, 1885-01-28
A FAMOUS VICTORY.
An Exciting Election Held in the
Second Ward.
Mr.. Taylor Elected Councilman b,
a Strong Majority.


an election was held in Cheyenne yesterday.
While il is true there were no surface in
dications that contained a trace ofany po-
litical excitement, and while the ballots in
the box showed that only a fleeing and
casual interest was taken in the event,
still the stubborn fact remains that a legal
election was held.
At Q o'clock the polls were opened at
the Alert hose house. Messrs. George
Wilford, Thos. +. Durbin and Geo. L.
Durbin were the judges, and Messrs. Hib-
bard and Gross discharged the onerous
duties Of clerks. When everything was
ready one of the judges stuck his head
out of the window and announced to the
assembled crowd of half a dozen chick
ems. a stray dog and an adjoining livery
stable that the polls were ready for
business.
Then the excitement began.
True, tho excitement was Of a mild and
largely diluted order. Indeed, what little
excitement existed was due, in the main,
to the lack Of anything approaching the
appearance of excitement. After awhile
a man came along and asked If an cleo
ton was being held. Upon being in
formed hat he had guessed it the first
pop, he helped himself from a
pile of tickets on the window and offered
to become a subscriber-not that he cared
for the paper, but he believed in doing
his share to help the concern along. Il
was found that he lived down in the first
ward, however, and SO his donation was
declined with thanks.
The judges and clerks told stories and
made mild wagers on the total number Of
votes that would be cast. After awhile
an elector or two came along
and gave some spirit to the occasion
and then Henry Harrington. appeared.
He brought more spirit than all the rest
of the ward combined. He carried il in a
long bottle which poked its nose coyly out
Of his c~oat-tail pocket w. M. Mast was
an innocent and casual spectator, but when
Harrington leaned over to look in at the
window the bottle came up within six
inches Of. MASKS hand. Then the limo
cence rolled off his face in scales and
Harrington became the victim of mis-
placed confidence. Harrington told a
story or two and was about to depart
when he was handed the bottle. He ex-
amined it, instantly realized that its CON
tents had vanished, and turning to the
assembled Republicans, he dnwled, ANY
burned fool who don't know better than
to 70 to a Republican election with a
bottle, deserves to be robbed"
By noon thirty-ive voters had stuck
their noses in at the window and deposited
ballots in the box. Then Stokes came in
with a finc dinner from the Inter Ocean,
and the judges and clerks reyeled in baked
beans and dried prunes. Cigars were
and ten feet were unani-
mously and simultaneously perched on
the edge Of the table, like prize hams at a
country fair.
Bill Hubbard told q story. and a voters
ballot was received. George MILFORD re
lated an interesting occurrence, and anoth-
er vote went into the box. Gross went to
sleep on the lounge and just as Durbin
was aiming a corpulent and mature pickle
at his head, another voter called and
Gross caught Durbin in the act of hurting
the ancient pickle with great force and
precision.
A voter or two meandered TO the win
dow, examined the printed tickets held
down by improvised paper weights con-
sisting Of a brick and one Of Stokes dis
carded shoes, and boldly declared that
they would never, no never vote that
ticket Thereupon they wrote tickets on
tho backs Of secondhand envelopes and
deposited them in the box. The reader
will observe that the written tickets
caused a marked difference in the result of
the election.
So the day and the election wore away
until half past 2 O'Clock was announced.
At that time the ballot box contained just
ffty-iye slips of paper Tho stories were
resumed. each man related all the anec-
dotes he knew and the Judges were about
to call for a fresh liar when 4 o'clock came.
Again the picturesque alley echoed with
an election call musically caroled by Dur
bin and the polls were formally and sol
EMMY closed.
There were just sixty-eight ballots in
the box. Mr.. ]. S. Taylor stood by while
they were counted and when the final an
nouncement was made he almost wept for
very modesty. He had actually been
elected by a larger majority than that Of
his colleague, Mr.. Keefe. or even that OBJ
tanned by Mayor Warren. OF the sixty
eight votes cast sixty Of them were for
Mr.. Taylor and by a strange coincidence
the other eight we're also for Mr..
Taylor, The result was evidently a cause
Of quiet satisfaction. After it had been
promulgated the assembled multitude Of
seven slowly filed away to the court house,
and the most thrillingly prosaic election
in the history of Cheyenne was socked
into the boundless realms of the ire
claimable heretofore.
So Near and Yet so Far.
A story Of clerk in a Main St. store,