The intimate papers of Colonel House arranged as a narrative by Charles Seymour.

22 INTIMATE PAPERS OF COLONEL HOUSE

can't a man go to dinner in New York without a collar?"
Paine did not press the matter further and Captain Bill went
to the Club just as he was, much to the amusement of everybody there.
'In my early boyhood I knew many of the Bill McDonald
type, although he was perhaps the flower of them all. I knew
personally many of the famous desperadoes, men who had
killed so many that they had almost ceased to count their
victims....
'There were two types of so-called "killers" - one that
murdered simply for the pure love of it, and others that
killed because it was in their way of duty. Bill McDonald
belonged to this latter class. So also did Blue-eyed Captain
McKinney of the Rangers, whom I knew in my ranching
days in southwest Texas.
'McKinney was finally ambushed and killed, as almost
every sheriff of La Salle County was killed during that particular period. Whenever I went to our ranch, I was never
certain that I would return home alive. Feuds were always
going on, and in some of these our ranch was more or less
involved.'
Fort Bend and Brazoria Counties, where the elder House's
plantation lay, seemed to be the breeding-place for bad men.
'They were different from the ordinary desperado, and
only killed upon insult or fancied insult. Duels were frequently fought on the plantation and were always deadly. I
recall two in particular. George Tarver's brother and his
room-mate had some slight quarrel concerning the bed they
occupied in common. I think the room-mate put his muddy
boots on the bedspread. " Here, you can't put those boots on
the bed," said George's brother. " I can if I choose," was the
reply. There was only one possible outcome to the debate.
They went out, stood back to back, counted aloud, walking