Since I cant be there this weekend, Ill share my latest cowboy poem. If youre curious about the story as I hesitate to share the photo, check executedtoday/2010/04/26/1901-black-jack-tom-ketchum-clayton-hanging/ : Black Jack Loses His Head. Blackjack Ketchum was born just plain mean His mama said his soul was as dark as could be He’d pull the wings off a butterfly Just to laugh and watch it die And even though he was young and green He left home and hit the road at age fourteen. This kid became an outlaw with a knack for robbin’ banks With his brand of meanness he rose quickly through the ranks. Shoot first ask questions later Was the motto of this traitor Victims left alive to their mighty God gave thanks Sometimes, just for meanness, Black Jack would fire blanks. But then he crossed a sheriff who didn’t take kindly to ol’ Jack A shootin’ up his town and lookin’ for safes to crack. Truth was Sheriff Jake was holdin’ a grudge And on his opinions he wouldn’t budge So the writin’ was on the wall for the outlaw called Black Jack Cause Sheriff Jake was next to none when it came to following track. One day this sheriff caught a thief a stealin’ a lady’s purse But what really offended folks was him a spewin’ out a curse He knew he’d gone too far And should a’ stayed in the bar For she was the parson’s wife, she read him chapter and verse But sittin in jail the thief had an idea to keep things from gettin’ worse. Sheriff Jake was quite surprised at information the sneak thief had And the deal made with the outlaw most folks thought was real bad The thief would take ‘em to Black Jack’s camp For a steak dinner and a pardon with an official stamp. A posse was raised and told to bring all the ammo they had They came, one and all, right up to the oldest granddad. Just as the sun went down, the thief led the posse out And when they saw campfire smoke, there was not a doubt. Sheriff Jake held up his hand to tell the posse to stay put He would go alone and approach the camp on foot Avoiding dry grass and branches scattered about He quietly moved ahead just like an Indian scout. Earlier that day, in the conversation over a juicy steak An important bit of information was told to Sheriff Jake And it came to him as he looked down And happened to see a bit of brown He’d found somethin’ sure to give Black Jack the quakes Because that tough outlaw was terrified of snakes. As quick as lightnin Jake grabbed the wedge shaped head Of a scary critter most folks would rather see dead Grasping the tail quieted down the rattle Sheriff Jake squeezed the snake, ready to battle. Moving forward through the brush, he carefully tread A little bit nervous, and with a little bit of dread. Getting up real close, Jake let loose the rattler’s tail In the firelight he could see the men’s faces go pale Jake slung the snake toward Black Jack, The posse moved in when it hit the outlaw’s back. They musta thought it was the devil himself, the way those outlaws wailed And in the chaos any attempt to escape completely and thoroughly failed. The trial was short, the expected sentence was read Black Jack Ketchum would be hanged until he was dead. But the hangman miscalculated And the outlaw was decapitated Nobody’d quite believe what the photographer said That the corpse lay out on the ground - minus the head. But ol’ Jack’s head was there, it was severed at the stem So it was in pieces they buried the man condemned. The sheriff’s badge would be nothing but rust And the hangman’s noose nothin’ but dust Before the law’d dare to hang anybody again Such is the legacy of the outlaw we know as Black Jack Ketchum.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 21:09:55 +0000
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