Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1896-05-06
SWEET HOME.

1ne nOU August suullSnG DedJ uercely
down upon the struggling cluster OF
dingy frame buildings that reared their
shabby, pretentious, false fronts in the
midst of the parched, quivering prairie.
Save for the knot of saddle ponies
standing with detected heads before the
door of the single saloon, no sign of
life existed The few buildings scat
tered along the main street looked un-
utterably shabby and cheap under that
hot, scorching glare.
Things had not been going we'll at
Sweet Home lately. In fact, the boom
that had originated and sustained its
existence showed unmistakable signs of
collapse. The most strenuous efforts of
its founder, the most lavish distribu-
tions of lurid literature. failed to attract
prospective buyers. Seven of the eight
columns of The Weekly Ozone had for
weeks been devoted to the unparalleled
prospects of those owning town lots
and the desolate hopelessn ess of those
who did not. A couple of stray tramps,
kicked off passing freight train, were
Immediately heralded as astute capital
lists, eager to grasp at this wealth of
opportunity; passing cyclone that
overturned third of the town was en-
larged upon as evidence of the unlimit-
ed quantities of pure air.
D,,t 1J,,,t an1 W. l1io1o
Sweet, ESQ.,, better known as "Windy
Bill" was forced to admit, as he sat in
his grimy office splitting tobacco juice
through the gaping seams in the warped
hemlock flooring, that he was near to
the end of his rope All the tried and
true lodges of professional town BOOM
ers had been used without effect; the
obstinate public absolutely refused to
invest their money in his town lots.
He glanced at the map of the city
hanging on the wall. ct hadn't been
paid for, but "Windy Bill'' never paid
for anything.) The beautifully ruled
spaces marked "city hall, Botanical
Gardens" "Public Fountains" etc.,
were as yet as nature had fashioned
them. The city hall was thriving
prairie dog town, the Botanical gardens
contained choice collection of tumble
weeds, Russian thistle and wild mus
tard, while the site of the public foun-
tains was buried under miscellaneous
collection of defunct animals. The little
tickets that marked the property sold
were so hopelessly few and scattered as
to be almost indiscernible.
Mr.. Sweet had been in tight places
before in fact, a considerable portion of
his past had been spent lodging those
inquisitive individuals called deputy
sheriffs. Now, however, when his credit
at the Blue Goose was attacked, the
situation was, indeed, desperate. A man
might rub along without meat, but with
out drink, never.
Suddenly an idea developed in his
racked brain. Grasping a apen and blow
ing cloud of alkali dust from solid
sheet of paper, he traced with grimy,
perspiring hands the following lines:
The proprietor of delightful resort in q
state that affords peculiar advantages to those
cial terms to Divorces. Pure air and water
Good society. Address
WILLIAM SWEET, ESQ,
Mayor and Counselor ut Law, Sweet Home,
SD
"That'll fetch 'em or I'm sucker, !"
he ohuckled, as he eyed the sheet ap-
provingly and proceeded to make num-
ber of copies, which, after folding, he
addressed to a number of prominent
eastern newspapers. Then, with grin
of satisfaction, he drifted over to the
Blue Goose.
The arrival of two letters ten days
later marked nibbler at the bait. The
first was large, square envelope, deeply
bordered with black. 1t inclosed, writ
ten in fine hand, the following lines:
New YORK CITY. Aug. 81, 1S9-.
DEAR SIR AND BRoTHER-My weary eyes
wero attracted to your advertisement in The
Daily =. Verify, it were like the balm OF
Gilead to my broken spirit-yea, as the wa
ters of Sloan unto the weary traveller. Conn
passed about with worldly dissensions h"nd
strife, largely stimulated and encouraged by
the woman l took to my bosom, who not only
possesses yixenish temper, but also com
mends the ungodly behavior Of the sons of Be
lial, it behooves one to seek the mental and
spiritual relief your worthy laws afford dis
tressed souls trust to be with you in body
as in spirit within a fortnight Your dis
tressed friend,
REV. MELcHIsEDEC BELLwETHER.
"Well, of all the sharps I ever seed,
this yere galoot lays 'em all out, " snort
ed Mr.. Sweet, as he folded the letter.
Lays it to the woman, O. course. They
all do. l reckon them sons o. Belials is
pretty gay boys. Some O. these town
fellows is dead game.
He opened the next letter-a dainty,
perfumed affair. Written at impossible
angles in a bewilderingly angular style
was the following:
BROOKLYN, Aug. 2l, 1S9-.
My DEAR Mr.. SWEET saw your nice ad-
yertisement in The Daily -, and my heart