The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-11-18
o THE TOWN.

ABOUT THE TOWN.
The regular morning newspaper attaehe
meets with varied and unusual experiences.
He ia a sort of q ''free ranger" who "goeth
where he liesteth," and has free entree to
places where others would find it difficult,
If not absolutely dangerous, to enter. He
associates. not SO much from choice as from
force of occupation, with people who
are somewhat tainted and who are
ostracised from so-called good So
ciety," and, indeed, from all society,
except such as they make for
themselyes-the suhstratum. This is a
world peculiar to itself, OF which the world
at large knows nothing. or, at least, only
receives occasional glimpses. Yet the peo-
nile comprising this world are not wholly
had. and even here are found sets and
clioues that are as well defined and as thor
ouphlv respected as the chasms that divide
the best circles of society.
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IT Els the purpose Of "Our Young Mar
About Town. to give the readers OF The
MINER occasional glimpses OF the better
side OF this life, revelations that, we feel
sure. will be found interesting.
~
The gambling element is divided into as
manv sets as a fashionable congregation,
and of these your Young Man" will speak
to-day. He met one of the gang the other
day, who said he belonged. to the species
known as Boosters" He claimed that his
ilk had been wronged by one OF your even
ing contemporaries. He said the article
was evidently written by one unfamiliar
with, or wrongly posted on, 1.-The boosters
merits. He thought that the "booster'
should be properly placed before the people.
He thought that a true picture OF this I'M
portant factor to percentage stud would
not be at all uninteres ing.
Upon q little encouragement "tne ooost-
err gave his little story. 1.-THE Booster, .
he said, .comes, none knows whence. His
| ad vent is as miraculous as the rainbow,
| but unlike the rainbow, sunshine is not CO.
| eval with his appearance. The studdealer
| when about to stake the booster is sud-
denly aware of a fresh presence before him.
| He looks at the new face. Dealer and
| booster alike instinctively feel that they
are in the presence of a strange member OF
! the order. No credentials are required. NO
welcome is given. None is expected. Ckecks
are issued to the new arrival just the same
as to the others and the seriousness OF the
resultless playing until a party with money
drops in ia commenced. A booster must
have the cold nerve OF a book-agent to per-
nit himself to play with the studdealers
money, the indomitable will to get all nus
| money in when he has the invincible cinch,
| and the keen discernment to know when ne
ia beaten. in sight. Yet he seldom wins, as
the studdealer will ~sorrowfully testify. In
stead of breaking the money-player, the
latter more often does the breaking, and
| the percentage generally winds them boil
up. The regularity OF the boosters meals
is governed by the precariousness OF MS
winnings, When he has money he eats, and
when he has none-well, sometimes he does
not eat. A corpulent booster is unknown
to the profession. The rarity OF his meals
causes him to find as much relish in a two
bit dinner on Park street as the faro dealer
finds in the dollar epicurean east at the
Main street Arcade
-
".GoDt empers the wind to the shorn lamb.
His bed is frequently on II hard wood chair,
tilted till the pack touches the wall, in som
saloon, and his pillow the w~ainscoatlng
And if the barkeeper will refrain from tak
ing his nose for a target to aim stray corkf
At. the booster awakens with a retreshened
feeling that is strongly allied to gralefulness
and contentment. Opera or legitimate
drama nave but little attraction for him
His amusements are limited to listening u
brass bands and visiting the varieties. Ant
when the circus with the warm weather.
gets around, he somehow manages to gel
inside the canvas at each performance. III
song-and-dance team in a manner that vii
make an ordinary newspaper critic
ashamed OF his ignorance. His vocabulary
though not extensive, is replete with the
slang OF the day. There is but littlei in com
mon between him and sentiment. Tit
nearest approach to it ever noticed in one
OF them was the quiet attention given to
the solemn dirge OF a brass band as it pre-
coded a funeral procession and something
partaking of sadness struck into his coun'
tenance as he viewed the beautiful white
hearse with the elegant coffin within move
slowly by. But whatever sentiment the
! transient scene may have awakened within
him was quickly dispelled the moment his
eye came in contact with the buried card.
The height Of his ambition is to pair to an
ace in the hole, and when that is 'drawed
out on he goes through the heartrending
rhapsodies experienced by the victims of a
Black Friday. If his street appearance is
shabby, and his looks distracted, these are
traits peculiar to many artists. His com,
plexion is suggestive OF convalescence,
though one was never known to he sick,
and it is not even on record OF one having
died. Sometimes he disappears and that's
the last heard of him."
-.
The attempted murders by the man Foley
and his subsequent suicide caused a ripple OF
COUHOtlOn among GHOSe WIFI WuOH4 ue
mainly associated. Foley was a. sort OF
hanser-on to gaming houses, but as a rule
held some Sort OF relation to the law. He
was a surly, uncongenial fellow, somewhat
brutal in his instincts, and not by any
means popular. Though he had never
killed a man, he had beaten up many men,
and women, too, both in the discharge OF
his duties and occasionally for personal
diversion. Though not "a killer" he was
generally feared by tough men. Little SYM
pathy was wasted on him by his associates,
and it is safe to say that if his employers
had not generously buried him, that act
would have become a burden on the county.
-
THOUGH this crime had it's inception in a
variety theater, it cannot be directly charge
able to institutions of that character. The
woman Flick was temporarily employed as
"box worker" at the Toledo, a position
which she sought as a dernier resort. She
was not a bad sort OF a woman. Indeed,
those who know Der best, say that she was
a very excellent woman, who occupied the
place in which she was found by force OF
;,o,,,,,@opooo ,ooro %hon from oboioo Sho