The herald., 1897-08-15
A FRONTIER DUEL


OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
| The plaques of the mining camps in the
far west were the bullies and desperadoes
who. ignoring honest industry, lived by
gambling and even worse.
These fellows always go armed carrying
themselves with a swagger. and figura-
lively drag their coat tails on the ground
at all times in the hope that some one will
give them an excuse to shoot.
Fairplay is very good name for town
or camp, and Fairplay, Col. is today a
| thriving, law-abiding place, but, like all
western towns, it had to pass through all
the stages of social evolution, from the
absolute barbarity of it's beginning to the
high civilization of the present.
| There are many men not yet beyond
middle life who distinctly remember the
first but erected in Fairplay, and who re-
tain a vivid recollection of the first hotel.
the Great Western, which was composed
| of three rooms, one canvas, one log and the
other unplaned boards. Though this es-
| tabishment claimed to furnish 'accommo-
datons for man and beast" ii had no
stable for horses, and all its dodgers had
to sleep in hunks in one room, while bread
and bacon constituted the bill of fare, with
now and then sugarless coffee. The eek
| tras" were composed wholly of bad cigars,
strong chewing tobacco and whisky of a
kind so much viler than the ordinary fluid
that one drink of it has been known to
produce all the effects of delirium tremens
on man unaccustomed to 1t, and 1t always
produced a homicidal mania in those who
| indulged in it as often as once a week.
| The bar of the Great Western was the
rendezvous, the headquarters, for all the
miners and teamsters in the vicinity, and
you may be sure that it was constant
| resort for the gamblers and desperadoes
who always swarm about a new mining
town like flies about a sugar hogshead in
| July.
For the accommodation of the latter
class, with whom he was in full sympathy,
and with one eye to his own gain-he had
only one eye-the landlord of the Great
Western had fitted up a place for playing
faro, and number of pine tables on which
| those so inclined-and it was surprising
how many were so inclined-could play
that alluring but most uncertain game
called poker.
At this time there were only two women
in Fairplay, Wis: Mrs. Chamberlain, the
wife of the principal mining superinten-
dent, and Lizzie Chamberlain, her daugh-
ter. Ladies were certainly at a premium,
and Lizzie was very popular and stand
ing toast with the hundreds of men work
ing In or near the camp. But as she was
a very charming. modest girl. she would
have been popular had the sexes been more
evenly balanced.
Some men, with wives and daughters
at home In the states rather blamed Mr.
Chamberlain for subjecting his family to
the hardships inseparable from such a life,
but, had they known that the devoted wife
and daughter insisted on accompanying
him and sharing his trials they would not
have been so hard in their judgment.
Arthur Lyons. fine young fellow of four
and twenty, was Mr.. Chamberlain's as
sistant, and as he boarded with his en-
ployer. it was pretty generally conceded
that he had Z" the inside track" so far as
Lizzie was concerned and that their mar
riage was only question of time.
There was, however, in Fairplay one man
who emphatically refused to believe that
Lizzie Chamberlain looked kindly on Ar
thur Lyons. and this man was known as
Red Snively, the first name being given
to designate his complexion and the SAN
guine color of his bushy hair.
Red Snively wished to be known as
THE Mountain Terror" and he tried hard
to have the name attach to himself but
as a majority of the miners looked upon
him a nuisance rather than a terror,
the name did not stick to any great ex-
tent
Red" Snively was staggering. ever
armed braggart. He was supposed to be
a silent partner in the Great Western hotel
and it a matter of notoriety that all
the gambling features of the establishment
were under his immediate charge.
He always had money; he always drank
but he was the one man who did not ap-
pear to be affected by the vile whisky-in-
deed. it would be nearly impossible for any
liquor to make him more brutal and blood
thirsty than he was when in his natural
condition.
He Lot ri hi
when he became confidential-which was
always the case when the game was go
ing against him-he would hint that he was
forced to come west "owin' to little
cuttin scrape" he had over game of
cards.
With the brazen effrontery of his class
Rel Snively made himself very objec-
tionable to Lizzie Chamberlain by his dis
gusting attentions, so much so, indeed,
that she dreaded TO venture out unless ac-
companied by her father or Arthur Lyons.
On one occasion the latter told "Red"
Snively very emphatcally that his con-
duct was disagreeable to Miss Chamber
lain and that it must be stopped, and this
was said with such calm emphasis that the
bully was not left in any doubt as to the
young mans meaning nor of his deter
minaton to enforce his request
| In addition to its many other uses the
| Great Western was the postoffice at which
the weekly-more often the monthly-mail
was delivered
One rainy afternoon after the mail had
come in, Arthur Lyons went to get the
| ever-welcome letters and papers from the
| east
While he was leaning against the damp
bar waiting for the man behind it to look
over the addresses of the parcels that had
come by post, he felt heavy hand on his
shoulder, and at the same time he heard
! Red Snively saying in a mocking ban
| tering tone that meant mischief
Come. Lyons. join me and We'll drink
to the health of the beauty of Fairplay."
| AS Arthur shook the fellows huge hand
from his shoulder, he said very quietly:
| II do not drink
you don't eh'?" sneered "Red" Snively.
| "I do not"
Then I'll drink for two"
| The barkeeper handed "Red" Sniveiy a
bottle and a glass. Half filling the latter.
he raised it towards his lips, but, stopping
as if he had suddenly changed his mind,
| he shouted with an oath:
mo gentleman ever drinks alonei" and
with this he threw the contents of the glass
into Arthur Lyons face. The unexpected
explosion of bomb could not have caused
greater CONSERVATION than did this un-
warranted act. Men leaped from the tables
and sought places of safety, for such an
insult they felt must be followed by i'm
mediate shooting.
"Red" Snively expected to use his pistol.
| for he drew it, but before he could fire