Herewith, an Englishman’s account of life and death in the West. As a reporter for the London Times, he writes his colorful and unusual accounts. But as a man with a gun, he lives and becomes a part of the violent years in the new territories”.

In a card game aces and eights are known throughout the west as a dead man’s hand. There’s a good reason for it and this is a story of how the hand got its name.