Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-02-27
A STRANGE CITY.

Aruthfully Drawn.
The streets were flooded from the
heavy rains, flour was fifty dollars per
barrel, and times were hard. Men were
ready for any excitement, and found it
IN the most singular ways. A carriage.
one of the six in the city, stuck in the
mlre, was dug out by them, and they
felt amply rewarded by a chance glimpse
OF Its female occupant, painted though
she might be. The cry of baby at the
theater was the signal for universal APP
plause. The long line winding for
half mile from the postofioe upon the
arrival of the Eastern mail, when $50
and 500 or $500 would be offered for a
good place in the line. A street row and
man shot was hardly an excitement at
that time. The gambling saloons were
as quiet and orderly as could be wished,
and men visited them at the close of their
days labor without any unusual excite
ment. Any noise of cane falling or a
loud laugh disturbed the quiet of the
place, and caused remark. You met
every one there as matter of course.
and men who parted at the church door
at home in the East met each other
without reproach.
A man slipped from his chair one
evening, dead from heart disease. Three
physicians present examined him: his
left-hand neighbor, Coroner. impan-
eled the rest of the players at the table
as jury, who laid down their cards a
few moments and found verdict in &C.
cordance with the facts, and resumed
their play. A man having Just come
down from the mines, on his way East.
strolled into gambling saloon. won.
lost all, left, and, ashamed to write home.
lived miserable life of want. until his
wife, hearing of his whereabouts, came
to lind him. The man had all the time
haunted the gambling-house, and ven
tured all he could in the vain hope of re-
turning fortune. His wife arrived, and
met John Oakhurst, as the first person
OF whom she inquired the way. He
learned her story, met her husband that
evening, bought his chance for the next
play for So, 900, lost the play, and drove
the man to his wife in waiting outside.
Upon being consoled for her loss, John
replied: "Well, I've got tired of see
ing that fellow around, so you see have
just fixed it, but it's the first time as /
played game as was not ON the square,"
Social life was peculiar also. Gentle
men made calls in long boots and red
flannel shirts.
Ladies went to balls and danced with
a new partner each change in the quad
rifle. Ladies apologized for holes in the
chair seats from the explosion of re-
volvers of awkward visitors. The best
dressed men are gamblers, and the best
nH LODI hor, L. L L IL
Ladies We're escorted home by platoon
OF admirers, and realized the full mean
ing OF the pleasure of your company.
A change was observable when fine clothes
began to appear, and men swore less
Bolts began to be used, and portable
property was not left carelessly about
In the mountains, it seemed as if the
people had come to occupy it thousand
years before nature was prepared for
them, and the character of the men was
represented by the landscape there was
nothing pastoral about it. The miners
first lived IN tents and then in huts. but
chlmneys were already used, as they i'm
Piled too settled character to the shelter
to correspond with the likings of the
residents. The frying-pan was the usual
cooking utensil, and served all the pur-
poses of the miner, who travelled with it
dashed to his back like the guitar of a
troubaGour, and might be tracked from
camp to camp by the empty cans, with
labels specifying their contents to be
oysters, Boston crackers and other
things. Although they had some
variety, their reliance was beans. Their
dress was peculiar, and they were so
handy with their needles that the amend
ments introduced to their clothing fire.
quently became the most prominent part
of their costumes.
Flour sacks were their principal reli
ance, and two men lost their identity
from being named after their favorite
brands, "Genesee Mills" and Eagle
Brand" The low-crowned soft felt hat.
lde-brimmed, and known to this day as
the California hat, was universally worn.
and none but gamblers or clergvmen
wore the tall hat. They were manly
young men, and hair-cutting and shay
ing were alike unknown, consequently
the long love locks and the full curly
beard were common. They were loyal
in their friendship, and the absence of
women made the friendship of partners
to take the place of that between man
and wife, and these business relations
were kept more sacredly than those of
married life often are. They were not
sentimental, and this had tendency to
eliminate everything butfacts from their
Lynch law was resorted
to as a necessity. A man having been
tried, the jury hesitated about their YER
dict, when the leader of the accusing
party opened the jury-room door and
the foreman that, though there
was no immediate hurry about the YER
dict, he should need their room soon to
lay out the corpse. The slang of the
times is easily traced to its origin.
Sc Dry up" came from the half-yearly |
drought. Played OUT from the uni
versal gambling practice, as, also, "Pass
in your checks" "Taking stock" is
also easily accounted for. A man being
asked what he thought of Thomas Starr
King, very naturally replied that she
5ook every trick" Engineers spoke of a
mans dying as having run slower and
slower till he stopped right on the CEN