The Red Cloud chief., 1877-03-15
Lively DeadWOOd


ginia Chronicle, this Office was visited
by Harry williams, an old COmstocker,
who has for some months past been try
ing his luck in the Black Hills with
good results. Mr.. Williams is q keen
observer Of events, and does not require
to be pumped to be induced to tell what
he knews.
Tell US all about Deadwood, Mr..
Williams"
~Deadwood may be considered q very
lively town; that is, lively for a town
of two thousand inhabitants. or course
It's the central camp where all the gam
bling, fighting and business is done.
Everything goes on a grand rush, night
and day. There is no regularity about
anything. A man opens a place of bust
ness and makes lots of money, then he
gets the prospecting fever, starts for
the gulches and shuts up his shebang.
When a place is closed up 1t means that
the owner is out digging, has been
killed in a fight, or is off on a spree.
We have no municipal government at
all. Every mar thinks he's mayor of
the town. Every nee in 2 whilo the
boys call a mass meeting, draw up resO-
buttons, ETC., and decide to incorporate
the town and have a board of alder
men; but at the end of the week no
body knows what has become of the
resolutions or the aldermen. We start
q new city government every two
weeks and bust n every week-if
there is any,"
~How about the theater?"
Yes, we've got a little theater there,
not nearly as we'll fitted up as your
cockpit. The orchestra chairs are made
of stakes driven into the ground, with
q round piece of board, about the size
Of your hand, nailed or top. Admis-
sion, $3.50; reserved seats, IS. They
run a sort of variety show. and sling In
the jokes and stage business as broad as
possible. The can-can was danced some
time until the boys got tired of it, and
they said. Give us some singin' or we'll
clean out the place. We want some
thin elevatin'.' And the manager had
TO import q female sentimental vocalist
at big expense to appease the pat1 ons.
She SING, Sweet Spirit, Hear My Pray
err Consider the Lilies 4 Know That
My Redeemer Liveth,' and other high.
toned music. and I thought that the
boys would 20 crazy with delight. But
they got tired of it in about q week.
Fanny Garrison was the singer. l be-
lieve she used to be here"
'Many saloons there?"
Saloons all over the place, and whis.
ky four bits a drink. They put tw
barrels up on end, nail a board across
for q bar, and deal it out. A miner
who wants to treat, pours some gold
dust on the barrel head and says, set
'em up They never weigh the dust,
Sometimes q man wont put down dust
enough, but they never say a word: and
If he's a little tight and pours out $40 or
$15 worth, they never mention it. They
have three faro banks running all the
while. They don't use checks for the
boys; when they won a pile of checks.
they threw EN- all over the place. and
some were too drunk to handle 'em. So
the checks got played out, Now a man
puts a little gold dust in q dollar green
back and it goes for o.. Ten dollars
worth of dust in a $40 greenback goes
for $50. and so on. They never weigh
dust at all, but guess the amount"
"Have you a daily paperP" s.
yes. sometimes it's a daily, and then
when the ~compositors get drunk it
don't come out for several days. If q
man wants gun wadding, he goes and
pays four bits for a paper. Whenever
they start q new city government, thew
print q lot Of ordinances, then there's a
grand rush for the paper. Sometimes
1t comes out twice q week, and some.
times twice q day"
Much shootlngP"
"Oh, yes; the boys are all on the shoot
Every man carries about fourteen
pounds of firearms hitched to his belt,
and they never pass any words The
fellow that gets his gun out first is the
best man, and they lug off Tire other
fellows body. Our graveyard is a big
Institution. and . growing one. Some
times, however. the place is right quiet.
I've known times when q man wasn't
killed for twenty-four hours. Then
perhaps they'd lay out FIVE or six q day.
When q man gets too handy with his
shootin' irons, and kills FIVE or six, they
think he isn't safe and pop him over to
nd the place of him. They don't kill
him for what he has done. but for what
he's liable to do. I suppose that the
average deaths amount to about one
hundred q month; but the Indians kill
some"
The excessive cold of the early part
Of the winter extended to ATTITUDES I'M
accustomed to such visitations. At
Shreveport La, they had sleighing for
. few days, which was never known
there before by the oldest inhabitant.
A firm in New York is about sending
ont to Australia four locomotives for
use on the railroads of the Government
Of New South WaleC.