It’s my belief that all of the greatest tales ever told have been told in saloons. It was in such smoky, heathen-filled den of iniquity that I first heard the tale of the Bone Feud. As with all great tales, it was at its core one hundred percent true. In fact, much of it has long been a matter of historical record. But tales grow in the telling, and I therefore must apologize in advance for any inaccuracies, and beg your indulgence for any romanticized embellishments. I have decided to present the story here, just as it was told to me. I find it entirely too rich and too entertaining to alter, simply to curry favor with pedants and historians. .Wynne McLaughlin
About This Quote
The Bone Feud began when two brothers, named Archibald and Ralph, gave chase to a coyote in the woods. The coyote was quite fast and it seemed to be getting away. The brothers chased the coyote through the woods and into the town of Jacksboro. The coyote ran down an alley that led to an old abandoned saloon.
The two brothers followed, then crashed through the saloon’s front door. Inside they found a ruffian known as Lloyd Jay Lloyd seated at a table, talking with another man named John Wesley Hardin. The three men at the table were startled by the sudden intrusion, but they quickly regained their composure and put on their best poker faces, while Lloyd gave orders for everyone to get out of his way. When he was satisfied that he had bought enough time, he stood up from his seat, drew his gun, aimed it at his pursuers, and shouted "You boys wanna play for money?" "Yes!" answered Archibald eagerly.
"Let's have us some fun!" So saying, he hurled himself at Lloyd Jay Lloyd in a wild frenzy of bloodlust. As he did so, he managed to break the gun in two with his bare hands. John Wesley Hardin turned to Archibald with an evil grin on his face and said "See there? These are just peashooters! You'd better be careful or you'll get shot!" Archibald then realized how foolishly he had acted.
He stopped dead in his tracks and hung his head in shame just as Ralph turned to shoot Lloyd Jay Lloyd also. Only then did he hear what John Wesley Hardin had said about peashooters. He looked at him with such horror that John Wesley Hardin burst out laughing. It was like that each time my friend Charlie would try to teach me how to play poker sometime during our long friendship.
He would start by telling me my hand was very good and then end up showing me how I was cheating by using my cards like a pair of tweezers trying to pick out a single ace from underneath all of them like an insect trapped under a microscope with only its head poking out. That's when my friend started telling me about all of my numerous hands; four of a kind, full house, flush and straight flush running kings through tens all across the board in spades followed by kings in hearts in clubs in diamonds in hearts in diamonds in spades followed
Source: The Bone Feud
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