The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-06-03
GAYL0R OUT WEST
The Famous Variety Show Comedian
Talks Of Dodge City and
Leadville.
wild Times at the Former Place
When the Cowboys Were
In Town.

Sssns / u . Dance Hall, Where the Eu
wsnt On-BoSby's Mining vsa-
ture 1T Leadville.
The soft applause Of cloved hands an
the quiet though intensely hearty laughte
that has greeted ''Bobby" Gaylor. the sta
In ''Sport McAllister." at ~Rossnquest'
Biiou thsatcr, must fall very oddly on Gay
lor's ear, Time was when his admirers j
tho wild and woody west greeted Gaylor b.
shooting holes in the ceilings of the vAriet,
halls whore be was singing or by playful.
firing bullets over his head into the berid
died scenery.
NJ took Horace Greeley's advice in &C.
said Gnylor the other might to Il patty o.
his friends, among whom was a New Yorl
World reporter. who fingered after a lat,
supper over their cigars, and went west
That was ths year, you remember, that the
Irish went to Canada to capture England
! went on tho stage in IA in st. Louis,
jake Esher, who kept n little variety
theater there, put me on the stage. 10 put
jos Emmet on the stage, too. Emmst was
: drummer in Eshsr's orchestra, and one
day Jake heard him running over the keys
and singing. That was the beginning OF
Emmefs career.
zone night l went to Esher's with a cou-
ple Of friends who knew him we'll. We
looked ut the performance a while and l
GOT a few beers into me. After several reo-
pls had done their turns l said to my
friends, None OF them are great shakes, l
could do as we'll myself My friends, for
a lark, coaxed Esher to let me go on. 1
sang and danced and made the biggest hit
/ ever did. Esher engaged mo on the spot
at the magnificent salary Of $40 a week and
l was with him for six months. Then I
went to Cincinnati. l thought then I was
cut out for q darky and l doubled up with a
young fellow and did darky song and
dances. l thought / was in the business
then, sure.
about wild scenes in the west? Dodge
City in 1877 was a dandy Dodge City was
the shipping point for the Texas Cattle trade.
During the winter about four hundred peo-
pie lived there; from May to October there
were always about three thousand men III
town. mostly cowboys. They brought the
cattle up from Texas and were paid off in
Dodge City. Each one bought a new pair of
and then started in for = time with
the rest of the money. They always had she
time but no one ever went away with
money. There was q plaza about a. wide
as seven B~roadways there, through the !
pentsr of which the railroad ran. The plazs
lined on both sides with gambling
drinking saloons and concert gardens
that were wide open day and night. The
Place was full of killers Bat Masterson
sheriff and his brothers Ed and Jim
we're there. These three at that time had a
tecord Of thirty-four men. Thsn there we're
who we're very quick on the trig-
ger. ] was singing at q variety hall kept BY
Springer and Dick Brown. Brown was
4 killer too. He sloped from Cheyenne
to Laadville with a mans wifs and the man
came after him. Brown was playing the
banjo on the stage one matinee, when the
man climbed up from the floor of the hall
stage and the show went OF.
Zone afternoon while l was singing a
young fellow, crazy with Dodge City run,,
which would knock a Digger Injun silly.
riding down tho street US fast as his
bronco could run, and bling, bling. bing.' he
let ny from two guns through the plank
walls OF the theater. The bullets came low
uAu VuC ouAhCASO oislUlSCu ~ lSaTu WQ0I0
they came from. They dropped the crazy
young fellow and carried him to the
'morgue,' US they called it. which was tho
hospital. too, and WAS ever the only news
paper office in town. l took a liking to the
young fellow after he sobered up, and / used
to go the 'morgue' and read to him. The
said he would have to amputate his
arm. which had been shot through, and tho
young fellow asked nae to hold his other
hand while the sawbones was at work. The
doctor gave him a little chloroform, when.
all OF a sudden, the young fellow half rose
up. yelled mother at tine top of his voice
and fell back dead. l could never learn
who his mother was.
doc Holiday" Gaylor went on, in an
twas a thin. spare fellow with a thin soft
voice. ANY ono would take him for q
marker He was dancing at Il ball one
and a big chap was jumping around I
on the floor, stamping with his heavy boots
Doc.'
Quit your stamping, won't YOU said
Holiday, very quietly and pleasantly.
The big fellow kept on. Holiday pulled
ms gun and shot him dead. AS he fell Hol-
llday shouted, Go on dancing, 60 on dane
ing; it's nothing They did 90 on dancing,
whi!e the walters carried out the body. /
don't believe the musicians lost a note.
FROM DOuge City l went to LeaQyiIle in
1913. There 1t was a case Of sociability all
the time. Day or night was Just the same,
and the only difficulty was that a man had
TO go to sleep sometimes. casd to travel
with charlie Vivian and with H'Reardop,
VINO wrote My Dream Ct Love Is Der aud
o.ner songs. l was singing at The Coils
eam,. q variety hall. and the place was doing
tne biggest business in town. The manager
u rlVal house, knowing that | had tho
mining 1eVer, put up Il job to get me away.
! had located n claim in the Robinson min.
ING district outside of Leudyille, and sent
Two men there to work it, giving them their
grub stakes. All ut once the rumor spread
through tho town of a great strike ut the
,"leel OF Fortune mine, which was next
70 my claim. 1t created intense excite
meAt, ana, you may imagine, ! was not
Inc least excited. Early that evening a
from the east the waiter
sald, called to seu me at the thea.er.
l went out and saw Il l~nuoth-
man VINO wore e stovepipe hat, the only
eyer saw in Leadvillo. He or
uerea Il small bottle Of vine, and after a
llttle talk offered me $1,000 for NV claim.
more talk, and finally the gentleman from
ne east bid up to $4,000. still refused.
hy that time l thought | was q millionaire.
ana when they came and told me that the
staRe was waiting and the people were show
InR tnelr lmpatience by shooting ut the
chandeliers. | said No moro stage for me-
ana STARTED Oil on foot Tor my claim, On
Inc way 1 met the :wo men who had been
working 1T and asked them what thew had
struck. hey eRid water When | reached
ne taeater again ] heard that it was the |
riVAi manager who had started the report
NJ tho EtrIlA p$ tIn sNyL.zl r. |