The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1896-02-29
First Performance Before the Ad-
vent of the N. P.
USED The CHURCH ORGAN
The Three Nights n tied the sum Of
-6S5 for tn Company How
1t " as Done.

The removal of the chairs and other
fittings of the Grand opera house of
Minneapolis, which was always con-
sidered one of the handsomest opera
houses in the country, to Billings,
Mont, illustrates very forcibly how
rapidly western towns take on all the
airs that pertain to metropolitan great
ness, says Edward A. Bromley in the
Minneapolis Journal. 1 have very
vivid recollection of the first entertain
ment that was ever given in Billings,
not simply because 1 was present on
that occasion. as were about all of the
Inhabitants of the town at that time,
but because of the fact that 1 was the
impressario of the occasion.
1t was in June. 1882. One afternoon,
as was our custom, we had all gone
down to the old town of Coulson, which
Joined our new town on the Yellowstone
river side-or, rather, to which the
townsite proprietors of Billings had at
tached their town-to await the arriv-
al of the stage that brought the mail
from Gods country Che easD, and,
incidentally, from Miles City. AS the
stage, little late, came in sight be-
yond the cemetery, on the Huntley
was little lame. The cemetery. by
the way, was famed as the resting
place of rs people, all of whom. save
two, and they children, had died with
their boots on Some of them had
been blown up among the rocks, which
the men We're getting out Of the way
of the Northern Pacific railway, that
was expected to reach us in August.
and others had followed the dilatory
practice of pulling their pistols just
after the other fellow had his out
AS the stage pulled up at the post
office with Postmaster Anderson at the
door of his little shack office, ready to
receive the mail. we noticed that every
man inside the stage had a revolver in
his hand. Inasmuch as we were a law
abiding community, although our town
was only three months old, we resented
the intrusion of these armed strangers
into our territory and each man of us
began lingering the spot where his
suspenders We're fastened in the back.
Noticing the warlike precautions, AL
derson sung out to the driver:
What's the matter, Bill?"
Nothing much" said Bill Gidley, an
old st. Paul boy, by the way. who had
piloted Blakely and BurbanlI's stages
through the Black Hills when the
Sioux were lifting hair every day along
the route; "sOme galOOt tried to hold
us up back here at Pompey's Pillar.
One of his Ass cut the flank of the lead
er, but didn't do any special harm
Scared the tenderfeet inside a little
however"
Gy this time the mail bag was off and
several of the passengers had descend
ed from the leathern- springed vehicle
One of them, spruce young fellow
asked the postmaster where he could
! find the editor of the Billings Herald
| was pointed out as one of them-my
partner, Alexander DeVine, had gone
up the river to Stillwater-and after
introducing himself, the newcomer
placed a letter in my hands. 1t was
from Mr.. Brown, whom I had known
back in the states" through his con-
nection with the Redpath bureau. of
| Boston, as the manager of the Holman
| sisters. 1t stated that he was on his
way west to the Pacific coast by stage
with an opera company of six people.
and asked me, as a favor to an old ac-
| quaintance who might be stranded
1000 miles from home to make all the
arrangements for the appearance of
the company in Billings, and for the
time being become the manager Of the
company. He also stated that there
was pianist in the company but no
musical instruments. He would like to
give three operas in the town and had
one or two drops to set the scenes with.
Give an opera in Billings! Great
Scott! Was the man crazy? AS I
| looked back up the river there came
into view a few unpretentious shacks.
made of cottonwood that, when first
nailed on, would. if they didn't nail it
tight chase you all over the prairie on
a hot day. By far the greater number
of domiciles were those commonly
found where the people are Of migra-
tory disposition, and these were not
very clean at that. A few dance
houses and gambling saloons were
scattered here and there and off to the
north, the one redeeming feature in the
landscape, appeared the Congregations
al church, as humble in its architecture
as any of the other implanted and I'M
glazed buildings.
After a few minutes reflection. I de-
termined to help Brown out, even if
their troubles wreaked their vengeance
on me the first night of the opera. To
| tnlnk was 10 act IN tnat community
and in a few minutes 1 was interview
ing Mr.. Mckay, who was hurrying for
ward the erection of a two-story build-
J ing on Billings main street, with the
intention of opening a saloon so soon
as it was completed. The carpenters
were putting on cloth in lieu of plaster
we hadn't any lath or plaster in that
town-and inasmucn as the store front
was on its way from Minneapolis, the
circulation of air through the building