Lefty Van Cleef Scourge of the Big Pasture |
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MOTTO: "When I'm paid I always see the job through." Vince Van Cleef was born in Bardstown, Kentucky 15 March 1841 to the Reverend Jan and Mrs. Helena Van Cleef. "Beware the ides of March" didn't mean a thing to them. Vince was the 13th of 14 children. His siblings were all girls. When asked later in life why his parents had so many children he replied " Ain't but two things to do in Bardstown, drink whiskey and the other." Since my old man was a preacher, and didn't drink, he did the other. Having so many females around the house drove young Van Cleef a little crazy. Since he was the baby they always tried to dress him like a doll. At the age of 16 Vince joined the Army of the South where they barely dressed him with anything. Van Cleef had very few friends. He was known to fight at the drop of a hat. However, he made a friend of a man known only as "Blondie". Blondie took young Vance under his wing and taught him how to shoot. Vince had very little problem with the shotgun, but couldn't hit anything with a pistol or rifle. Blondie finally had Vince shoot left-handed and he became awesome. Thereafter he was known as Lefty Van Cleef, and no one neither male nor female would dare call him Vince again. Lefty rode with various raiders during the War of Northern Aggression. He was a handsome cuss and was a hit with every "Southern Belle" he met. All those women lovingly called him "Angel Eyes". After the war Lefty headed west fast. Primarily because a lot of the "Southern Belle's" fathers, husbands, boy friends, etc. was returning home. Lefty eventually arrived in what is now known as Oklahoma. He became a master of all trades to include gunman. He was hired by Colonel Mortimer to take care of the Mexican bandito Tuco. The details of this venture are obscure in history but Lefty was always known to be a man of his word. He stated "When I'm paid I always see the job through". Lefty's last known assassination (another word for murder) was of a cook of Italian heritage. Lefty was heard to say, "Us westerners don't eat spaghetti" shortly before five shots rang out. On January 12 1897, while playing cards with two of his sons Slickshot Sam and Lefty II, he was shot in the back by some relatives of Tuco. On his deathbed he was heard to mumble "I have recently seen three of these dusters. Inside the three dusters were three men. Inside the three men were three bullets". This quote was inscribed on Left's coffin. Lefty's burial spot is unknown but he is rumored to be interred somewhere in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma Territory |
