The Sudden Death of Alice James

Spoken Statement from Andre Scout

22^nd February 1867

Transcribed to text by Sheriff Peter Frances.

It wasn’t unusual for me to me found in a bar surrounded by girls.  True, they may have already been there, and true again, they may not be there for me, but regardless, it was never unusual.  Yeah there were some unusual events that occurred but you don't need to know about that.
What you do need to know is that it was a cold night, and I needed to get warm.  Without an open fire and a sure lack of company I went to the warmest thought I knew: a bottle of bourbon and few shots of brandy.    I’m a drinking man, but you could say that night I was practicing on the hard stuff.  I wasn’t inexperienced but I certainly didn’t know the ropes, how was I to know that I was going to act that way? You should be arresting that bar tender that poured the poison, not the man who drank it.  Something Fixby was his name, dirty bastard, never washes.  Piece of shit, you’d know him if you saw him.
So as I was saying I was minding my own business, leering who I wanted to leer at, drinking what I wanted to drink.  It was a usual night, if not a cold one.  You remember, right?
As I was saying, I had to get warm so I sunk the bourbon down with such a gulp I felt my insides were popping, my mouth was in shock from the heat.  Normally I’d protest but this wasn’t a normal night.
A bunch of boys who I’d known through acquaintances were having a game of cards and I was feeling lucky, you could say it was the booze that made me feel that way, and I could say you could have been right but we’ll never know.  Texas Hold’em isn’t really my game, I like Black Jack, you know where you are with Black Jack, there’s more room to breathe.  Texas Hold’em, well that’s all about chance isn’t it? You don’t know what those cards are going to be.  Yeah you could say that same with Black Jack, but unless you’re around that table you’ll never know.
Next thing I know I was being thrown off the table, I had some chips left in my pocket, and I didn’t wake up with any bruises so all I can think is that I said the wrong thing to the wrong man.  You never know when a man will be offended after a few drinks.
I saw a few men playing a game of pool, and I’m infamous for my talents with the pool cue.  I wouldn’t say I’m a shark, because a shark acts like he never knew to play, but I always start high.  The chips I had left I put them on the table and I challenged anyone, any hillbilly there to take my chips off me.  As you might expect not one of them could, and for some darn reason I was being dragged away from the table, again.  I’ll tell you one thing right now Sheriff, after a few drinks everyone’s your enemy.  There ain’t no two ways about it.
So without knowing if I’d offended anyone I took my winnings and I left.  The woman they weren’t too impressed with me there so I got bored.  Anyway, I left Denny’s and I went to that girl parlour down Hudson instead,  for Heaven’s I couldn’t remember the name but it had that chalk sign out front, the one that read ‘Girls! Girls! Girls!’ I was welcomed there before so I thought I’d go again.  So I went in and through those wooden saloon doors they had, and it was paradise.  I’d had a few drinks by this point too as I remember.  And I can only tell you that much because that’s when I started having black outs.  I used some of them winnings I got and I bought Sonia’s time, she’s the pretty exotic one with brown skin, those dark lust filled eyes.  She could be looking at you with disgust and you’d still give her all your money, God damn! 
It’s funny that I say that too because I was broke not long after I arrived there, now I don’t know myself that well when I’m liquored up, but I know that with Sonia I could have well given her my mortgage for another dance.  She got bored when she realised my money was gone and I most have said something that offended her or something because next thing I knew some guy, a guy I’d not met before said I had to leave.  Now he must have been with Sonia because he was taken my presence as a personal insult, I’m a man of pride and I took his sayings as an insult. Next thing I knew I was taken by the arms and being dragged out those same saloon doors I came in.  That would have been that were it not for that fact I’d left my coat, and I said to myself, I said ‘I’m going to kill him’, and it was the most rational, sober thought I ever had.  No more irrational than wanting to take a leak in the morning.  So I walked back through those doors,  and I must have been quiet as I wasn’t even noticed.  This guy who insulted me was sat with Sonia, I pulled out my pistol and I shot him in the gut.  He just looked at me, didn’t make a move, not an expression on his face so I shot him again in the gut.  The boy didn’t move, he just stared so I shot him twice more between the eyes for not having the decency to even try hit back.  Sonia just looked like she had forgotten she had a jaw with it being two metres from the floor.  I turned my back on the dead boy and I walked away, I had no need to look back my point was made clear.  Yeah one of your boys took me in, and would I do it again? Give me a pistol and the same insult you can even consider yourself dead.  That’s the whole of it.  Too much whiskey and the right amount of insult.  You could say I should have left my pistol in my holster but then how would he know not to insult a man? There’s only one way you can teach that lesson.   And if it means the teacher is behind bars, well, I can live with that just fine.