A notorious man’s darker moods cycled unpredictably between violence and courtesy.

Evidence

However, the “ugly fit” had passed off, and he was so very pleasant and courteous that we remained the whole afternoon. Lyman’s one thought was that he could make capital out of the interview, and write an account of the celebrated desperado for a Western paper. — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 247

Categorization

• SEED: Essay angle: the nineteenth-century Western press turned live desperadoes into circulating copy, and the desperado cooperated.