In addition to being one of the most gifted American writers ever to grace the keys of a typewriter, Hunter S. Thompson was an enthusiast. He was a drug enthusiast, a gun enthusiast, and an enthusiast for the wild and weird in his 67 years on Earth, and all of that is likely in play here. (The drug part is unconfirmed, but let's be honest with ourselves.) Here he is at Owl Farm, his property in Woody Creek, Colorado, apparently engaged in a shootout with his neighbor over a livestock dispute:

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

After ribbing the guy for using bird shot, he explains that "this son of a bitch wants to bitch about his cows over here," before firing between some trees off into the distance. He also offers some views on the state of American democracy, explaining that the country belongs "to us," not to "used-car salesmen from Southern California." True enough.

"In democracy," he says, as the video concludes, "you have to be a player."

This is actually one of a few videos to surface recently of HST's antics at his Colorado manse. Here he is carrying out an annual tradition: throwing his Christmas tree in the fireplace at the end of the holiday season, soaking it in lighter fluid, and setting fire to it.

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

[H href='http://digg.com/video/hunter-s-thompson-gun-fight?utm_source=digg&utm_medium=twitter' target='_blank">Digg']

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io