The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-04-29

|
notonous Theatres, Its Bad Liquor and
| its Forssken Devotees-What TOOK
Place 10 the Theatres-Di1erent Grades
of Degradation Wiped Out by AvsngIne
Fire.
Cripple Creek. Colo, April 27-(Spe-
cial correspondence)- Cripple Creek is
considerably of a ruin at this writing.
The famous ''Tenderloin'' district, the
region Of dance halls, saloons, gambling
bells and the resorts of scarlet wo-
men is a blackened ruin-morally black
before it now wears the black garb of
| burnt desolation. This district had
been the resort of the wicked and visit
ed by the curiosity seeker. No man
had seen Cripple Creek who had not
taken in the ''row''-referring TO My
ers mainly between Third and Fourth
avenues. There he would witness
scenes peculiar to mining camp
There he would see and hear many
things all pointing away from right
eousnesS unless TO him "vice were a
monster of hideous mien." In the fore
noon this region was comparatively
| quiet, as those who reveled till the
gray dawn slept till past midday. From
| that on there was preparation for rev.
elry. Girls with painted faces and
| abbreviated dresses, and with smiles bid
the way going man TO come with them
and not always in vain was the net
spread in the sight of the bird. AS
night approached music filed the air.
Crowds gathered. There came the
evil. those celebrating evil and possibly
the just. Some times there the man of
the holy calling who suffered himself
to be coddled and fond1ed by the dane
ing girl that he might know for a GER
tainty something of Myers avenue.
What scenes were enacted here! What
revelry. what debauchery, what leech-
cry only he who knows the inside truth
can tell-rather she who knows can
tell. To the visitor it presented the
drinking habit unrestrafned in man and
woman The conduct of men and wo-
men was familiar beyond measure; con-
versation was profane and vulgar;
drunken women were numerous; cold
or not street carousals lasted way into
the night; in many cases the color line
was lost sight of; it was civilized man
under control of the animal-:n other
words savagery in civilization. The
dance was wild and reckless at times
but again the waltz that might be toll
Grated, even enjoyed anywhere. The
dances were interspersed with drink |
Two drinks for % cents and a dance
Thus the night wore away.
Truth to tell it, there are grades in |
halls, and in mining camp theatres. In |
the first place of amusement nothing |
worse goes on, if we may believe what |
we hear, than drinking, stage scenes
familiarity between the danceuses and |
such Of the visitors as will tolerate it. |
The profit of the amusement comes
from the sale of drinks. The girls
play sweet (term used alphabetically |
on the men whereupon beer is served |
in the private boxes" at a dollar a
bottle. Thus visitor may get in the |
Show for 10 of % cents and spend in the |
course of the night as much as SO for
drink. In these cases the girls are on a
small salary and get a percentage of
what they sell, so all night long they
tempt or bore men, as the case may be.
in their efforts to get them to buy
drinks.
The performance need not be descirb-
ed at great length-it is a variety with
scenes and incidents thrown in suita-
bic to the mining camp. Through one
and interminable waits that it may be
indeed long drawn out-for the aim is
TO make an all nights job of it. The
acts are interspersed with song by a
variety songtress. Outside of curiosity
TO find a variety singer different from
all others you ever heard, this song
viii! be the most monOtonous in the
world. They all sing alike. save once in
a great while comes an artist of some
merit. They have d confidence born of
impudence. She sways, gesticulates.
grins, and in a hard. high pitched voice
she sings, chestnut, if not in meaning
at least in manner. In a Dromiscous
audience she never lacks some persons
TO applaud and she responds to the en-
core. know one who never sympa-
thlzes with her till her voice gives out,
as it not infrequently does in this alti-
tude. then 1 really pity her The play :
goes on; the dance, the minstrel. the (
joke full Of illusions of smut. ap- {
plauded by a coarse. senseiess horse
laugh; by and by song after song prom (
ses that the nights performance will
md in this monOtonous way. So leaving {
the reader TO fill out the rest OF the en- | S
ertalnment from imagina ton, l submit I
-hese remarks upon mining camp theat- !
'lcals, save 10 say that at times there
5 acting that has a touch of real merit. {
In the midst of that locality of rev. 7
Try, where was carouSal by night and
sleep by day, as the dial pointed to the
lour of l in the afternoon rapid sue
'essive pistol shots rung out upon the Z
lir. What was it? At that moment
he sampler whistle. the most dismal.
sounding whistle ever de
Used by man, blew sucn blasts as took /,
M |
thousands gathered; some running; :
ONE sauntering curiously. The Ten {,
Ierloin district was or fire. but il was !,
outh of Myers avenue and at first lit 7
e fear was felt that the fire would :
con be brought under control There
vas no wind and everything seemed :,
adorable for speedy extinction OF the !
ire But they reckOnded not truly. !
he houses were OF woodbury. Dine- :
hoeted with paper. the foundations .
rere wood, the water pressure was :,
-eak. and the flames which seemed for !.
moment checked. broke suddenly ;
new as il were, and all hope OF saving | ;,
he south side Of Myers avenue disap- a
cared. Suddenly the Topic thea TIRE, a :
arge twc-stOry frame building admira- ;
" adopted inside and out as q FIRE \
rap. and on the north side OF Myers. >
as discovered TO be on fire. This was n
1 the pOStoffice block and only the al :
y separated the Topic and postofice :.
uilding. The fire was beyond control. :;
onsternation was on every face. There | q
as noiSe, tumutt. whistles. bells. men >,
4 horseback and o. foot running Ike
lad, throwing goods. groceries. and p,
ieats into the street. into dray wagons. | n
addressed women rushed from bed >,
IONS into the street All was co1fus- j.
N. Book cases. trunks. mirrors and =
eds were flung into the street 7 :,