The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-10-10
TWO KINDS OF DUDES.
In This Case One Man Represented the
Daul Character.

How He Withdrew From the Dance Hall
and How He Returned-woIe Flow
cred Tie, but Was Backed by an Army
of Philippians In Soldier Uniforms.
What is the most gratifying thing In
life What spectacle is that which is most
pleasing to the eye What is it that makes
you glad and CHEEKY of hearth
Assuredly it Is the calling Of bluff.
This is the prologue. The story is brief
enough to afford an approach of some kind.
It is the story Of Manning and his colored
guard.
Manning, In the steamboat days of the
upper Missouri, was an assistant paymas-
ter in the federal service 1t was part of
his duties to journey off across the prairies
or up the river TO the whereabouts of the
soldiers, In forts or environments, and to
bring them the money which they could
by no means spend. They could gamble
it, however, and that was something. Ad-
equate shops and trading stores were few
and far between, but blanket under the
brow of the river bank was an ideal spot
for the promotion of monte, and the cir
culation of the gold coin from one to an
other was lively enough to suit the live
lest Imagination.
Manning used to make Fort Pierre on
his travels, and Fort Pierre was charm
ing town in which to go discreetly to bed
at very early hour of the night. Its pop-
ulation was composed of roustabouts, bull
whackers, thieves and mixed quantities
made up of an intermingling of the attri-
butes of all three of these. 1t was the
point at which the wagon train Joined the
steamboat in advancing civilization. Brief
1y, it WIS tough. There were women
there. but they were ten degrees worse
than the men.
Into this town one day in the early
eighties Manning rode WitA an escort of
colored troops He was on his first pay
"trip, and this was a sort of resting point.
Manning's negroes were picked men who
adored combat They did not get it fire.
guentiy enough to make 1t thing pailing
to the stomach courageous, and SO were
ever ready for anything that promised half
a chance to shoot their shining guns As
for Manning himself, he was great, tall,
muscular fellow, handsome as leading
IMAM in society drama, and he wore a
Howered tie. Moreover (and this was an
especial sin in the sight Of the community
into which he had inie&ed himself and
his ne roes at O'Clock IN the afternoon),
speared in enc of the dance halls, chiefly
given over to rousters, he wore cuffs and a
clean collar. This would not have been
altogether intolerable, but he walked I'D
to the bar with the tourist who had come
down from the yellow Pine hotel with
him and asked for drink. Ho should
thave invited the whole house cup. %
Manning and his rather timid friend
drank, and, turning from the bar, looked
upon the dancing teamsters and river
men, who. with awkward step, seethed
about the hall, crippling their feminine
partners and cancehng the crippling by
hbations of strong waters While they
were thus contemplating the queer scene
Big Hank rose as one who saw his duty
clearly before him, and, rumbling over to
the bar, he appeared in front of Manning.
Dude, he roaEed, 3tgit outl This here
amt no expletived dude dance, you double
blanked epithett This is bulIwhackers'
dance and q rousters' dance. Gitp'
That puts 1t somewhat more elegantly
than WAS the manner Ia which he actually
conveyed his sentiments, but in general it
gives his idea. Manning looked at the
giant, with his wiTy black beard and his
naked chest, and said siInasy, perhaps
you are right, I" and Withdrew
When he got outside, he leaped up into
the air and danced madly upon the side
walk and was voluble But he knew that
had he made answer in any other form ey-
cry rouster In the hall would have set upon
him, and they would have beaten him to
death He made for the river
Sergeant Beddiweu end his men were
gathered in a merry campfire company
when the picket hailed the chief of the
treasury box which they were guarding.
Manning gave the black sergeant a few
words of direction, and then, leaving a
small detail to guard the governments
property, the escort Tell In and approached
the town. As the soldiers walked up the
street. Manning noticed that game of fan
tan was in progress in Ho Bong's laundry,
and that half dozen Chinese were clam
oring over the play. A detour was made,
and the laundry was captured, with all its
occupants The prisoners were conducted
to the Holy Smoke dance hall, where the
eviction had occurred
Manning at the head, a sort of reproduo-
lion OF Napoleon, marched into the room,
scattering dancing couples right and left
He drew near to the bar, and, taking COM
mand, ordered the soldiers TO halt and
then directed the sergeant to put them
s~]Ao~33AA sA1szA ai<tlAiISla Dig 11&nk looked
On In wonder Then Manning spoke
IA few minutes ago, % he said, "a mis-
take was made in this place. That over
there, - Indicating Big Hank, ''being led
astray by qneer notions, said that this was
q buuwhackers' and rousters' dance.
am compelled by circumstances to de-
nun. This is Chinee dance Gentlemen"
to the heavy browed roughs who had before
been impatient to back up Hank in outlin-
ing the character Of the revelry, "you will
please take partners and proceed to whirl
You, You big bully" to Hank, "will
dance highland fling with this one eyed
Chinaman. / don't know whether you
can, but you viii do It,
Big Hank looked ugly, but when his
eyes rested on that line of black soldiers,
With guns ready at hand to proceed on
manning orders, be decided that the thing
10 90 was to dance with all his heart and
soul and spirit The wildly affrighted
Chinaman was rushed about the dance
hall In manner athletic and gymnastic
to see. And while the women looked and
laughed the lesser lights of border thug