Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Wild West Pirate

I live in land-locked Canada, the pirates here are few,
Unless you count the people who, sound ethics, they eschew.
And so I’ll tell you all of someone, though he never sailed,
When’er his gang came into sight, the population quailed.

Outside Fort Sumner, way down south, there sits a lonesome grave,
A testament to Someone who could never quite behave.
Fatherless for most his life—an orphan at fifteen,
This young man was a lot of things, and all of them were mean.

He started as a laundry thief (when first he got arrested),
He soon broke out and roamed the west. The law this boy detested,
It didn’t take six years before he brought the country grief,
He’d murdered 21 and been a gunslinger and thief.

He loved to sing, but breaking law sure was his fav’rite thing,
He seemed to thrive on violence and the chaos that it brings.
He stole cattle, he stole horses and he shot a man or ten,
Caught and sentenced, shot some more, escaping from the ‘pen’.

His crimes earned him a bounty and they finally locked him in.
Sentenced to be hanged, he was to pay for all his sins,
But once again, those jail walls, they simply didn’t hold,
Killed two deputies escaping. You know, wow! this guy was bold!

His luck ran out a short time hence, when good old Sheriff ‘Pat’,
Shot him once right through the heart and laid the boy out flat.
The celebrating started then, throughout the ‘wild west’,
Sighs of relief and happiness and gratitudes expressed.

But sadly, in the after years, this boy became a star,
The Man who finally shot him was despised both near and far.
The story’s gotten twisted and now Pat’s the nasty one,
He caught this young assassin in the dark and with a gun.
  
But now you’ve heard the story of young William McCarty?
His six-year reign as outlaw, his assassinating spree.
Cause Billy the Kid was many things. And all of them were bad...
So who really was at fault that day? The sheriff or the lad?

Our new po-e-try challenge had a fun, pirate-y theme,
For Karen and her followers, a captivating dream,
And now you've read my take on it and judged it bad or fun,
Go now to others in my 'hood' and see what they have done! 
Karen of Baking In A Tornado: Pirate Table for One Dawn of Spatulas On Parade: Argh Matey
Lydia of Cluttered Genius: A Pirate’s Booty

21 comments:

  1. Ah, the stuff of legends. Well told pirate story from a land locked lass!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Controversial legends as it works out! We have a pond... Does that count?

      Delete
  2. So interesting. Must read more about him. I'd say Billy the Kid was the villain here, seeing as he killed so many. Strange how tales get twisted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This one sure did. Sheriff Pat Garrett was vilanized in a novel and that's all it took. The story just reversed itself! I definitely think young Billy was the bad guy. No one can wallow in the mire as he did and come out smelling of roses. So to speak...

      Delete
  3. Here in Australia our villian turned hero is Ned Kelly. NOT a nice or a good man.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! I just went and read about your Ned Kelly. And I agree!

      Delete
  4. Legends both good and bad, not sure he ever had a chance. Well done lassie.
    Spatulas On Parade

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. His dad was never around and he was orphaned pretty young. We could probably make a good case of absent parents?

      Delete
  5. Some claim he actually killed no one and staged his own death so he could go live in peace after gaining such a reputation. How he would have done that i have no clue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought it was Jesse James who staged his death and rode off into the wilderness to live in peace.

      Delete
    2. Huh. I never heard that. Now I have to go read some more... :)

      Delete
  6. I just love this and your poetic skills. One of my favorite monthly reads!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks sure can be deceiving . . . Billy doesn't look like he could find his way out of a wet paper bag! It's just not right that a criminal can gain such positive fame -- and it still happens today, complete with a book all about it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, so true. You just need a talented writer (or orator) and you can swing nations and completely obliterate facts!

      Delete
  8. Great poem. Given Billy the Kid's reputation, I'd say Sherriff Pat did the right thing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good poem, Diane. Unfortunately, bad dudes tend to make history.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep. The quiet ones are 'quietly' keeping all the wheels on the bus turning!

      Delete

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