Open Range
written by Craig Storper, from the novel by Lauran Paine
Charley Waite: When I was a kid a bunch of us would go into the woods with our peashooters. Nothing fancy just enough to kill a bird or a squirrel may be something larger if we was lucky. Killed my first man in them woods. Held the paper on our farm and after my pa died he'd come around to get payment from my mom in any way he could…weren't much older than Button when I shot him in the throat. Knew there'd be more killing so I run off and joined the Army. War was on they was only too happy to have me. My first skirmish was pretty much like hunting with my friends. We just sat up in the trees and they come marching right at us. Must have been a hundred of them dead after the smoked cleared. Went around and shot the rest who weren’t. Those of us with a knack was made into a special squad so we could travel light and on our own into enemy territory. Orders were pretty simple. Make trouble wherever we could. With room like that it wasn’t long before we was killing men that weren't even in uniform. Seemed like that went on the rest of the war. After that I come West. Lot of calls for a man with those skills. And I put them to work for men just like Baxter. Every once in a while, I almost get through a day with out thinking about who I am, what I'd done.
Kudos and much thanks go to Pontice for this monologue, it is very much appreciated.