I sat in the saloon of the late 1800’s historic St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico. This was, and is, cowboy country where the “Wildest of the West” hooted it up. My image was reflected back to me from the large mirror behind the bar. I asked myself, did I feel nostalgia for the Wild West
I looked up at the beautiful pressed tin ceiling desiccated by 21 bullet holes. The famous bad boy outlaws of the west put those holes up there.
The Wildest of the Wild
Billy the Kid, was the wildest of them all. He was just 19 when he died. His reputation outlives him to this day. There were others: Kit Carson the Indian fighter, Bat Masterson, Clay Allison, Jesse James, Doc Holliday, Blackjack Ketchum and Annie Oakley the sharp shooter.
It is Sunday morning in Cimarron. Here’s the conversation over newspaper, coffee and hot cakes: “Dear, I wonder who got killed in the St. James last night.” Twenty-eight killings took place in the St. James during Cimarron’s outlaw days. The ghosts of the wild ones are still said to prowl the halls and hang out in the guests’ rooms.
Myth Formation
But do we really want to celebrate this part of our history? Why was wanton killing and hooting it up worthy of myth formation? Have we contorted our violent history and replaced it with nostalgia for New Mexico’s wild west.
As a little girl, I dressed up in cowboy boots and had a cap gun stuck into my belt. My finger was often on the trigger. I looked forward to Saturday afternoons and hoped the double feature at the local movie theater would include both Roy Rogers and Gene Autry films. Dale Evans was an idol. We played cowboys and Indians, and the cowboys always won. That was long ago in my childhood.
The Role of Guns today
Nevertheless, a love of guns persists today whether it is fostered by childhood fantasy play or long held beliefs about the need for protection. Let’s look carefully at the bullet holes in the ceiling of the St. James Hotel and consider what the role of guns should be in our culture today.
