Frank Eaton Interview

[Krell1]

Just wanted to relate an experience I had when I was in my teens. I lived in Buffalo New York and was fortunate to be able to listen to an interview a friend had made with Frank Eaton. Eaton was then in his 90's and related much of what it was like in the so called Wild West. His nickname was Pistol Pete and his story was very interesting. His parents were killed when he was around 8 years old, too young to avenge their deaths but took it upon himself to learn how to handle a gun. He did hunt down and kill all but one of the killers and related a lot of the story. A "gunfight" was not what you'd see in the movies. It would normally be between two people standing almost next to each other, first to draw would normally win. He said that when he approached each of these men they had no idea who he was. When asked, he'd reply "I'm Frank Eaton, you killed my mother and father, fill your hand you son of a bitch". He also related much of the way of life in the old west. His view of the various famous people was very interesting with many of them described as being drunken bums. He stayed away from most women because he was afraid of catching a disease. I wish I still had the recording that was made because all the comments he made were so interesting. I can only recall the highlights but listening to him recount those stories was fascinating.

 

[Erich]

Neat - thanks for passing that along. I'm going to try to look him up now.