The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-02-07
THE SAD TALE OF A DOG
He Drank Not Wisely But
Too Well.
A PUP OF ROYAL PEDIGREE
He Was Also an Actor and Came to
Grief in London, Ontario, Where
His Fame Had Preceded Him.
An Encounter With a Cat.

John T. Sullivan. in advance Of ~
Bachelors Honeymoon arrived in
Butte night before last to complete ar
rangements for the appearance of his
company at the Mcguire opera house.
Mr.. Sullivan is well known in Butte.
having been connected with the noted
company that opened the first opera
house in Butte. He also enjoys the dis
tnction of being the husband of Rose
Coghan, the celebrated actress, and is
himself a clever ACTOR Mr. sullivan
chatted pleasantly with a Standard re-
porter at the McDermott hotel last
evening.
How long since / have been in
Butte" said he. Let me see. it was
in the summer of 1885. and | was then
a member of the famous Wallack COM
pany, then managed by Charles Froh-
man, now the greatest theatrical man
ager, ] suppose, in the world.
THE Wallack company took the
Western trip for the express purpose
of opening John Magures new opera
house-the first theater built in Butte.
The company was composed of some
of the best people then known in the
histrionic world. Thank you, Mr.. Ma
guire. You hear what our genial man
ager says, that it was the best COM
pany that Butte saw then or since.
Well, here are the names. Sophie Eyre,
who died in Italy two years ago, Louise
Dillon, Sadie Bigelow, Grace Wilson,
Miriam Craig, all retired. Charles b.
Welles, now starring in Frederic Lee
maitre,' Rowland Blackstone, leading
character actor with l.. H. Sothern,
Henry Talbot. now leading man with
Philadelphia stock company. Frederic
Corbett, dead, and myself. Now there
was a good cast of people. The plays
We're Cartoons Victor Durand,' Sar-
dou's Diplomacy, Hamilton's Moths
and Esmeralda.'
DO / remember the opening? AS
wildly as though it We're yesterday. 1t
was a gala night in Butte. Every one
within a radius of 80 miles journeyed
to be present at the opening of the
second theater built in Montana. and
in the house was as brilliant a gather
ing as / can remember even in a met
ropolitan city. The governor came
from Helena. there We're speeches ga
lore, dedicatory exercises. and before
the house was fairly launched dedi-
Gated and christened, it was 10 o'clock.
! After the performance came banquet
and for two weeks here we We're the
guests of every one. Twas truly Il
royal occasion.
do / notice changes? Gracious, dear
boy, you are great big city now, with
your mammoth blocks modern archi-
! lecture and every indication of thirty
| ing prosperity. Butte has risen indeed
! from the mining camp to the elevated
| and digniffed position of a modern
| city.
Yes. time has dealt kindly with me,
| too. / have worked hard and laborious
/ ~ for the position | occupy, but at
| present | have forsaken, temporarily,
! the sock and 4lsltin and am manag-
/ ing A Bachelors Honeymoon the lat
| est of Hoyt's theater successes. 1t is
/ lar1
of farce-comedies I ever saw. They do
! like to laugh here. then? Well. they
can have their fill of fun when A
/ Bachelors Honeymoon arrives. and |
can candidly recommend II in every
way. We will open at Maguire's opera
house on Friday evening next, Febt H.
and our engagement will include a
Sunday night performance.
.tApropos of "A Bachelors Honey
moon. !" said he did you ever hear of
/ Bacchus? No? Well. here is the sad
| tale of a dog who, to paraphrase the
! immortal bard, drank, not wisely, but
! too we'll =
Mr.. Sullivan then related the follow
/ ing amusing story:
His name WAS Baechus. lie was
only a dog. How he was called Buc-
chus will be set forth anon. lie was
/ baptized really and truly. not in the
/ true orthodox fashion. for the mate
rial which went into the fonts when
! Bacchus was christened. was not that
| which is used in our church fonts at
the present day. Even the surround
ings We're different. No stoied priest
| officiated at that christening. The con-
| secrated edifice was a plain unfinished
| sawdusted floor saloon, for you have
guessed the secret of the story-Bacchus
was born, raised, lived and possibly will
| die drunkard.
Father Matthew might have reha-
bilitated the taste of this wonderful
dog, for Bacchus was a bull pup who
could claim royal pedigree: he was a
| grandson of the greatest of bull ter
| riers, Prince Royal. Bacchus as can
be imagined from his royal blood, was
a fighter, and fighter not like fight
ers of to-day-he fought. Possibly he
could have given interviews and talked
5000 miles away, as our modern fight
ers do, but there being no canine tele-
phone in existence. Bacchus could only
emulate the example of Lawrence. who
said when he fell mortally wounded in
the Constitution. DO or die. boys. but
don't give up the ship This was Bac-
chus' motto.
Like the modern fighter, Bacchus
was an actor. He claimed his greatest
distinction in this line. as corbett. Fitz-
simmons and Kid Mccoy do in theirs
He was engaged for subordinate part
in a Bachelors Honeymoon. His
WoIk Was not wearing upon his men
tai attributes. He simply had to selzf
hold of the neither part of the outside
garments of Mr.. Howston in the play
and cling there.
Now here is where Bacchus comes
to grief. His fame in London. ontario
had preceded him. Lit was his custom
after 5 O'Clock in the evening TO follow
the cocktail route. emulating thereby
the citizens of that charming and in
tefesting bufgh were liquors sell fol
80 per cent of the price charged in this
great glorious and free country.
ITO wander slightly from the story
il may be interesting to note that Bae
chus would leave a top sirloin bone fo
choice Martini and a Manhattan
would simply give him an appetite 70
an old-fashioned cocktail In this tow
of London there is wayside inn clos
by the theater where one James Smiti
rap0Sas and d{SpcGaS ~ . pons{dayo III