St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-19

the platform we lunged straight
out from the door and-down! Bear.
dog, monkey, and, as ] thought, the
building = all fell over the porch
with US into mud. sluSh. dresses and
strange dogs-knee-deep! Every canine
loose in town had been attracted and
was there to help in the tumble. A
night so hideous with escape and tu-
mutt must be experienced to be appre-
ciated. The scroWd dispersed in all di-
rectiOns: women dragged their hus-
bands home, crying loudly that the ami
mails had gone mad. OBrien had
enoughi He ordered his habitues to
silence, locked the door and left all
those without remain SO, and among
these were Rafferty,, Swap and WhiS-
kers. Alas, for that fateful night Swap,
the singed and bruised monkey, became
a veritahle topper, and whenever O'Brien
left the store, or was in any wise oblivi-
Gus of Swaps antics. the little rogue
would steal molasses and whisky and
get glorious JAZZ on. This grew to be
not OILY nuisance for O'Brien's larder,
but bred menace to the entire town.
A year ago an account appeared in
the press which storied the fate of
Wakefield as that of calamitous con-
Migration. Every building in the town
was burned to the ground, and the once
noisy little city lay charred in sleep. In
these accounts it was stated that
OBrien'S notorious monkey had, while
piifering the whisky barrel, turned on
the faucet of the kerosene tank. In the
spirit of animal prank he rolled in the
fluid, and procuring cigar stub lg-
nited his dripping coat As the flames
overwhelmed the frightened beast, he
darted through the building, setting on
fire every cOmOustible thing in his way,
O'Brien'S Joint went np like feather,
the flames communicated to the entire
block; and, on the fierce wings of this
element, the town of Wakefield left its
lOdgmenI in that corrupt community.
Hurley lay in ashes. Wakefield was
wiped out A general stagnation soon
settled down upon the works of the
greatest mines about three months after
the Alidor had fairly burst into bloom.
The entertainment of Rafferty,, Swap
and WhlSkers was our last on the range
albeit forever. In few days we had
taken gracious leave of Bill, the noblest
ranger of them all, and were back to
more congenial affairs in St.. Paul. Loot,
whose home identity shall remain UNI
divuiged, cheered by the thought of
falling back into the social rank. unOb-
served and unsupported of any irreg-
ularity unbecoming q "felloW of his
station on the avenue" rushed to his
home, shook himself innocent and
emerged the gentleman again. He has
since played his old-time part in our
elite, has often tripped the cotilion with
the same hoofs by which he walked
"behind the cart" and is the same,
much-talked-Of royal fellow he was Of
yOre.
And this is the history, relation and
romance of the twin enterprise. The
mine was named after the opera. 1t
was pushed by shlewd men. The
opera was produced by sagacious
genius who pressed it against the cold
bosom of a public. They sank together
at the feet of sweeping influences. l. 1t
would be unjust to say that the AlidOr-
itors lost much money in the venture.
The end of the Alidor was but char
acteristic example of the fortune which
befell hundred other similar ventures
by our home people. Figuratively
speaking, the odd twins were fostered
and nurtured by the same people. the
one by substantial encouragement and
patronage, the other by actual invest
ment; and social indifference laid one
to rest, and commercial inertness bore
down the other to silent ruin.