Harmony Times

Harmony Times

    It's a tough life living in an American frontier town like Harmony in the 1800's. Me? I'm a newspaper man working for The Tally Ho, but when the shooting starts I try to keep me' head down, as do most of the folks around here.

  The Judge runs the town, and as long as you toe the line, then the Judge will look after you. He runs Harmony with a rod of iron, and there's his "boys" who enforce the Judges rules. In fact when it comes the Judges ruling in Court, he puts me in mind of that other self appointed Judge, Judge Roy Bean who had a thing for that actress Lilly Langtry. Because there are pictures of Miss Langtry on the walls of the Silver Dollar saloon here in Harmony, along with numerous "Wanted Posters" for Belle & Sam Starr, and Bill Nixon for example. Together with photographs of William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, and Annie Oakley which also adorn the walls of the saloon.

    Another of the Judges men is the Kid, fastest on the draw the Judge has ever seen. The Kid has a thing for Cathy, one of the Saloon girls, and doesn't like anyone to get close to her. Will, a local Rancher found that out quick enough. He was having a good time with Cathy in the Saloon, buying her drinks and fooling around. It was all innocent fun, but the Kid didn't see the innocent side, and gunned Will down in the Saloon. Of course the Sheriff couldn't do anything, as Will had drawn first, and witnesses said as much.

   No-one knows who this man with no name is, a drifter on the Plain, a high Plains drifter you could say! He was brought off the Plain and into town on the back of a horse by the "Judges Boys." He took some persuasion on the Judge's part, to make the stranger see that the wisest thing to do was to stay in town. But he couldn't leave town even if he wanted too. The Judges Boys would see to that! And the Sheriff also took some persuading to "Get some guns on!" But even without guns, this man with no name can sure handle himself, Zeke who also doesn't carry a gun, but then he doesn't need to, came off the worst in a fist fight with the new Sheriff, as did others of the Judge's boys.

   And then when the Sheriff did put his gun on, well the body count soon rose. The Kid was first in a gunfight, right out there in the street. The Kid was fast on the draw, but the Sheriff was quicker. And then in the Silver Dollar Saloon there was the Sheriff up against three of the Judges boys who were no match at all.

   Yep, Harmony is a quiet enough town where the most exciting thing the towns folk have to look forward to is a visit by the Bishop. No doubt you've seen the posters  proclaiming that The Bishop Is Coming. Mind you, there's also the exhibition as well. That should be here any time soon, the exhibition of the Real Joaquin. Folks should pay top dollar to go and see that exhibition!

    Well really all folks around these parts have gotta do is let the Judge take care of them. Then they'll be alright. But  if you don't like our town, take against it and the Judge.... well there's always Boot Hill! That's where we buried Johnson, Cathy Johnson's brother. Then there was Will, Jim, the Kid and Cathy, although the Sheriff buried her himself, together with three of the Judge's "boys." Quiet town did I say? Well it was till the man with no name was brought into town. Then things really livened up around here!

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