Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1893-12-21
OLD MONTANA DAYS.
Helena DesperadOes Who Achieved Fame
by Diving with Their Boots On.

famous home fOf 9OOd IellOWs anu Soou
cheer There are pioneer miners,
bankers and lawyers, nearly all OF whom
fought their way through Indians and
road agents to the country, and among
these there is none more interesting
than Hugh McQuaid. Not long ago,
saws the New York Sun, a few Eastern
visitors were gathered in the Brain
Room" when the talk turned to Bret
Uarte's fiction, and McQuaid was turned
to as an authority.
II never knew but one who reminded
me Of Jack Oakhurst," he said, THAT is,
with the same characteristics. ! mean
polite. and well dressed-aiWayS well
dressed and ready to fight, and fight
fair not looking for fights, you under
stand, but always ready. Oakhurst ana
John Pine were pretty much alike,
jud9c-that is, good gamblers and far
always fair, but devils, regular devils,
when aroused.
."rhe first time | saw Pine was in
Alder Gulch in '63-yes, in 'G3, the year
Of the PorteneT massacre. That was III
Beaver Canon; supposed to be by road
agents, you understand, but ! guess
more Mormons than road agents Wei,
one night was in the FL Sol with Harry
Conpors, Ned Hyde and more now
dead, watching the games, and a great
sight was Women dealing faro-that
is, tough women. ! was sticking type
on the Montana Post, across the street,
ana we used to keep standing the head
Zine, III Sol Furnishes II Man for Break
fast, the same now, you understand, as
Johnny Read keeps that head in the
Butte Inter Mountain, important, II
True
Well We were there Watching the
games and drinkiug-iOu bits a drink
when III come two men, and ] heard
one of them say to johnson: Is Hugh
McQuaid here and johnson pointed to
me and says: There's the man /
noticed one man first, that was Pinc-aS
learned later He says to me: 30
YOU know Judge Law, Of Idaho Well,
/ knew Judge Tom Law ten years be-
torc--sccu him first at Green River
crossing when the Omaha stage was
held up, and We got relieved and bor-
rOwed enough in Salt Lake to Get home.
We'll, the smallest of these men saws,
we have letters from Tom Law to YOU
and we took u drink while read the
letters, and then J looked the party
over.
"But the FIRST man, as ! learned, was
named Pine. Johnny Pine, We soon
called him. but everybody couldn't call
58ill ttti,. VIC llslh illtlltN Oh EbINi hti6t1
which was our only money, and seemed
30 have lots Of it, and he ganlbcd IT like
aky-rockcts, sometimes win and some
times lose, but YOU could never tell
from his looks. seen him lose $1,000
one night, and down to the last sklniul,
and then sit two DAYS and break two of
the banks, and it was that night, ut the
end Of the sitting, that he had the first
row-and it was u hot one.
at was about that time that the boys
come to me aud says, Hugh, whose |
YOUR friend =" to which query would |
always SAY, Find ont for yourselves !
/ knew they you'd find out quick I
enough. Well, like every camp, there +!
selves gun fighters, but | reckon more |
in Alder, because that was the big |
gest gold placer camp, as well as the
first. There was George Ives, who had |
just come from the East and was hot to
get a reputation, which he finally got
along with an obituary.
Eyes, to get back to the fight. He
was playing bank three days, never
leaving the table hardly. When we
run off the Post in the morning I'd |
drop in the Sol, and there he was, keep
ing his own cases and playing II ten
ounce sack for a bet. You see-2s l. |
and two brothers from hammock named |
West, and some more, thought it Il fine
chance to do up Pine, or at least make |
him beg You see every gambler was
fighter and Pine was II gambler from
way up the gulch Well, on the morn
ing that he was making his last play, !
dropped in the FL Sol, after the paper
was run off, and stood around with the
printers at the bar--and, think,
PLAYED of few dollars at the bank,
for everybody played some then.
There was Pine across the room plug
ging away with II big wad of sacks in
his pocket and u row of red chips on
the table, rs | say, each OF them worth
a ien-ounce sack OF clean-hlown dust.
Then | recollected afterWard-but
didn't notice at the timc-lves and the
two West bows and Il lreighter from
Laurens standing around and drinking
considerable, till Ives got pretty drunk
and then got noisy. Then he got out
with six shooter and shot three times
up to the ceiling and yelling all the
time like Gen. Jackson, and saying
that no man in Alder Gulch could get
the drop on him. Finally he gets out
in the middle of the room and looks
hard over to the table where Pine was
playing, and yells:
- Maybe there's n tcndcrtoot faro
bank buster here that Will take me up
Then | seen Pine look up, not at Ives
YOU understand, who was behind him
butt ut The lookout, and | seen his eyes
give flash MS he says, loud enough for
everybody 10 hear:
'''Ouly Il eur shoots man IN the
back.
"Wen. that remark made Ives take to
shallow water but nobody in the house
said word. Ives gets Il few more
drinks and motions to the two West
boys from Bannock who had been
standing around waiting tor a row and
the party went outside. | went over to
Pine and said, old man, maybe you
had better move on. | think them fell
lows are laying for YOU, and he said,