St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-08-08
SAINT PAUL.
THE WILD, WIDE WEST,

The WILD, WIDE WESI,
"No, stree; we haven't gone yet"
remarked one of the Montana men yes
terday afternoon, as he and his friend
accompanied by another gentleman,
seated themselves in the same seats in
the Merchants, occupied the day before.
''You can't get rid of US as quick as all
that" continued he, gazing out of the
! window at the wet and mud bedraggled
citizens, and at the rain that was COM
| ing down rather cOpiOusly, and shivered.
II wish we could have rains like that
| in Montana. What glorious country
it would be then to be sure. 1t is
glorious country anyhow, even if we
have to rely on the general humidity of
things for our baths and irrigation for
our crops. Of course. now that | am
speaking about crops, have reference
to the Gallatin valley and the vicinity
of Bozeman, my home. Despite all
that my friend here" pointing
to the other Montana man. ''may
say to the contrary. The Gallatin val.
ley is one of the most beautiful spots in
all creation. The claim may be put up
that Bozeman is dull and that the in
habitantS are all EX-confederate soldiers,
but that doesn't make any difference,
because beyond any doubt the country
around there is perSonitication of every
thing that is lovely"
i
"You may say what you please about
BoZemaD," retorted the second Mon
tana man, "but that won't square you
with the population of Montana at large,
after what you said about some of the
towns yesterday. When L saw in the
GLOBE this morning what you had said
about Billings, Miles City and Glendive,
| actually shuddered for your sake, as
remembered that we both had to travel
through those places on our way home
to morrow. Oh, but won't the
residents of those places roast
you. if you ever run for the presidency
of the country? But never mind. here
ing the third gentleman) who can, per-
haps, tell us something about his coun-
try between drinks. Colorado, you
know, is a great place-that is, from a
typographical point of view, as that
portion of it which is not an alkali
desert is a mammoth worked-out mine,
with nothing but sluice boxes left.''
i
"You are a little hard on Colorado, l
think" said the gentleman from that
place, good naturally, taking his wide,
white, soft hat off and Stroking his long
goatee, "because it is one of the finest
countries in the world. l live, as you
know, at Pueblo, the Mecca of the
West and the living eXemplifcatiOn of
'dere's gold in de mCultains.' l went
out to Colorado seven years ago from
Cleveland for my health and to make
my fortune. certainly secured health,
as pair of strong lungs and 200 pounds
avoirdupoiS, which are my constant
companions nowadays, will testify to.
While l have not made fortune, | am
still so we'll fixed that do not have to
work the free lunch counters when l
come to ST. Paul. l went out
from Kansas City Oh the Santa
Fe and stopped off at Los Animas
a little bit of a place at that time and no
larger now. / thought the place would
grow, you see, and that | would grow
with it, fguratively speaking. There
was only one place for me to stop at,and
that was sort of restaurant with
saloon attached, or more properly speak
ing, a saloon with a restaurant at
tached. l didn't stay there very long,
however, as was tenderfoot and con-
sequently the society did not agree with
me, nor with it. saw 10 hing but
cowboys, half-breeds, and revolverS as
big as rifles during my whole stay.
What hurried my departure from the
place was little episode that occurred
that came very near in resulting in a
confscation of the only lung l pos
sessed at that time l was Sleep
ng in little room right Off
from the bar-roOm one night, when a
couple of cowboys and Mexican got
into row over game of cards. The
Mexican was playing a Snap-game Oh
IA txun n
NEARLY all their money when they
tumbled to the racket and grabbed all
the stakes on the table. The Mexican
retaliated by sticking a bowie clear to
the hilt into the breast of one of the
cowboys, and he fell over on the table
as dead as a door-nail. The other one
rushed out and called some of his
companions that were lounging about
on the outside. Then there was sheol
to pay. They fired the greaser full Of
to'es in jiffy, shot out the lights,
broke the chairs. and then made break |
for the room | was in. You can imagine
the condition was in when l heard
them coming. jumped out of |
bed and rushed into the next
room without stopping to ascertain |
whether it was occupied or not, and the |
irate cowboys, not finding any one, |
went out and began to shoot again. |
When l recovered my senses fully
enough to look around | found that |
had run directly into the room occupied |
by the proprletOr's wife. She was sit
ting up in bed looking a little bit
frightened herself, and asked me what
was the matter. began to tell her
when realized the horrible fact that
l was standing talking to lady in my
shift. | didn't wait to apologize, but
rushed back to my room and dressed as
hurriedly as possible. l didn't go back
doors and walked around the back part
of the house all night. Let it suffice to
say that left the next day."
Il
81 went to Deming, New Mexico,
thinking, perhaps, that l would find
things more congenial; but alas, every
thing was about the same as it was at
Las Animas. | boarded at a cheap
house right across from the depot, kept |
by a man named Pete Sullivan. 1t was |
about the time that the champion pugil-
list, John L., was making his tour
through California and the extreme
Western states. Pete told me in a con-
fdential way that John l.. was cousin |
of his and that he expected the big fell
low to come and remain several months |
with him. / was on the point of leav-
ing him at the time he impaired this
wonderful piece of information to me,
but as he solemnly declared that |
the eminent exponent of Delsarte |
would be there inside of ten days. l |
thought l would remain and see the |
man who had whipped Paddy Ryan,
and whom the whole county was talk |
ing about. l waited twenty days, but, |
of course, he never came. although Pete |
told me everyday that He'll be here in |