Texas Killers (19 page)

2.
While working on the manuscript, the author has discovered that
curare
relaxes the “end plates” between the nerves and muscles, preventing the heart and lungs functioning thereby causing death by asphyxiation. So he assumes some form of strychnine—most varieties of which produce convulsions and stiffening of the muscles—was the basis of Beguinage's poison.—
J.T.E.

1.
In 1854, an Englishman, Sir George Gore, hired the famous mountain man, Jim Bridger, as his guide and had a retinue of around fifty men. During 1871–72, Grand Duke Alexis hunted with an escort headed by Generals Philip H. Sheridan and George Armstrong Custer, with William F. (Buffalo Bill) Cody as his chief guide.—
J.T.E.

2.
The
Britschka
originated in Poland and was introduced into Britain in the early 1820's, finding favor because of its carrying capacity and comfort.—
J.T.E.

1.
Told in:
SET A-FOOT.
J.T.E.

1.
Neither “Cap” Fog nor Miss Amelia P. D. Benkinsop,
M.A., B.SC.
(Oxon), George Medal, Honorary Member, Holloway Old Girls' Association—see Chapter Eleven, Footnote One—with whom the author also consulted, could find any record of “Beguinage's” real name. Incidentally, according to the researches of fictionist-genealogist Philip José Farmer—author of the biographical works
TARZAN ALIVE
and
DOC SAVAGE,
His Apocalyptic Life
—no matter who her father might be, the eldest girl of each succeeding generation retained the name Amelia Penelope Diana Benkinsop.—
J.T.E.

2.
The Beguine order, which originated in the Netherlands during the Twelfth Century, is devoted to a religious life, but not bound by irrevocable vows.—
J.T.E.

3.
The incident is told in:
THE BAD BUNCH.
—
J.T.E.

1.
Told in:
YOU'RE IN COMMAND NOW, MR. FOG.

2.
Told in:
THE BIG GUN; UNDER THE STARS AND BARS; THE FASTEST GUN IN TEXAS
and
KILL DUSTY FOG
!

3.
Told in:
THE DEVIL GUN.

4.
Further details of Belle Boyd's career are given in:
THE HOODED RIDERS; THE BAD BUNCH; TO ARMS, TO ARMS IN DIXIE!; THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN; THE REMITTANCE KID
and
THE WHIP AND THE WAR LANCE.

5.
Told in:
THE COLT, THE SABRE
and
THE REBEL SPY.

6.
Told in the “The Paint” episode of
THE FASTEST GUN IN TEXAS.

7.
Told in:
THE YSABEL KID.

8.
Told in: .44
CALIBER MAN
and
A HORSE CALLED MOGOLLON.

9.
Told in:
GOODNIGHT'S DREAM
(Bantam edition title
THE FLOATING OUTFIT
) and
FROM HIDE AND HORN.

10.
Told in:
SET TEXAS BACK ON HER FEET
and
THE HIDE AND TALLOW MEN.

11.
Told in:
TRAIL BOSS.

12.
Told in:
THE MAN FROM TEXAS.

13.
Told in:
QUIET TOWN; THE MAKING OF A LAWMAN; THE TROUBLE BUSTERS; THE SMALL TEXAN
and
THE TOWN TAMERS.

14.
Told in:
GUN WIZARD.

15.
Their grandson, Alvin Dustine “Cap” Fog became the finest combat pistol shot of his generation and the youngest man ever to become a captain in the Texas Rangers, see: “
CAP” FOG, TEXAS RANGER, MEET MR. J.G. REEDER
and “
CAP” FOG, COMPANY “Z.”

16.
Although the military sometimes claimed derisively that it was easier to kill a sailor than a soldier, the weight factor of the respective weapons had caused the United States' Navy to adopt a revolver of .36 caliber while the Army employed one of .44. The weapon would be carried on a seaman's belt and not—handguns having originally and primarily been developed for use by cavalry—on the person or saddle of a man who would be doing most of his travelling on the back of a horse. Therefore, .44 became known as the “Army” caliber and .36 as the “Navy.”

17.
Introduced in 1873 as the Colt Model P “Single Action Army” revolver, but more generally referred to as the “Peacemaker,” production was continued until 1941 when it was taken out of the line to make way for more modern weapons required for World War II. Over
three hundred and fifty thousand
were manufactured in practically every handgun caliber—with the exception of the .41 and .44 Magnums, which were not developed during the production period—from .22 Short rimfire to .476 Eley. However, the majority fired either .45 or .44.40; the latter allowing the same ammunition to be used in the Winchester Model of 1873 rifle.
     The barrel lengths were from three inches in the “Storekeeper” Model, which did not have an extractor rod, to the sixteen inches of the so-called “Buntline Special.” The latter was offered with an attachable metal skeleton butt stock so it could be used as a carbine. The main barrel lengths were: Cavalry, seven and a half inches; Artillery, five and a half inches; Civilian, four and three-quarter inches.
     Popular demand, said to have been caused by the upsurge of action-escapism-adventure Western series on television, brought the Peacemaker back into production in 1955 and it is still in the line.

18.
“Tommy Okasi” is an Americanized corruption of the name he gave when picked up from a derelict vessel in the China Sea by a ship under the command of General Hardin's father, but no record of the actual Japanese name exists.

19.
When asked by the author at Fort Worth, Texas, in 1975, why a trained
Samaurai
was compelled to flee from his homeland, Alvin Dustine “Cap” Fog said that, because of the circumstances and the high social standing of the people involved—all of whom have descendants holding positions of importance and influence in Japan at the time of writing—that the Hardin, Fog and Blaze clan consider it is inadvisable even at this late date to make the facts public. Details of how Tommy made use of his
Samaurai
training are given in the “Ole Devil Hardin” series, which also covers much of the General's early life.

20.
As is told in:
KILL DUSTY FOG!; THE BAD BUNCH; MCGRAW' S INHERITANCE; THE RIO HONDO WAR
and
GUNSMOKE THUNDER
, General Hardin's granddaughter, Betty, was also given instruction in
ju jitsu
and
karate
by Tommy Okasi and gained considerable proficiency.

1.
One occasion is described in:
THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN
.

2.
One incident is told in:
BEGUINAGE.

3.
Told in:
THE YSABEL KID.

4.
“Floating outfit”: a group of four to six cowhands employed by a large ranch to work the more distant sections of the property. Taking food in a chuck wagon, or “greasy sack” on the back of a mule, they would be away from the ranch house for long periods. Because of General Jackson Baines “Ole Devil” Hardin's prominence in the affairs of Texas, the OD Connected's floating outfit were frequently sent to assist his friends who found themselves in trouble or endangered.

5.
“Right bower”: second highest trump card in the game of euchre.

6.
Mark's main meetings with Miss Martha Jane Canary are told in:
TROUBLED RANGE; THE WILDCATS
and
THE FORTUNE HUNTERS.

7.
Books in which Martha Jane Canary takes a leading role are:
COLD DECK, HOT LEAD; CALAMITY SPELLS TROUBLE; TROUBLE TRAIL; THE COW THIEVES; WHITE STALLION, RED MARE
(co-starring the Ysabel Kid);
THE BIG HUNT
(in which Mark Counter makes a guest appearance);
THE WHIP AND THE WAR LANCE
(co-starring Belle Boyd).

8.
How Mark's romance with Belle Starr commenced, progressed and ended is recorded in “The Bounty On Belle Starr's Scalp” episode of
TROUBLED RANGE; RANGELAND HERCULES
; the “The Lady Known As Belle” episode of
THE HARD RIDERS
and
GUNS IN THE NIGHT.
She also appears in
HELL IN THE PALO DURO
and
GO BACK TO HELL,
assisting Dusty Fog, the Ysabel Kid and Waco and in
THE BAD BUNCH
and
THE QUEST FOR BOWIE'S BLADE.

9.
Two of Mark's great-grandchildren, Deputy Sheriff Bradford Counter and James Allenvale “Bunduki” Gunn, achieved considerable fame on their own behalf. Details of the former's career as a peace officer are given in the Rockabye County series covering various aspects of modern law enforcement in Texas and the latter's life story is recorded in the Bunduki series.

10.
The first meeting is described in:
GOODNIGHT'S DREAM
and
FROM HIDE AND HORN.

1.
Pairaivo:
first or favorite wife. As the case of the other Comanche names, this is a phonetic spelling.

2.
Nemenuh
: “The People,” the Comanches' name for their nation. Members of the other Indian races with whom they came into contact called them the “
Tshaoh
,” the “Enemy People.”

3.
Told in:
COMANCHE.

4.
An example of the Ysabel Kid's ability to conceal his tracks is given in the “The Half Breed” episode of
THE HALF BREED.

5.
Some researchers claim that the actual designer of the knife was James Bowie's eldest brother, Rezin Pleasant. It was made by the master cutler, James Black, of Arkansas. (A few authorities state it was manufactured by Jesse Cliffe, a white blacksmith employed on the Bowie family's plantation in Rapides Parish Louisiana).

6.
As all James Black's, q.v., bowie knives were hand-made, there were 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. One thing they all had in common was a “clip” point, where the last few inches on the back of the blade joins the main cutting surface in a concave arc to become an extension of it.

7.
What happened to James Bowie's knife after his death during the final assault at the siege of the Alamo Mission, San Antonio de Bexar, Texas, on 6th March, 1836, is told in:
GET URREA
and
THE QUEST FOR BOWIE' S BLADE.

8.
Told in:
THE BLOODY BORDER
and
BACK TO THE BLOODY BORDER.

9.
Told in:
THE YSABEL KID.

10.
Told in:
GUN WIZARD.

11.
Told in:
SIDEWINDER.

12.
Told in:
HELL IN THE PALO DURO
and
GO BACK TO HELL.

1.
How Waco repaid his obligation to Sunshine Sam Catlin, his adoptive father, is told in:
WACO'S DEBT.

2.
Told in:
TRIGGER FAST.

3.
Told in:
THE MAKING OF A LAWMAN
and
THE TROUBLE BUSTERS.

4.
Early examples of Waco's ability as a peace officer are given in the “The Hired Butcher” episode of
THE HARD RIDERS
; the “A Tolerable Straight Shooting Gun” episode of
THE FLOATING OUTFIT.
(Corgi Books' edition title);
THE SMALL TEXAN
and
THE TOWN TAMERS.

5.
Told in:
SAGEBRUSH SLEUTH; ARIZONA RANGER
and
WACO RIDES IN.

6.
Told in:
THE DRIFTER
and, by inference,
DOC LEROY, MD.

7.
Told in:
HOUND DOG MAN.