Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1885-08-06
PURE a" PINE-TOP." +"
AN EXPERIENCE WITH THE PECULIAR
WHISKY OF THE SOUTHWEST.
A Natives Diagnosis of the Article-Ai
Irresistible Desire for Rockets
Making the Village Rei-Hot-A
Nonstrous Centipede.

region:
"We were twelve hours getting to Silver /
City. There was no city there, 50 We set
out to find the silver To get rid of this /
part Of my story. III just say that the mine
was there. but for some reason or other the
silver hal gone somewhere el.e. We
monkeyed around there for day or two
and then we found that our commissary de-
partm mt consisted Of two or three empty
fiasks. Then, Of course, We had b forage.
| asked a native il we could get any whisky
in tho parts.
Wall. | reckon if ye can't git none
round h'yar', said he that tn hain't no
dog-gone use yer totin' yer jug anywhar
else!
" is it goodf said we.
"'Goodr said the native. Good: It's
pine-top whisky, it isl Why, dog-gone it,
i'm fire We up like burnin' the hair off a dog.
Two drinks OF pine-t1p is better'n gallon o
yer no. count greasy rye or b'urbin. Is pine
top whisky good, Wall, its got more tooth
nor a cross-cut saw.
This native, by the way, kept saloon
at Silver City. We told him we liked his
diagnosis of pine-to whisky and would take
agallor We did so, and we drank IL by de
grses. II left the dark brown taste in our
mouths that you could when We
breathed When we got back To Hot Springs,
can't answer for the feeling OF the Others,
but was seizei with wild desire 70 either
get up a dog fight or set fire 10 a load OF hay
that stool in the street. | wasn't drunk,
but the pine top was working. Nhel the
train that was to take u u Malvern june
ton was ready, the steam escaping from the
/ locomotive suggested 10 me that life would
henceforth lie a burden unless had 100 or
I ..ffs sl..,s. nd han
Some one said | could get them at Malvern,
and boarded the train with my friends, and
got off again three times 20 lick the con-
ductor because he wouldn't start the train
until his time was up. My desire for sky
rockets had awakened similar desire for
I s.y-rockets in the others. and We asked one
another how we had ever managed TO get
4 along thus far without them. The train
had hardly stopped at Malvern before we
were out of IT, A boy. innocent and nnsus-
pecting, stood with his mouth open, gazing
at the train Something said To me that
this boy knew where there were sky-rocketS
galore grabbed him by the arm aud
whirled him around and yelled:
Get me the sky-rockets, or III slice you
up
The boy was scared half to death. The
rest of the party got hold of hun and yelled
for sky rockets. Pretty soon he broke away
and tore up the street like mad. We tore
g. GER him He ran into q store and we fol-
lowed him Whether he lei Us there on pur-
pose or merely ran in 10 escape Us don't
know but | do know that the storekeeper
kept "A little Of everything, and had fifty
sky rockets. We bought them ALL and pro
ceeded at once 70 set them of. There Is one
street in Malvern. and it is built right up 9
hill. We set our sky rockets going plumb M
that hill as fast as we could touch 'em on
When we commenced there were horses anc
wagons tied in front of every store IN th'
street
f -s-s-s-s-h.h-bl Whit Bangr would z,
a rocket. and snap would go halter straI
or two. and in less than three minutes there
was nothinZ To be seen i'm that town but run
away horse and mules. 1t was equal to a
stampede of cattle on the plains. The mor'
they ran the more we bombarded, unit
there was a stretch of fire going up that hil
without break in il from one end 10 th'
other People were shouting and howlins
from window. Storekeepers came out ans
put up their shutters, and II eve
there was red-hot town il wa
Malvern about that time TIE train W,
were TO take was about due at the junction
knew me well. managed to get within speak
: ing distance Of me and make me understant
; that they were organizing a committee o
citizens to take Us in ana ride Us out OF tow
, in a way We didn't care To go, and W
, ! gathered up our remaining rockets am
made for the depot The train didn't com
a minute too soon, for IL had hardly pulle'
out when the committee came sweepin
1 down to the depot Then We fired rocket
8 al them from windows and platforms, an'
a left the town in blaze Of glory.
after the rockets were gone l thought !
, there was one thing that would make m
I, happy il would be TO kill centipedes and q
there were none or the train fully II
d tended to get off at the next station and Z
, back south somewhere and kill centlpede'
i afterward changed my mind and said
= would return 10 ~. Louis first, get my tw
n dogs. and then go To Texas and spend wee
or at centipede hunting. When got
. st. Louis :he pine-top was working on. 10
= / hadn't had drop for two day
: Still the centipede idea was strong with
E me- / went to my room at the Liadell hou'
and went To bed. As | lay there with the "a
r turned very low ] saw side of slopin
; roof obtrude itself through the window
D my room On the roof lay a centiped
I nearly two feet long-about four times ii
d usual siza Ii was working its hundreds
: hideous legs along. when suddenly il role
. from the roof and fell with a sound like
, big sponge fun of water ON the floor in m
a room Instantly my two dogs. a blaek-an'
! tan and a Skye terrier, buckled into q
centipede. The centipede struck the elac
and tan one blow, and he keeled over like
tenpin ON the floor, and began to swell unit
he looked like a toadfish with dogs hea
Then the centpede and the Skye had II h'
s and heavy around that room, but the cent
> peie too much for the dog, and mn
le ute or SO he was swelling up. and
10 sweled up 50 much that he foated up
= the ceiling, and went bobbing along again
il il like you've seen beetles ON a summ'
night After the dogs had been settled q
centipede rose up ON one end of himself an
made straight for me. / didn't wait 4
him. but got out of that bed like Has
a. and cut out Of the -oom just as quick.
1. 1T is probably needless To say that the
T. was no centipede there at all lt was 3
q pine-top whisky. forgot how many dos
OF bromide and stuff they fixed me up wit
. but il took a good many. You can use yol
own Judgment, but IL ever you 20 down
," Arkansas I'd 80 light on pine-toP whisky
| were Won.