The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-06
THE wrcKEDEsr CITY ON EARTH.
ELI Perkins Over the Rockies and in the
Reckless Cowboy Towns.

Reckless Cowboy Towns.
Butte City IN. To Letter.
Butte City, NJ. t., is conceded now to be the
wickedest city in the world. 1t so far surpassed
Dodge City, Cheyenne and Leadyille IN pure and
unalloyed wickedness that it is shame to men,
ton them in connection with Butte City Butte
acknowledges no rival but Miles City-a cow
town over the mountains on the Northern Pacific.
Miles City tries hard to be the wickedest city. but
being simple cowtown, it cannot compete
with Butte City, which has both mines and cat
tie ranches. Helena. NJ. t., situated between
Butte and Miles, is proud of its wickedness, too.
1t has its myriads Of gambling saloons, where
Cinnamon anu cowboys buck the tiger at the
same table. 1t has its concert saloons, its
French demi-monde quarter. it's African demi-
monde street and its Chinese bad houses with
their burning candles in front. but Helena has
to acknowledge-sadly ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SUE
premacy of wickedness to Butte.
I have seen the wickedest city move west
many times. have seen Abilene, Kan, with its
cowboy dance houses and gambling palaces,
move up to Cheyenne. Cheyenne was proud, in
1874 to be called the wicked city, but good peo.
pie came in there, and the Y. H. G. A. broke
them mp / remember how they had woman
suffrage there in 1875, and ninety wicked women
came out in body took the polls and elected the
barkeepers and gamblers to the highest offices.
But, alas! Cheyenne degenerated into an ordin-
nary Christian town. Wickedness then went
over to Dodge City. Dodge City then had one
long street; every house saloon. Bullets
whstled down it, and dead men were hauled out
Of 1t from morning till night She flung the
DEVILS red flag at all Kansas. She defed the Y.
M. G. A. and the prohibitionist, but finally the
dreadful Y. NJ. G. A. came up and camped en- her
bloody street, her Notwithstanding prohibitionist
cleaned out her saloons and her gamblers and
demi-monde left for Butte City. Poor Dodge
City,
The mines about Butte are very rich. The
Anaconda mines have no rival. Money is cheap
and flies like chaf in the wind The bootblack
L. e. 1~r~ -
ter, and the newsboy sells the one-sheet Miner
for ten cents. Mr.. Zngerfest the editor of the
Miner, admitted to me that he was Christian,
and a member of the Methodist Church in ODER.
lin, o.; but "oh," he said, don't mention it in
Butte. If you do no one will read my papers,
1t was a case whore an editor had to pray secrets
ly in his closet, and then 60 out and play rous
lette to gain the respect of his subscribers.
sad, sad case!
At night Butte assumes its most scarlet hue.
The town is red all the time but at night cleo
trio lights reflect through stained glass a thou
sand cardinal and amethyst rays. The houses
of the demi monde are now all Open In and out
surge the people, chatting the low-necked, short
streets are given up TO these parlors of the
syrens, who sit at the windows dressed in draw
ngroom decollete When you come to the
gambling saloons the fronts seem to be removed
and the dozens of roulette tables seem to be
even with the street There they sit women,
Cinnamon, cowboys, miners and Christians in
disguise. The clergyman does not play, but he
comes in to show his democracy to the boys, and
receive donation from the man who breaks the
bank, and suddenly becomes generous.
The Butte concert saloons are usually under
ground. The saloon is square, with a row of
private boxes all around the top The orchestra
is occupied by cowboys and miners, who guzsle
beer at % cents per glass with fabby barmaias
The boxes are occupied by bank presidents. mer-
chants and wealthy citizens, who sit behind lace
curtains and drink Missouri cider-champagne at
S. bottle with sprightly girls in eauze dresses
tights. The carbohydrates and the broken
voiced singers made a pandemonium Of the
place. The weird electric lights make the room
look like Hades illuminated. At IL o'clock the
singing is now and then disturbed by pistol
shots from the cowboys, who shoot down into
the ground, unless they have especial dislike
to the singer; then the balls whisps through the
curtain Sometimes the cowboys chaff the mer-
chants behind the curtains in the boxes and
make them order whisky for the orchestra
Everybody calls everybody else by his first
name, and there is perfect democracy throughout
the saloon. There is no concealment of wicked
ness, but each one does all he can to make the
concert hall the wickedest place in the wickedest
city in the world. The next morning everything
is forgotten. and the merchants are in their
stores the miners in their Mines and the piss
toled cowboy punching his cattle ten miles