The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1896-07-17
HAZING A DRUMMER.
BATTLING RECEPTION GIVEN A CON-
MERCiAL TRAVELLER.

He Was the First of His Kind to Visit the
Town, and He Took Too Serious n View
of Himself-It Was a Put Up job, land
Well Put Up, Too,' Says the Colonel.
ut was while was stationed at Fort
Niobrara," Colonel George Barry began as
he lighted a fresh cigar at the Lotus club
the other night, that the first commercial
traveler-drummers some people call them
made his appearance in Valentine. He
was slim little fellow, and he seemed to
have given good deal of care to his per-
sonal adornment. Where he made his
mistake was in taking too serious view of
himself.
"He dropped into Valentine on one of the
first trains that got through over the new
road. He had couple of fancy yellow
grips that must have looked very pretty to
him, for he lugged them with him when he
went into Dutch Georges saloon to get a
drink. His other accouterments were a
very light striped suit and a jaunty little
straw hat which aroused the mirth of the
cowboys.
Its surprising how little some fellows
can pick up in travelling around the earth
Now, that chap didn't know any more
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front of Dutch Georges bar and call for a
Manhattan cocktail. Yes. sir he wanted
a Manhattan cocktail, and he wanted it
quick too.
You ought to have seen Dutch George
look at him. Then he winked a couple of
times at the row of cowboys sitting along
the side of the room and turned around
and began to mix a lot of things together
for dear life. The little drummer leaned
one arm on the bar and looked around at the
row of cowboys without seeming to see the
chap that had edged up behind him. Just
as Dutch George had finished mixing what
ever it was he had fixed up for the drum
mer, there was pistol shot, and one of the
boys sitting at the side of the room gave a
yell and 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.
well, sir, you can believe it or not, just
as you like, but am telling you that there
was row. Those cowboys yelled like the
devil and swore that the drummer had shot
the fellow who had fallen out of the chair.
Three or four of them pulled their guns
and were for shooting the drummer right
there, but one fellow proposed to lynch
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with whoop. Some of them carried out
the cowboy who was supposed to have
been shot, and Dutch George began looking
for rope. The drummer just gasped two
OF 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 q whispered,
why, gentlemen, I-why--what-I assure
you p
$50 they started to take the little chap
out to hang him. There wasn't tree that
would serve III 40 miles, and they were
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
the coolest sort of way, and tell you he
was scared, just as they got to the dool
Of the saloon there was shout that the
sheriff was coming. and before any one
9 could say jack rabbit the sheriff and an
other man were there with their six shoot
4 ers in their hands, demanding the prisoner
8 in the name of the law. The little drum
( mer was SO relieved that he could hav,
' Rugged the sheriff, and he began to try t.
talk again. The sheriff told him to shu
up if he wanted to get out alive anc
started with him for the door. But just a
: soon as his back was turned one of tn,
cowboys shouted:
: "'Shoot himl Shoot him! Don't let hin
} get away like that
j "The sheriff and his man swung rount
aud whipped out their six shooters again
Keep backp he shouted. I'll shoot tn
first galoot that touches this man SO full O
holes he won't need grave
1.-THE cowboys took the challenge, and il
, less than quarter of second more thai
40 pistol shots were fired. 1t sounded lik
an engagement of infantry. The room wa
full of smoke. Two or three of the COW
r boys fell to the floor, and the man who wa
with the sheriff went down with a groan
crying that he was done for. Somehow O
! other the sheriff got off all right, and Will
the shooting was liveliest dragged his mai
out into the street. The little drumme
S was near having fit from fright, and tn
Q sheriff had lost his hat. 1t was particu
q larly fine sombrero, with a band heavil
a ornamented with silver, and the sheriff
wouldn't have lost it to save IA men from
being lynched. So he took the drummer t.
D the corner of the saloon and said:
"'Now, Pm going back there for my hat
, Don't you wiggle out of this spot till
t come back. If you do, you're mighty liabl
E to lose your life mighty sudden and uu
pleasant
with that the sheriff left the drumme
= standing there at the corner and went bacl
to the saloon. He hadn't any more tina,
,, opened the door before the shooting begal
again, and what had been done befor
! wasn't marker to what it was that time
D The little drummer listened to it for min
. ute and then all of sudden seemed to re
2 alize that he was alone and that the roat
was before him. The next sixteenth of
, second he was off up the road like quar-
ter horse, with never thought of his tw,
fancy yellow grips.
He'd got about $50 yards away when tn
t door of the saloon opened, and Dutcl
Q George and the sheriff and half dozel
cowboys jumped out into the street will
a their guns in action. Well, the way tn
= bullets dropped around that drummer
= feet would beat Kansas hailstorm. An,
: the more they dropped the faster he ran
= You can talk about your Salvatore and al
t the rest of theml If | had horse tina
: could run the way that little drumme