The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-12-01
sHNsATrON.

Y~EsTERDAY'ss SENSATION.
Notwithstanding the Bet Was
Paid, Ben Hogan is IN
scathed by the Tongue
OF Scandal.
A Miner Detective on the Trail
Of a Islander.
In the whole history of Butte no
one man has so aroused the symps-
thies and excited the enmity of this
community as has Ben Hogan. He
has stirred the feelings of the people
until they are almost divided into
two parties, the rum-seller and the
gambler upon n side, and the
sober, thoughtful citizens who know
the deep damnation of the vices of
gambling aud drinking upon the
other. When 1t became known that
a bet of $50 a side had been made, in
which one of the parties undertook
to Prove that Mr.. Hogan had been
seen in a house of i'll fame,
where he treated to beer,
the community were considerably
excited over the matter. Yesterday
morning it was noised about that the
bet had been decided on Thanksgiv-
ing night, against the man who was
betting upon the solidity of MI. Ho-
gan,s temperance principles, and the
money paid over to the party who
undertook to prove that Ben had
fallen by the wayside. This was a
sumner for those who had banked
upon the great reformer's sincerity
and steadfastEess in the work he has
undertaken, and resolving himself
into a special detective force the
MINER reporter resolved to sift the
matter to the bottom, and that the
public should have the full benefit of
his researches whether the result
was to expose an imposter and floor
a pretended reformer by proving the
truth of the scandal, or to strengthen
the hands of an earnest worker in
the cause of sobriety and good morals
by showing the whole structure of
scandal to be a gauzy fabrication.
Starting on his mission the reporter
soon learned, that q few days ago
Jim McGovern made a wager of $40
with Balcain Petit that he would
produce a man who would bet $50
that he could prove that Hogan had
spent money for beer in a house of
i'll fame. Mr.. McGovern produced
Doc Larkin who made the $50 bet
with Petit, and McGovern having
won his bet, the money was paid
over to him. The $50 bet be-
tween Petit and Larkin was placed
in the hands of Silas King as stake
holder. Calling upon MI. King the
reporter asked:
"Mr. King is it true that you have
paid those stakes over to Doc Larkin
on the proposition that Ben Hogan
il guilty of the offense charged"
MI. King-''Well. I paid the
money over to Larkin. The girl said
Hogan had been there and had spent
money for beer. I don't know
whether it was good evidence or not,
but Larkin's bet was that he could
provc it and that was proof enough
for the purposes of the bet"
Leaving Mr.. King the reporter
started to interview Belle Perkins,
the woman who claimed to have sold
beer to MI. Hogan. On the way he
stopped in at the BAPTIST ladies'
dinner, where he met MI. Hogan.
Calling him to one side the reporter
said: "Mr. Hogan, I am running
down that SANDER. The bet has
been paid to the nan who undertook
to prove that you bought beer, and [
am just going down to interview the
woman" await q moment until I
get my overcoat, and 1 will go with
you," promptly responded Mr.. Ho-
gan. Together the reporter and the
evangelist wended their way to East
Park street, where after several in
quiries they found the house of Belle
Perkins. Cautioning Mr.. Hogan not
to make his identity known, the re-
porter knocked at the door, which
was Immediately opened by a woman
of petite figure twenty-four or five
years of age, whose frowzy bangs of
blonde hair, overhanging eyes which
showed the effect Of recent dissipa-
ton, answered the description which
had previously been given Q 70
porter of tbs personnel of Belle Per"
kins.
lis this Belle Perkins?" asked the
reporter.
Eyes, sir; I Am Belle Perkins,"
Rep.-Well; Miss Perkins, !! am a
reporter for the MINER. I've heard
this story about Ben Hogan buying
beer here, and I want to get at the
truth of it. Did you sell him
beer?"
"WelI, I sold beer to q man that
represented himself to be Ben Ho-
gan, and who was pointed out to me
as Ben Hogan"
Rep.-Do you know Ben Hogan
"Only as he has been pointed out
to me-"
Rep.-Didn't you tell Silas King
that O sold beer'to Ben Hogan?
~Oh, there was half q dozen OF
them here, and I told 'em I had sold
-@S~tn@ mt IN