The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-10-20
PANHANDLE HOTELS.
A BUSINESS REQUIRINa a VARIETY
OF TALEN rs.

Democrat
This is such a beautiful lite hotel, all so
new, clean. sweet and airy, and supplied
hotel OF the effete east. Just think of itl
The first railroad came through the Pam
handle only four years ago; up to that time
lumber had to he hauled from Red Lake
Mills, n. NJ, or DodgaGitY, Kan, for build
lug; yet at Amarillo, which is the greatest
cattle shipping point In the United States
that is, for shipping cattle or the range F.,
there is a delightful hotel, with pretty suites
of rooms and as good cuisine as anything L
have found east Of New Orleans, and our
little hotel here is just smaller edition or
the Amarillo.
RUNNING A HOTEL UNDER DIFFICULTIES.
But a circumstance occurred lss5 week
which set US talking OF Panhandle hotels as
thew used to be. The cook left suddenly IN
response to telegram from another ran
handle hotel man offering him twice as
much as we gave him; the dlsn"asher mao
long been gone before; Mrs. East, WIFE or
the PROPRIETOR, who had heretofore been
doing the chamberwork herself, was filling
his place. while [ was by turns and spas
medically first assistant chambermaid,
deputy darner and mender and high ad-
mifal of the linen room committee on lights
and general scullery maid and offscouring
But the cook left-on a telegram. We
ali fled to the kitchen; we preclpiteted our
selves into it with the utmost fury at day.
light, and fought, bled aud died there, off
an on. ell day-the entire household and
most of the neighbors. Nobody understood
the range and the range understood no"
body.
Mr.. East built fire in it for just forty
- 1
the btterest invectIve to get feeble flame
20 live precariously in the back of the fire.
box, while in the front ell was fresh kind
ling wood, coal and frigid gloom. But
things improved as the day went on; the
weather. the range and ourselves all warmed
up together.
Mrs East cooked; Mr.. East sliced meat,
sawed bones and chuckled; all the relatives,
connections and honorary members OF the
household, among the latter myself, washed
dishes, pots and paus, helped prepare, serve,
etc. Any unfortunate stray visitor (wi5h-
out regard to age, sex or previous condi-
ton of servitude) had hat and coat
snatched OFF, and after being invested
with an apron and furnished with some
implement Of domestic slavery, was made
20 work or leave. On this manner small
boy who had come to borrow a spoonful Of
soda was detained until his father came
after him with a barrel hoops and two fe-
males, one OF whom had it in her mind 20
sell us somebody's memoirs, and the other
to teach us to make hair and waZ flowers,
we're utilized two hours, after which they
ded to the depot and left on the neXt train.)
Our nails got broken off in jagged serra-
tions, like buzz sawB-we cut them down to
the quick. We burned our hands freely,
promiscuouslY and unanimously on the
range. scalded them over the steamer, cut
them with knives, dropped on them the de-
jected old window that won't stay up,
gOuged them with can tops, torn them with
can openers, and jammad them enthusiastic
ally in doors. But all this was rather pleas
ing To me, as I've some brown looking stuff
In funny bottle that mends all the casual
ties that flesh is heir TO, aud pm held in
esteem as che big medicine man of the tribe.
Cooks have been telegraphed for all over
the inhabited world-and the Panhandle.
People start em here with letters in their
hands, and wire US they are Coming They
go past on the Fort Worth aud Denver, fall
into an abyss Of silence and Oblivion, and
their loved ones hear Of them no more.
This thing has been going on forfour days
now, and we really like it. We work like
galley slaves-hke dray mules--horses at
brick yards, dogs at dog churns; but, 0, we
eat like oannibals, our circulation is the
most active and extensive Of any in the
Panhandle; our digestion is $50 per cent,
our brows are wet with gallons and gallons
Of honest sweat, and we owe not any man
except the telegraph operator, and he
boards with US.
But, as l said, we reminisce on the sub
Ject of Panhandle hotels.
THE FIRST PANHANDLE HOTEL.
Probably the first hotel in Panhaldle was
Tommy O'LGughlin's place OF Mobeetie,
which is the oldest settlement in this coun-
try. This was picket house Of about three
rooms, with dirt floor and roof, and the
front door was frame work with COW
skin stretched over it. There was a kitchen,
dining room and Mrs. Tommy's room.
There were no rooms for guests, and some
times mot anything else; for whites,
Tommy would conclude to have a
big time and play "monten with his ag-
gregsted savings from the hotel business,
Mrs. Tommy would coincidentally repudiate
cooking and its attendant labors as unwor-
thy and unbecoming her charms, end would
employ herself entirely in looking pretty;
and, for a season, there was no hotel, ard
The stranger within Mobeetie's gates-be be
Grant cattleman, COW puncher, tenderfoot
locator who would add to the population, or
the sheriff with papers calculated tG 8eplete
lt-had not only 20 sleep as heretofore under
his own saddle blanket or such bedding az
he was prudently furnished with, but to
rustic his provisions about like the patient
and enterprising wearer Of the a.saddle
blanket
THE FIRST "PLANKn HOTEL.
Dunc Gage came home to the ranch one
day and announced that tho railroad had
got to Quauah-which was then q tent
,town-and they had a plank hotel with Il
plank floor; ~ c'u'd jes' walk an look
back at yer shaddeT!" His description of
his nights experience at the new plank
hotel was entertaining. The, building,
which was a long narrow affair intended to
be d string of rooms with q passagew8y
running along beside them, was barely in
closed and rooted, and had not yeJ any
partitions. Dune and his friend rushed over
the moment the train stopped to secure
beds. They were the first and the proprie-
tor put them to bed in the farthest end Of
the long room. Then he went off
and reappeared with blankets, small
boy, haichet and nails. He
climbed on chairs and nailed the two
opposite corners of q pair Of blankets to the
opposite sides Of the room, stretching the
blankets with all his might to make them
reach. Then he got down and nailed the
lower corners to the floor, hauling in both
directions TO make il reach both down and
across. By this time the cheap, sleazy
blanket was all corners, only about two
feet wide in the middle, and, regarded as a
screen or barrier, was about As htnsy and
vaiu pretense 9s a modern social conven-
tionaity-es though he bad written in air,