|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2
Campfire Oracle
|
OP
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2 |
Just found this. I've read it a few times many years ago. My copy got ruined when my apartment flooded. Anyway, it's a very good read. https://archive.org/stream/Hell_I_W...There_Elemer_Keith_Autobigraphy_djvu.txtHere is one of my favorite passages from Elmer Keith talking about his childhood. It gives me a good laugh every time. One evening Si and I had herded the
cattle through town, put them in the stock-
yard, and we had just shut the gate when a
big Negro came running towards us. He
scared us. My brother could run like the
wind, and I never could run good, so Si soon
left me. Well, the big black man kept right
after me. I seen that I couldn't outrun him,
and I had a slingshot in my hip pocket with
some good dime rubbers I'd bought at the
drugstore. In another pocket I had a bunch of
.36 caliber Colt round balls. To get them, we
had dug the babbitt metal out of the boxes on
the axles of the Santa Fe freight cars and run
it in this old .36 Colt mold.
Those .36 Colt round ball molds made very
good ammunition for the slingshot. One day I
killed three cottontails and a quail with this
outfit. Seeing that the man was going to catch
me, I jerked the slingshot out of my pocket,
unwound it and put a bunch of .36 balls in
my mouth, put one in the bed and just as I
figured he was going to get me, I whirled
around, pulled it to my ear and let him have
it, right in the face.
I saw his two front upper teeth go. They
clicked quite loud. He grabbed his face with
both hands hollering, "Oh, lawdy" and stag-
gered around behind a spring wagon.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 21,694
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 21,694 |
Sorta gave me a chuckle too.
"The number one problem with America is, a whole lot of people need shot, and nobody is shooting them."
-Master Chief Hershel Davis
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,522
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,522 |
Fun. Thanks for the link.
Ernie
George Washington - �Labour to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire,�conscience.�
God save the Republic
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2
Campfire Oracle
|
|
OP
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2 |
It's worth bookmarking.
Interesting fact,...Elmer Keith's family is from Cynthiana, Kentucky.
I was born at Hardin, Ray County, Mis-
souri, March the 8th, 1899, the son of
Forrest Everett and Linnie Neal Keith.
Mother was a Merrifield and her mother
was a descendant from Benjamin Merrill, who
started the first revolution against the British
four years before the American Revolution.
His small army was crushed by the British.
He was captured, hung, and drawn-and-quar-
tered on the scaffold. My Grandmother Keith
was Druzilla Ann Cummins before her mar-
riage to Silas Keith in Cynthiana, Kentucky
in 1850.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,508
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,508 |
I know what ill be doing this weekend. Thanks
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2
Campfire Oracle
|
|
OP
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2 |
Also, I just noticed that if you click "see other formats" in the upper left of the page, the book appears as photo copies of the original.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,875
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,875 |
What do you reckon an autographed copy #396 out 500 is worth? I've got one and have never read it.
Last edited by 257Deland; 09/12/14.
Retired and Loving It!!
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2
Campfire Oracle
|
|
OP
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2 |
I have no idea, but I'd say a lot of people would want to buy it.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 6,882 Likes: 1
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 6,882 Likes: 1 |
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 33,856
Campfire 'Bwana
|
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 33,856 |
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time by the blood of patriots and tyrants.
If being stupid allows me to believe in Him, I'd wish to be a retard. Eisenhower and G Washington should be good company.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2
Campfire Oracle
|
|
OP
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2 |
I've sat here and read the evening away.
I started thinking about how my copy of the book got ruined in that little flood episode when I lived in the apartment,...then I started thinking about what year it was that I lived in the apartment,..and realized that it was 19 years ago.
I'm enjoying reading it again,...even though I've been through it several times.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,571 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,571 Likes: 1 |
I picked up this autographed copy at a gun show in Kalispell for $35.00... ![[Linked Image]](http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee202/bridgershooters/gun%20related%20items%20and%20articles/IMG_4052_zps0f751db3.jpg)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 19,009
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 19,009 |
Thanks, snagged kindle version
Dave
�The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it.� Lou Holtz
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,725 Likes: 2
Campfire 'Bwana
|
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,725 Likes: 2 |
I have no use for the blowhard. I'll give him the shrewd businessman wink though.
Conduct is the best proof of character.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2
Campfire Oracle
|
|
OP
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2 |
I have no use for the blowhard. I'll give him the shrewd businessman wink though. Well,...I can understand why some people look at his writing and think that. But, it was written by an 80 year old man relating a life that was lived in a different era. It wouldn't be a very entertaining book if it had been written by somebody who was humble. In fact, an unassuming fellow wouldn't have lived Elmer Keith's life. It's unrealistic to expect somebody who has lived that life to write about it in an unassuming manner.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 13,380 Likes: 2
Campfire Outfitter
|
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 13,380 Likes: 2 |
I know an older man who lives near Boise. He was a friend of Elmer Keith when he lived in Salmon. He fished and hunted with Keith, plus was an assiduous gun collector.
He told me that Keith was as good shot as he wrote about in his books and Guns & Ammo Magazine columns.
L.W.
"Always go straight forward, and if you meet the devil, cut him in two and go between the pieces." (William Sturgis, clipper ship captain, 1830s.)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2
Campfire Oracle
|
|
OP
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 79,321 Likes: 2 |
I got a good laugh out of this, too.
One fall day I rode down to Winston to get
the mail and was over at Valentine's saloon
talking to some of the neighbors when Bert
Lanning's mule came in to town, kicking and
bucking for all he was worth. Con Sweeney
and Tom Miles jumped their saddle horses
and roped the mule. They threw the mule
and stretched her out.
The saddle was under her belly, but part of
the sack went back up to the top of her back.
There was something moving in the sack. I
couldn't figure what it was so I pulled the .45
out and put two slugs through the sack just so
it could clear the mule's belly. They hit the
hard ground and howled away. That limbered
up whatever was in the sack. So I undid the
cinches, got the saddle off, and bless Moses,
there was a bunch of long black claws hooked
right around the mule's back. I took my knife,
cut the sack open, and there was a big old
golden eagle he had in there. I cut the eagle's
leg off at the joint, but I still couldn't get the
claws out. One of the boys came out of Valen-
tine's saloon with a pair of pliers and we got
hold of the heads of the cords and retracted
the claws and got the foot clear of the mule's
back. Ross Degan came out then with a bottle
of moonshine, poured that on the mule's back
and she sure did bray. We tied the mule up
and went back in the saloon.
About an hour later Bert Lanning came
limping in. His whole backside was frosted
with prickly pear. He had a tale of woe. He'd
caught this eagle in a trap and he had it sold
for $25 to the zoo, so he put it in a sack and
tied it on behind the saddle. Then the eagle
worked one foot around, got a-hold of the
mule's back, and all hell broke loose. She
bucked Bert off in a pile of prickly pear, and
took off. We laid Bert on the pool table, got
his pants down, and the boys picked the
prickly pear spines out with pliers. They barb
like a porcupine quill, and are very painful.
When we got Bert's backside pretty well
cleaned out, Ross Degan came around with a
bottle of moonshine and doused him with
that. Poor old Bert just about went through
the roof. He was certainly mad. He says,
"Keith goes and shoots my eagle, I get bucked
off in the prickly pear, and then, Degan, you
damn fool, you pour whiskey on it."
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 29,348
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 29,348 |
A sip of trivia for what it may be worth to anybody �
The word Hell in the title of his book was his editor's insertion (to make the title "saltier").
It infuriated salty old cowboy Elmer, who carefully eschewed salty language that ladies and children could hear or read. He considered it unfit for public expression. He didn't even use "bad words" that Lorraine might hear him say.
And of course he didn't see that insertion until after the book was published.
� the only thing that I ever heard that quiet old man rant about.
"Good enough" isn't.
Always take your responsibilities seriously but never yourself.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,909 Likes: 2
Campfire 'Bwana
|
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,909 Likes: 2 |
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 21,694
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 21,694 |
A sip of trivia for what it may be worth to anybody �
The word Hell in the title of his book was his editor's insertion (to make the title "saltier").
It infuriated salty old cowboy Elmer, who carefully eschewed salty language that ladies and children could hear or read. He considered it unfit for public expression. He didn't even use "bad words" that Lorraine might hear him say.
And of course he didn't see that insertion until after the book was published.
� the only thing that I ever heard that quiet old man rant about. Thanks, Ken. I appreciate you taking time to make that post. Hope all is well up your way.
"The number one problem with America is, a whole lot of people need shot, and nobody is shooting them."
-Master Chief Hershel Davis
|
|
|
|
|
511 members (12344mag, 2500HD, 1Longbow, 204guy, 257Bob, 25classic, 60 invisible),
2,674
guests, and
1,295
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,192,295
Posts18,487,010
Members73,967
| |
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/G9RDVKXr/DSCN4329.jpg)
