Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1885-06-25
A SOCIAL T~ENDERF00T.

II have always found the Texan:
quiet and transformations people,
said the drummer.
"Quiet and unostentation2 Coco
gracious! Really ct thatg" sale
the pale MAI with the scar on hi
chin.
YES. I speak merely from my Owl
observation and experience"
Then you were never in Abilene
in Western Texas, were your
"Naw."
Thought not"
"Why did you thought notT"
Because there I met a gang Of
Texans who were SO ostentatiously
obtrusive that it's a wonder I'm not
now in a land that is fairer than this
Tell you how it was. [ was on the
road with the Wages Of SIN We
played one night at Abilene. It was
a very small place then. The theate1
was over q livery stable. There were
half a dozen saloons in the place, and
not much else. Most Of the people
who made up the audience came in
from the prairie. The majority OF
them were cowboys and teamsters.
Many Of them without coats-all can
ried reyolvers and wore jangling spurs.
They We're noisy and made audible
comment on the actors and acting.
"After the performance I went
across the street to the principal sa-
loon to get a drink. It was a long,
narrow room, with a counter running
its full length. When [ entered, the
counter was lined with cowboys. All
were drinking and talking loudly. I
walked to the further end of the bar
and ordered a modest snifter. While
drinking it [ realized that the eyes of
every cowboy in the place were di-
rected toward me. The loud talking
subsidized.
"sBet you five dollars, Jim, you
can't shoot a hole in it without hurt
in HIM
"'Jim amt drunk enough to miss a
narl. &c bio nc that
"tBetcher life I amt said Jim, 8
short, light-haired man. I'll so ye,
lobe
but the Teller might kick
ooh, blast his kickin.'
q know, but-but 'twouldb be more
perlite to get his consent
i knew they were talking about
me, an I wasn't very comfortable. I
started toward the door. The brigand
whom they called Jim, stepped out
in front Of me and said:
"sPardner, you're u o them actor
f%ellers, ain'tyou? Well, you're daisy,
you are. You gave us & good show,
an now we want to be sociable.'
Z explained hat [ would like very
much to be sociable.
"Kerrect yer are. Cause the ten
derfoot what can be sociable an isn't
s0ciable must be made sociable. Now
sing US a song
I explained that I couldn't sing;
that my role was the heavy villain.
CIVILIAN, Ell? Horse-thievin' an
burglaries, I reckon said Jim. We'll,
that goes with Us, but you just sing
us Way Down on the Swanee River.
Tune up
sHe held a pistol under my nose SO
close that [ could smell the grease on
the cartridge. Another pirate inleath-
er leggins put his six-shooter to my
ear and said, Now proceed to warble.'
foot said jim, and I footed. I
know as little about singing as I do
about the internal economy Of a saw
mill, but I gave them the Swanee
River and got an encore.
"Now give us Otheller,' said Jim.
'Bat Othello isn't a song.
doesn't make --- bit O. diff
ference; give her to us just as she is,
without any frills.'
4 gave them the FareWell-the-
Pl~umed-troops speech from Othello.
"'Uncle Billy's got to hear that
said some one. Yes, Uncle Rilly's
got to hear it, said they al, and they
marched me down a struggling street
at u o'clock at night, stopped in front
of a shanty, kicked in the door, woke
up Uncle Billy, who sat on the side Of
his bed in the dark, for he couldn't
find a lamp, and listened to me while
[ repeated the Othello speech.
"Unele Billy had demijohn, and
set 'em up. Then my escort took me
the midnight train, and as I got on
board each shook me by the hand and
that [ was the ssociablest ten
derfoot' they had met in years.
Siftings.
THE LONDON FIREMEN.