary, had had four and a half inches removed
and the loading lever shortened accordingly. Should circumstances
permit the wearing of a gunbelt and holster, she carried another
which had not been modified in such a fashion.

vi
See: Paragraph Three of our AUTHOR’S NOTE.

vii
“Peckerwood tail-peddler’: derogatory name for a prostitute
who was a Southron.

viii
As we pointed out in WACO’S BADGE, although we had not
previously known it, Belle Starr had the habit of having her hair
cut short when engaged upon criminal activities which required her
to make frequent changes to her appearances by adopting disguises.
Belle ‘the Rebel Spy’ Boyd some details of whose career are given
in various volumes of the Civil War and Floating Outfit series,
used a similar hair style whilst serving with first the
Confederate, hence her sobriquet, and then the United States’
Secret Service.

ix
An explanation of the relative value of the ‘hands’ in the
game of poker is given in: TWO MILES TO THE BORDER.

x
Details of the family background and special qualifications
of the Ysabel Kid are given in APPENDIX TWO.

xi
Information regarding how the reputation was acquired by
Captain Dustine Edward Marsden ‘Dusty’ Fog C.S.A. can be found in
various volumes of the Civil War and Floating Outfit series.
Something of his connection with the Ysabel Kid is described in
APPENDIX TWO.

xii
An occasion when Captain Dustine Edward Marsden ‘Dusty’
Fog, C.S.A. took advantage of the qualities of easy concealment
offered by the British-made Webley Royal Irish Constabulary
revolver and its shoulder holster is described in Part One, ‘Small
Man From Polveroso City, Texas’, OLE DEVIL’S HANDS AND
FEET.

xiii
More detailed information regarding the kind of conversion
required to produce a whip gun is given in CUT ONE, THEY ALL
BLEED.

xiv
The events recorded in the next three Chapters are in the
form of a ‘flashback’. Commencing two days previously to the
various activities described so far in Part Two, we detail the
connections between Belle Starr, Geoffrey Crayne and David
Icke.

xv
As had always been the case in the British Isles before the
variant was developed at Rugby public school in 1823, and came to
be called by its name, the version of foot ball played in various
universities and colleges in the United States of America at that
period sometimes with up to twenty-five men a side allowed only
kicking the ball and was much like present day soccer.

xvi
The events which led to and followed the appointment of
Captain Dustine Edward Marsden ‘Dusty’ Fog, q. v. as town marshal
of Mulrooney, Kansas, are recorded in THE MAKING OF A LAWMAN, THE
TROUBLE BUSTERS and THE GENTLE GIANT. Two incidents during the time
in office of Town Marshall Kail Beauregard are described in WHITE
STALLION, RED MARE and THE WHIP AND THE WAR LANCE.

xvii
Another occasion when Belle Starr made use of such an
unflattering disguise, albeit without the false ‘buck’ teeth, is
recorded in: THE GENTLE GIANT.

xviii
How and why General Wilbur B. Smethurst, United States’
Army, was killed is told in THE HOODED RIDERS.

xix
On checking into the Railroad House Hotel in her character
as ‘Darlene-Mae Abernathy’, Belle Starr had informed the desk clerk
that the maid she had accompanying her was occupying cheaper
accommodation elsewhere, but would be bringing her luggage and
coming each day to attend to her needs. Leaving instructions for
the non-existent maid at the reception desk, announcing she was
taking a stroll to see the sights, she had joined Blue Duck and
Sammy Crane. Donning the appropriate disguise, she had returned to
the hotel as promised. By careful manipulation, she had contrived
to maintain the two different identities without the deception
being discovered.

xx
How the romance between Belle Starr and Mark Counter
commenced, developed and was brought to an untimely end by her
death is told in Part One, ‘The Bounty On Belle Starr’s Scalp’,
TROUBLED RANGE: its ‘expansion’, CALAMITY, MARK AND BELLE,
RANGELAND HERCULES, THE BAD BUNCH, THE GENTLE GIANT, Part Two, ‘We
Hang Horse Thieves High’, J.T. “S HUNDREDTH, Part Four, ‘A Lady
Known As Belle’, THE HARD RIDERS and GUNS IN THE NIGHT.

xxi
In addition to having frequently made such an assertion
throughout his career, the late and great W.C. Fields also wrote
the screenplay under the pseudonym ‘Charles Bogle’ and starred in
the 1939 movie, YOU CAN’T CHEAT A HONEST MAN.

xxii
Although at the period of this narrative gambling for high
stakes was still considered a masculine occupation, a few women
‘Poker Alice’ and ‘Madame Moustache’ being the most prominent, had
gained acceptance and were highly respected as players. Both ladies
make guest’ appearances in: Part Two ‘The Gamblers’, THE WILDCATS
and THE HIDE AND HORN SALOON.

xxiii
A detailed description of the kind of test conducted by
Belle Starr is given in Chapter Five, I’m Counting On You Losing,
THE HIDE AND HORN SALOON.

xxiv
How the first meeting between Belle Starr and Belle ‘the
Rebel Spy’ Boyd came about is told in THE BAD BUNCH and another
occasion is described in THE QUEST FOR BOWIE’S BLADE. Other ‘guest’
and ‘starring’ appearances by the latter are listed in Footnote 8,
APPENDIX TWO.

xxv
Some further information regarding Amelia Penelope Diana
‘Benkers’ Benkinsop is given in: Footnotes 13 and 13a, APPENDIX
ONE.

xxvi
‘
Tom’: abbreviation of
tomfoolery, Cockney rhyming slang for jewelry.

xxvii
In the interests of fair play, the information supplied by
Andrew Mark ‘Big Andy’ Counter establishes that the man in question
was no longer employed by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.
Having been discharged for similar malpractices, he had retained
their identification documents, but was working for himself. Having
caught the man who stole the jewelry, he had seen how he might turn
it to extra use by giving the town marshal a reason to hold the
Englishwoman while arrangements could be made for her extradition
from Texas to New York. Therefore, he had released the actual thief
with orders to leave Austin immediately and say nothing of what
passed between them. All this was learned by Belle Starr
later.

xxviii
Told in Part Five,
Belle ‘the Rebel Spy’ Boyd in, ‘Butcher’s Fiery End,’ J. T.’S
LADIES.

xxix
Pairaivo: first, or
favorite, wife. As in the case of other Comanche names, this is a
phonetic spelling.

xxx
Nemenuh: ‘the People’,
the Comanches’ name for their nation. Frequently with good cause,
present day ethnic apologists notwithstanding, members of other
Indian races called them, Tshaoh, the Enemy People.

xxxi
A description of some
methods employed by mustangers is given in .44 CALIBER MAN and A
HORSE CALLED MOGOLLON.

xxxii
Told in
COMANCHE.

xxxiii
An example of the
Ysabel Kid’s ability to conceal his tracks is given in Part One,
‘The Half Breed’, THE HALF BREED.

xxxiv
An example of how the
Ysabel Kid turned his knowledge of wild animals and mimicry to good
use is given in Part Three, ‘A Wolf’s A Knowing Critter’, J.T.’S
HUNDREDTH.

xxxv
Some researchers claim
that the actual designer of the knife was the eldest brother of
James Bowie, Rezin Pleasant and it was made by the master cutler,
James Black, of Arkansas. Other authorities assert that it was
manufactured by Jesse Cliffe, a white blacksmith employed on the
Bowie family’s plantation in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.

As all James Black’s bowie knives were hand-made, there were
slight variations in their dimensions. The specimen owned by the
Ysabel Kid had a blade eleven and a half inches long, two and a
half inches wide and a quarter of an inch thick at the guard.
According to W.D. ‘Bo’ Randall of Randall-Made Knives, Orlando,
Florida a master cutler and authority on the subject Bowie’s knife
weighed forty-three ounces, having a blade eleven inches long, two
and a quarter inches wide and three-eighths of an inch thick. His
Model 12 ‘Smithsonian’ bowie knife is modelled upon it. One thing
all ‘bowie’ type knives have in common is a ‘clip’ point where the
last few inches of the otherwise unsharpened ‘back’ of the blade
joins and becomes an extension of the cutting edge is a concave
arc, whereas a ‘spear’ point is formed by the two sides coming
together in symmetrical curves.

What happened to James Bowie’s knife after his death in the
final assault of the besieged Alamo Mission, San Antonio de Bexar,
Texas, on March 6, 1836, is told in GET URREA and THE QUEST FOR
BOWIE’S BLADE.

xxxvi
Told in THE BLOODY
BORDER and BACK TO THE BLOODY BORDER. Other appearances by Belle
‘the Rebel Spy’ Boyd are made in: THE COLT AND THE SABER, THE REBEL
SPY, THE HOODED RIDERS, THE BAD BUNCH, SET A-FOOT, TO ARMS! TO
ARMS! IN DIXIE!, THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN, Part Eight, ‘Affair Of
Honor’, J.T.’S HUNDREDTH, THE REMITTANCE KID, THE WHIP AND THE WAR
LANCE and Part Five, ‘The Butcher’s Fiery End’, J.T.’S
LADIES.

xxxvii
Details of the
careers and special qualifications of Captain Dustine Edward
Marsden ‘Dusty’ Fog, C.S.A. and Mark Counter are given in various
volumes of the Civil War and Floating Outfit series.

xxxviii
Told in THE
YSABELKID. Our original title for this volume was DUSTY FOG, but
the substitution was made without consultation or explanation by
our first publishers.

xxxix
Details of the career
of General Jackson Baines ‘Ole Devil’ Hardin are given in the Ole
Devil Hardin series, Part Four, ‘Mr. Colt’s Revolving Cylinder
Pistol’, J.T.’S HUNDREDTH which cover his early life the Civil War
and Floating Outfit series. How he was crippled in a riding
accident is described in Part Three, ‘The Paint’, THE FASTEST GUN
IN TEXAS and his death is reported in DOC LEROY, M.D.

xl
‘Floating outfit’: a
group of from four to six cowhands employed by a large ranch to
work the more distant sections of its range. Taking food in a chuck
wagon, or ‘greasy sack’ on the back of a pack animal, they would be
away from the ranch house for several days at a time. For that
reason, they were selected from the best and most trustworthy
members of the crew. Because of the prominence of General Hardin in
the affairs of Texas, the OD Connected ranch’s floating outfit were
frequently sent to assist such of his friends who were in
difficulty or endangered.

xli
When manufacturing the
extremely popular Winchester Model of 1873, the makers selected
those having barrels found to shoot with exceptional accuracy to be
fitted with set triggers and given a special fine finish.
Originally, these were inscribed, ‘1 of 1,000’, but this was later
changed to script, “One of A Thousand’. However, the title was a
considerable understatement. Only one hundred and thirty-six out of
total production of 720, 610 rifles qualified for the distinction.
Those of a grade lower in quality were given the name, “One of A
Hundred’, but only seven were so designated. The practice commenced
in 1875 and was discontinued in 1878, allegedly because the
management decided it was not a good sales policy to suggest the
Company was producing different grades of the gun.

xlii
Told in
SIDEWINDER.

xliii
Told in HELL IN THE
PALO DURO and GO BACK TO HELL.

xliv
Told in THE QUEST FOR
BOWIE’S BLADE.

xlv
One occasion when the
life of the Kid was saved by the pocketknife is described in OLD
MOCCASINS ON THE TRAIL.

xlvi
Told in WHITE STALLION,
RED MARE.