The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-11-06
HAzED THE DRUMMER
Rafting Reception Given the First
Commercial Traveller At
Valentine, Nsh
Took Altogether Too Serious .
View OF Himself and His
Importance.
Il Was . Pat Up job. "Aad II Was Well
Put Up, Toe" says the
Colonel.

ut was while I was stationed at For
Niobrara," Colonel George Barry began a
he lighted a fresh cigar at the Lotus clul
the other night, that the first commercial
traveler-drummers some people call then
made his appearance in Valentine. HI
was a aim little fellow, and he seemed t.
have given a good deal of care to his per
sonal adornment. Where he made his
mistake was in taking too serious q view OF
himself.
He dropped into Valentine on one Of the
first trains that got through over the new
road. He had a couple Of fancy yellow
grips that must have looked very pretty to
him, for he lugge6 them with him when he
went into Dutch Georges saloon to get a
drink. His other accouterments were a
very light striped suit and q jannty little
straw hat which aroused the mirth of the
cowboys.
"lt's surprising how little some fellows
can pick up in travelling around the earth.
Now. that chap didn't know any more
than to drop those yellow grips right in
front Of Dutch Georges bar and call for a
Manhattan cocktail. Yes, sir, he wanted
q Manhattan cocktail, and he wanted il
quick too.
lyon ought to have seen Dutch George
look al him. Then he winked a couple OF
times ut the row of cowboys sitting along
the side of the room n turned around
and began to mix . lot of things together
for dear life The little drummer leaned
one a1monthe bar and looked around at the
row Of cowboys without seeming to see the
chap tlsat had dyed up behind him. Just
as Dutch George had finished mixing what
ever it was he had fixed up for the drum
mer, there was a pistol shot, and one of the
boys sitting at the side Of the room gave a
yell n fell out of the chair in a heap on
the floor. A big six shooter fell to the floor
beside the little drummer, and a little
cloud Of smoke rose between the drummer
and the bar.
"WaL. sir, you can believe it or not, lust
as you like, but I am telling you that there
was a row. Those cowboys yelled like the
devil and swore that the drummer had shot
the fellow who had fallen out of the chair.
Three OF four Of them pulled their guns
and were for shooting the drummer right
there, but one fellow proposed to lynch
him, and that proposition went through
with a whoop. Some of them carried out
the COWBOY who was supposed to have
been shot, and Dutch George began looking
Tor a rope. The drummer just gasped two
or three times and wilted down into a chair
white as ghost and scared almost to death.
Once or twice he tried to say something,
but all he could get out was a whispered,
Why, gentlemen, I-why-what-I assure
you r
8 they started to take the little chap
out to hang him. There wasn't a tree that
wond serve in 40 miles, and they were a
good deal puzzled as to how to get a salts.
factory gallows on such short notice. They
kept talking it over before the drummer in
tire coolest sort of way, and I tell you he
was scared. Just as they got to the door
OF the saloon there was a shout that the
sheriff was coming. and before any one
could say jack rabbit the sheriff and an
other man We're there with their six shoot
ers in their hands, demanding the prisoner
in the name of the law. The little drum
mer was so relieved that he could have
Rugged the sheriff, and he began to try to
talk again. The sheriff told him to shut |
up If he wanted to get out alive and
started with him for the door. But lust as
soon as his back was turned one of the
cowboys shouted:
"'Shoo him! Shoot him! Don't let him
get away like that
'The sheriff and his man sWunc round
and whipped out their six shooter again.
Keep iac2p he shouted 'Ill shoot the
first galoet that touches this man so full of
holes he won't need a grave
1.-The cowboys took the challenge, and in
less than a quarter of a second more than
40 pistol shots were fired. 1t sounded like
an engagement OF infantry. The room was
full OF smoke. Two or three of the cow
boys fell to the floor, and the man who was
with the sheriff went down with a groan.
crying That he was done for. Somehow or
other the sheriff got off all right, and while
the shooting was liveliest dragged his man
out into the street. TIT little drummer
was near having a fit from fright, and the
sheriff had lost his hat. 1t was a ]particu-
larly fine sombrero, with a band heavily
ornanlented with silver, and the sheriff
wouldn't have lost it to save IA men from
being lynched. So he took the drummer to
the corner of the saloon and said:
New, I'm going back there for nv hat,
Don't you wiggle out of this SPOT till |
come back. If you do, you're mighty liable
to lose your life mighty sudden and I'M
pleasant
with that tho sheriff left the drummer
standing there at the corner and went back
to the saloon. He hadn't any more than |
opened the door before the shooting BEGAN
again, and what had been done before |
wasn't a marker to what it was that time.
The little drummer listened to it for a min
ute and then all OF a sudden seemed to re-
allze that he was alone and that the road
WAS before him. The next sixteenth of q
second he was off up the road like a quar-
ter horse, with never a thought of his two
fancy yellow grips.
"He'd got about $50 yards away when the
door OF the saloon opened, and Dutch
George and the sheriff and half a dozen
cowboys jumped out into the street with
their guns in action. Well, the way the
bullets dropped around that drummer's
feet would beat a Kansas hailstorm. And
the more they dropped the faster he ran.
You can talk about you Salvatore and all
the rest of them! If / he'd a horse that
could run the way hat little drummer
footed it out of Valentine, I'd bet there
wouldn't another man get a race. I'd win
EN- all; by CAD, sir, I would. I'd break I'D
the horse racing business. And when it
was all over and the bullets wouldn't carry
to the little drummer any longer the sheriff
and the cowboys, including all the dead