Triggernometry: A Gallery of Gunfighters : With Technical Notes on Leather Slapping As a Fine Art, Gathered from Many a Loose Holstered Expert over the Years

by Cunningham, Eugene

• ISBN13: 9780806128375
• ISBN10: 0806128372
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-01-01
• Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr

Summary

In this now classic volume, Eugene Cunningham collects--in his "gallery" --biographies of nearly a score of master gunfighters, including such notables as John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kid, Dallas Stoudenmire, Sam Bass, Wild Bill Hickok, Butch Cassidy, and Tom Horn. Himself a Westerner familiar with the feel of pistol and rifle, Cunningham knew firsthand several of the Texas gunfighters featured in his book, the product of more than thirty-five years of research, interviews, and writing. Cunningham examines the evidence and breaks down the myths surrounding the exploits of Wild Bill Hickok, for example, preferring instead to find the living, breathing human behind the legend. His final chapter, "Triggernometry," remains a fascinating discussion of the gunfighters' expertise with the fast draw, the "road-agent's spin," pistol fanning, the "border shift," "rolling" and "pinwheeling," and the use of various holsters and harnesses. This new edition includes an extensive introduction and updated bibliography by Joseph G. Rosa. Discussing in detail the types of pistols used by the gunfighters, their speed and accuracy in gunfights, and the qualities of a deadly gunfighter, Rosa also provides new information on many of the more prominent gunfighters in Cunningham's gallery.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	xi
Foreword	xiii
Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Introduction	xv
Joseph G. Rosa
Preface	xxxiii
The Gunman	1	(440)
Breed of the Border	12	(26)
Bill Longley
Forty Notches	38	(28)
John Wesley Hardin
One Night in San Anton	66	(24)
Ben Thompson
Tombstone's Deputy	90	(39)
``Billy'' Breakenridge
Sure-Thing Killer	129	(42)
Billy the Kid
Two-Gun Marshal	171	(18)
Dallas Stoudenmire
Behind the Star	189	(14)
``Jim'' Gillett
The ``Hammer Thumb''	203	(15)
Long-haired Jim Courtright
``Bayard of the Chaparral''	218	(18)
Ranger Captain John R. Hughes
The Little Wolf	236	(13)
Bass Outlaw
``The Magnificent''	249	(25)
Wild Bill Hickok
``He was Born in Indiana---''	274	(24)
Sam Bass
Sheriff of Cochise	298	(17)
John Slaughter
``Rush one Ranger!''	315	(17)
Captain Bill McDonald
Boss of the Wild Bunch	332	(18)
Butch Cassidy
``Railroaded''?---	350	(39)
Tom Horn
One Man Army Corps	389	(25)
General Lee Christmas
Triggernometry	414	(27)
Random Testimony of the Experts. With Criticisms and Comparisons, Hoglegs and Homicides, Diagrams and Disagreements
Bibliography	441
Joseph G. Rosa