The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-05-23
DEADWOOD AND ITS PEOPLE.
Pictures Of Life and Manners In the Black
Hills Capital.

LII lhCG, bluCo 1IGt1C tthFSAo1S Ns
own, I am inclined to suspect that one.
half the men I elbow on the street are OF
the black-leg species.
Mr.. Vandaniker of the 81. X. L." ho-
tel recently introduced me to one OF the
sharpest, most successful, and best known
confidence men in the country. II am
a blackleg," said my new acquaintance,
''and you know it; but I never take ad-
vantage of a poor mani mean O miner
working for stake-traders and mer-
chants are my game. If can bleed q
freighter, I do so without the least COM
junction: I never resort to Violence
mean the knife, pistol, or blackjack.
While I would rather steal than receive
the money as a gift, I never leave man
penniless. Do yuu want to see me at
work? Well, come along into the Me
lodeon.' Don't recognize me-"
We passed into the crowded, heated
room. What a pandemonium ! The
bar at the right was lined with half
drunken men, laughing, chatting, swear
ing, yelling. Further on was rouge ct
noir table, its dealer loudly proclaiming
to q gaping crowd the fairness OF the
game. By it's side, motley throng sur
rounded O lottery and chuck-luck table,
the banker being q youth not over six
teen. At the end Of the room was mar
row stage, upon which appeared q pian-
ist, banjo player, and three male sing
ers. The men were in their shirt sleeves,
putting away at old clay pipes as we en-
tered, but the instruments soon struck
up symphony, which was followed by q
very pretty ballad, well sung and accom-
panied. Making our way out OF the
room, we noticed O large crowd gather
ing at our right, and heard a hoarse
voice lauding the simplicity of q game
which soon discovered to be thimble
rig, with nut shells doing duty for thin
bles, and which has given to the man be-
hind the table the sobriquet of 'tnut
shell Bill" My companion pulled my
sleeve, and edged his way through the
crowd to the table.
"Twenty dollars that You can't pick
up the shell containing the little bal" "
said Bill, as he passed the three shells to
and fro, displaying the ball at every
move. "Twenty dollars that no one can
discover the ball, and he may lift the
shell himself" AS Bill turned to expec-
torate, my companion quickly raised the
center shell, plainly showing to the
crowd the ball beneath, and replaced it.
"Twenty dollars" said Bill. "Tll 60
you ten,' quietly remarked my compan-
ion, cit is all the money! have. " "No,
sir, replied Bill, "twenty or nothing. "
Then the two argued the point for Sec
ondo two, and Bill being inexorable, my
companion turned to o bystander and
said: "Come, pard, let's go in together.
I'll put in ton with you" The person
appealed to, confident of his ability to
raise the right shell, complied two
ten-dollar bills futtered upon the table;
the center shell was raised, but no ball
was there. Of course there was cursing,
laughing, charges of foul play and
threats, during which Bill quietly picked
up his money and slipped through the
crowd to the street. He makes but one
bet q night. ,,
On the other side of the street, little
lower down, stands "the Cricket" an
other great resort. 1t is dance ball
and variety theater, the latter being
a novelty here. It was in the "Cricket "
that Gen. Crook danced in the same set
with Mayor Farnum. His partner is
still employed in the house. 4 violin
and viola furnish the music. Six girls
are employed in the dance hall, and are
on the floor from dark until midnight,
their partners varying in social standing
from such dignitaries as those just men-
toned to the dirtiest, blacklist and
coarsest of "bullwhackers." The men
dance with hats on, and huge cigars be-
tween their teeth, and seem to enjoy the
ten minutes set, for which they pay a
half dollar, besides treats for self and
partner. The theater is reached through
two doorways, one leading to the lower
part of the house, the other to the gal
fery, which is divided off into seven
boxes. Decorum is unknown to
"Cricket" audiences, and, as a conse-
quence, the performance is virtually one
of show and not for the ear. Great
clouds of smoke fill the room, while
many girls, dressed in the loudest fash
ion, peddle drinks through the audience:
The performance begins with the first
part of minstrel show, the circle con,
sisting of "bones" and "tambourine y
in cork, Two girls, the interlocutor, and
n banjo pllyer uncorked. The graft aim
of all is to be as loud MS possible, and IN
this particular there seems to be no re-
straint. Singing and dancing fill up the
programme. The performance continues
until the last auditor leaves.
The amount of money nightly squan'
dered here upon wine, women and gam
bling is simply enormous. With drinks
and cigars at "two bits" twenty-five
cents) each, wine (very poor) at SIS per
pint, and everything else in proportion,
it takes but very short time to run
through big sum of money. Gambling
is the great bane of the town. One can
find but few public houses where there
are not one or more games i'll operation,
while in many saloons the tables are
counted by the half dozen. Yet there
are many excellent people here.
Deadwood apes the airs and dignity Of
the oldest city on the continent. Postal
service has been secured, and Postmas'
ter Adams, a carpet-bagger from Omaha
with boiled shirt and shiny hat, opened
regularly established office and began
the sale of stamps. Heretofore it has
cost ten cents to send or receive n letter.
except by the Cheyenne line. The latter
has the contract until the close OF tho
fiscal year, and will carry daily mail
as will also the Fort Pierre and Bismarck
lines as soon as they begin running
which will be in about two weeks. The
Sidney stage company has sold out to the
Cheyenne company, and hereafter daily
stages will run over that route.
The first daily paper in the hills, the
Times, recently made its appearance
here. It is folio, five columns to the
page; has the Associated Press dis
patches; is we'll edited. and presents
fine typographical appearance. Its edl'
tors, Messrs. Warner and Ncwliarl, art
old Denver printers, and are contiden,
of success. The Pioneer; the first