Diversions : Sun Rises on the End of the Trail : Rendezvous: From out of the 20th Century, cowboy fans head to Orange County’s annual Western celebration.

Johnny Green had taken all he could bear. They had hanged his brother as a horse thief, and Johnny sought to avenge his death. Walking through the center of the small dusty California mining town with a gun on each hip, Johnny felt his hands itch.

Three men--the sheriff and two deputies--faced Johnny from the other end of town. They were armed and ready, but Johnny kept walking toward them.

“You yellow-bellied cowards killt my brother in cold blood,” Johnny shouted.

“Hanging’s what you get for stealing horses,” the sheriff said in a steely tone. “Don’t try it, Johnny. You’ll only lose.”

“I got nothing to lose,” Johnny said.

Six shots rang out and Johnny was down. When the smoke cleared, Johnny could see he had shot the sheriff and one deputy, but one man remained standing. Hurting, Johnny rolled to his side, holding his gun in one hand and his gut in the other. The deputy walked up beside him.

“Put the gun down, Johnny,” the deputy said.

Black powder exploded, and both men were dead.

Then the four “dead” men got up and took a bow. The crowd applauded and children were relieved to learn it had all been in fun.

This was just another scene from End of Trail Shootout and Encampment, a four-day annual cowboy rendezvous that relives the Old West lifestyle. It runs Thursday through next Sunday in Coto de Caza in Orange County.

End of Trail--named for the end of a long cattle drive--includes gunslingers competing for time and accuracy in well-planned scenarios from Western movie clichees.

The year might as well be 1891 as 1991, when shooters and spectators alike don 10-gallon hats, wear period costumes and call each other nicknames like “Doc Slipsnake” and “Old Sawbones.”

For the group of 300 or so cowboy wannabes already signed up for the encampment, the highly competitive shooting is played down in favor of Old West authenticity and fun.

Each day, Old West aficionados can enjoy regularly scheduled stunt shows, fast-draw demonstrations, living history performances and horseback and single-shooting exhibitions.

In a maze of open-air canvas tents, merchants will sell a variety of 19th-Century dry goods, including antique and replica weaponry, clothing, crafts and leather goods.

“We come to swap stories,” says Jeff Morey, who played Wyatt Earp last year. “It’s an interest that comes from a love of history.”

Morey, a longtime Wyatt Earp enthusiast, collects original photographs from the lawman’s life.

“Wyatt Earp represented some of the most courageous elements of the Old West,” says Morey, a Los Angeles businessman. “He made things happen.”

For Jim Dunham, the roundup offers “a sense of community and history that touches on the building blocks of America.”

Next weekend, Dunham--something of an expert on the Old West--will demonstrate the art of the fast draw. He’ll also perform a living history presentation much in the tradition of Will Rogers. Dunham, owner of more than 1,000 nonfiction books on the Old West, performs living history shows at a Mesa, Ariz., dinner theater. He says he went from playing cowboys to reading and researching them.

“I never stopped loving it,” he says. “Weekend events like End of Trail are for people who fondly remember their youth.”

But Dunham doesn’t kid himself when considering the role he might have played in the Old West.

“I don’t think I would have been a gunfighter,” he says. “It was a life-and-death proposition back then.”

Phil Spangenberger, who performs an impressive shooting exhibition while riding on horseback, says he idolized range riders as a child and could picture himself working as a Western showman with the likes of Buffalo Bill Cody.

Widely acknowledged as an expert and writer in the field of antique weaponry and Western horsemanship, Spangenberger has taken his show to the Far East and Europe, where he is often asked if he is a real cowboy.

“I walk to a different drum: the Indian tom-toms and the Old West,” says Spangenberger, who lives in Tujunga.

He says he loves to play cowboy but doesn’t will himself to live in the past.

“Gunfighters didn’t live long,” he notes.

Although he enjoys the conveniences of the 20th Century, there is still something communal about living the Old West spirit with others.

“We live under tremendous rules today. There’s a simplicity and honesty to reliving the Old West,” he says.

Each night during the encampment, Spangenberger and the gang will re-create scenes made famous by Western authors Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey.

As the sun slowly sinks in the west, these weekend cowboys will eat chow made at the campfire, settle down to swap stories or perhaps play cards.

And for most, the real “end of trail” will begin Monday, back at work in the city.

The annual End of Trail Shootout and Encampment runs Thursday through Sunday. Events begin daily at 8 a.m. and end about 6 p.m.

Shooting competition is daily, but all slots have been filled, so only viewing is available. Spectators should wear eye and ear protection.

Entertainment and exhibitions will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Getting there: Events are headquartered at the Coto de Caza Hunt Lodge. Take the San Diego Freeway to El Toro Road exit. Head east on El Toro to Santa Margarita Parkway, turn right. Go to Antonio Street, turn right, then to Coto de Caza Drive. Turn left and go to end.

Cost: $5 for parking. Proceeds go to Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

Getting gussied up: Spectators are encouraged to wear Western attire.

For information: (714) 261-6611.