Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1885-12-21
A TOWN WITH ONE INHABITANT.
lie Takes Visitors Around and Gossips Con-
cerning His Former Neighbors.

NAibOo hS iOllOWO w A HC LNtCO - OIN DItWs
For five or six years old Pete Fergus
has been the only resident of this
town. He was here first and he is
here last He saw the mining camp
develop, evolute, and decline. 1t was
he who welcomed all the newcomers
and bade all the outgoers good-by.
There are twenty or thirty houses in
the place, but only his is tenanted.
The others stand about as they were
left by their last occupants. Some of
them are in good condition, with win
dows and doors in place, but others
are rickety and tumble down.
The Comoville fever was violent,
and it soon faded away. OF the twen-
ty or thirty mines here none have ever
paid, and during all the time that
they were worked not enough bullion
was taken out of them to pay for the
tobacco consumed in the place. Pete
Fergus kept boarding house, and it
was not his business to worry over the
success of the miners. They came
and went, and as long as there was
one in town he had an open house.
When everything in the nature of
mining ceased, he still tarried and en-
tertained an occasional prospector,
anu w u0u tNcu DlOS SDCCLOIS CcdSGu
to come this way he remained, though
his "help' left him one by one until
he was alone. He now manages to
make his own living III some way
and exists to n large extent on his
faith that there are great days in store
for Comoville yet.
Walking through the deserted camp
yesterday with this aged man, he en-
s l.
running comment on the history of
the place and on few of the more
important events in its career. The
day was a brilliant one. The sun
shone Lright and warm, the air was
delightfully."- soft, and the frowning
mountain peaks in the distance made
picturesque background for the
rambling and dilapidated village.
This here place" the old man said,
pointing to weather beaten shanty,
is where Tim Fuller lived. He came
in with $40, 900 in cool cash and blew
it up in this very room playing faro.
Do YOU see that hole in the board? /?
Well, that's where the bullet that
killed him went. It's in there now.
guess. He didn't mean any harm, but
he ran across hard crowd one night,
and being desperate, he attempted q
little shenanigan with the cards. Just
as he was raklng off the pot in a poker
game big Mexican pulled on him and
let him have it. That was in busy
times, and nobody had any time to
think about il much. A long while
after that l got the idea that Tim
might have had a little money hidden
here, and tho more L thought of it the
more likely it seemed. Finally pull
ed up the floor, and after a thorough
search / found under flat stone a
wad of bills, about $1,000 | believe,
though I've forgotten. l spent it all
long ago.
''Over here in this long building
was where Tennessee Barker run gin
mill and a gambling house. He was
the best man that ever stood IN this
town. He could fight or shoot, but q
gun fight is what pleased him best.
He had many of them. One time the
whole town pitched on him, and he
pot four bullets in his chest. He's up
here now"
"Up whero?" was asked.
Cup in the cemetery" answered
the old man without a wink. Then,
continuing, he said:
Just down the street here ways
is where a mighty queer thing hap
pened. One of the first men in the
town was slim young fellow named
Tomlnson. He had little money and
could play n good game, and | an
sorry to say he took up with a young
woman who was here at the time. One
dav lady, one of the kind that you
read about, came in here and found