davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18
PHIL A. JULIEN.

In the early SOS Denver was a cross
between a frontier town and a city.
IL had breadth and breeziness and cul-
ture. Money was in abundance. There
was a steady stream Of wealth flow
ing from Leadville and other mining
camps, but principally from Leadville.
Some years before August Rische and
George Hook Ia been g~rubstaked by
II. A. w. Tabor and lNd discovered at
Leadville the Little Pitteburg mine.
which made taboo a millionaire. He
had built one of the most beautiful
opera houses in the world and q bust
pride of old-timers and the admiration
of newcomers. Industrial enterprises
of all kinds We're %springing up. Work
was plentiful and wage good. Men
came from the four quarters OF The
globe. so to speak. either with money
to INCEST or in the hope of catching
some of the dollars that We're lying
thick and fast through the air. The
New York and Boston financial prince.
the English ord and the German baron
hobnobbed with the miner. the cow
boy. the gambler and the a man.
The keen-eyed son of trade pushed for
ward to the front. and the professional
man was not far behind, seeking to oh
hahn a fothold. There were five daily
papers published in Denver at that
time and the town was full OF news
paper men. Among them was Phil A.
Julien. considered one OF the best
among the many good ones. IL was
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18

package from tina funny peninsula
that tuts out from the north pole ana
at its greatest p~rolongation never
reaches a locality beyond the held OF
usefulness enjoyed by hot drinks.
This misrepresentation led our Zero
into numerous complications and some
narrow escapes from matrimonial ALI
ances with buxom. faxen-haired girls
who loved him. not for his wealth. his
position or his influence. but Tor ms
dazzling complexion. which was tanta-
mount to a certificate of scandinavian
birth. From these many and encom-
passing perils he escaped etwee Two
days and hit the trail for Montana. In
due time he reached Miles City and
found work on the Yellowstone Jour
nal. This was before | had burdened IL
with my support and IL was doing iGrr-
ly well as country newspapers go. snd
Kelsey grew and broadened intellect
ually in an atmosphere that has ever
been conducive OF high thought and
low Having in 1882 acquired
the proper method Of running a COIN
try newspaper. and with his arrearages
of pay all settled. he struck out Tor
the land OF the setting sun. wnich. art
er a journey beset with innumerabie
perils i'm the shape of poor whlskey,
worse grub. rollers. grafters. tin horns
and bedrabbled fairies. he found at
VT Nv
1t were-of Billings. the mage city,
more Familiarity known as Alkali Flat,
and sometimes referred TO as POSTER
willie"
Billings was not. at hat time. bu
all Of its later developed virtues and
vices were standing the test imposed
upon them by a "wirc-edge"
~ at Coulson. Coulson was named FOR
jolly. rotund Commodore Coulson OF
Missouri river fame. and never was a
man more ~disgraced by implication
than was he by his ~disreputable name
sake. Unto this seething hell hole or
v~ariegated dissipation came our fair
haired boy. filed with the high and no.
BILE purpose OF p%urveying unexception-
able literature to the scum that was
washed ahead of the advancing North
ern Pacific railroad. People who gan-
bled and drank and fought all night
and slept all day probably didn't nave
much time or inclination TO read A
newspaper. but Kelsey was ambitious.
and what little dough" he had was
soon evoluted into the modest para
phernalia Of the Coulson Post. the first
newspaper published i'm that section.
and which. through various meander-
ings and ftful changes. still exists in
one of the present fiourishing newspa-
pers of Billings-the Gazette or the
Times. ! forget which.
I never knew why Kelsey soured On
.he embryonic germ of the magic
city" but he did. and within a year
he SOLD the Post and betook himself
to Bozeman, even then a sta'd old
town with certain Missouri attributes
which | refrain from particularizing.
but which fade very slowly. IL at ell.
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18
HARRY O. COLLINS of Missoula.

of the gambler. the den of the Chinese
boss or in the telderloin joints. where
news abounds but is sometimes hard
to get. IL every one did not know
Phil Julien. he knew every one. He
got many a good story from h CID
timers. He was first apprised of rich
strikes i'm mines. He knew when syn
dicates were formed for various pur-
poses. He knew when railroads were
trying to secure rights Of way. He
knew when the council would try 10
sneak a franchise through. and Doodle
aldermen were not unknown to him.
He did the people Of Denver good ser
vice in those days and. though he eft
en- Incurred the displessure of men by
thwartinE this or that nefarious
scheme. never their enmity.
Mr.. Julien received a good offer TO
edit a democratic journal in New
Mexico and went there. but did hot
long remain. His editorials attracted
a good deal of attention. He was by
far the ablest newspaper man In the
territory. and had he remained there
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18
ABEL KELSEY YERKES Of B,zsman.

ally led Ia the title OF colonel which
he truly and modestly deprcCates.
In concluding this brief sketch, which
Is all too short for one who has enjoy
ed close c~ompanionship N known his
subject for years, ] wish Ia be privil-
eyed to say that few men have been Of
greater service 10 the state; few have
been more loyal citizens: and few have
made stronger friendships. To know
sam Gordon is to like him right then
and there and To keep on liking him
forever. lie is a plain. o~utspoken man.
He Is no fiatterer. He talks as he
writes. and he makes unshakable and
lasting Impressions; and as one who
has known him since 1881. 7 ~Ould not
trade his friendship for that of Prcsi-
lent Mckinley. with a big. fat office
To boot. AS an editor. i'm the Legislature
and as a private citizen. Colonel sam
Gordon's career has been one to am
plify and dwell upon. but this article
has now passed beyond the dead line
marked out for "A holiday edition In
which so much is In be said.
\. X. YERKES.
Bozeman. Dee. Il. 1898.
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18

York. I had written a little sketch
about a cowboy ordering Iattlesnake
on toast at Elitch's. and to his sur
prise. being served with what he took
to be a ~rattlesnake. but which in re-
ality was only fish skin. and IL took.
much to my surprise. When I entered
the place | saw seated at a table Eu-
gene Field. Charles Ziegenfuss. Ward
Lamon. biographer of President Lin
coin. then living in Denver: and an
unknown man. to whom | was intro
duced and who proved to be Phil A.
Julien. They told me they had l"een
discussing my sketch and Mr.. Julien
said he had expressed a desire to
meet me. 1t is needless to say that /
was gratified. BY the way. Ward La
mon. who vas a big. powerful man,
was a gourmet and kept John Glitch
busy procuring for him delicacies. a
waiter who stood much i'm awe of Mr..
Lannon's astronomical abilities. re-
marked once: Colonel Lamon is the
proudest man of his eatings | ever
saw Mr.. Julien took this remark
for the text of a splendid article on
Eating as a Fin Art" which no one
could read without feeling hungry
when he had finished IT,. Twas much
appreciated by Colonel Lamon. who
was a bohemian of bohemians and he'd
in high esteem by all the boys who
knew him.
A popularity of Mr.. Julien. in those
days. was his ability to stand in"
with all kinds of people. He was at
home in the drawing room of the
banker. the inner Office of the sheriff
or chief of police. the palattal quarters
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18

ing of the heeiers. alike came under
BY way OF diversion Collins scouad Be-
induced to painf word picture a Fpri3e
fight and wrestling Matches. describe
social functions on Capitol hill. write
criticisms OF the variety shows. and
even report sermons-to say nothing of
the masterful manner In which he ham
died an obituary or a scandal. Obe-
dent to the normal instinct of the
newspaper man. especially those Of the
West. he tired OF Denver and. in due
season., put In an appearance in Mon
tana. Here he has done duty on the
Helena I~nderendent and the esteemed
Muscular. r. Unfortunately and foolish
ly his interest in neither of the journals
ever exceeded one-half of the capital
stock and. consequently. he had not
the same swing as II he were sole pro-
In personal appearance Mr.. Collins
might be taken either for a clergyman.
a poet or n cowboy. Long curly hair
frames a classical face Gas il shown
In the accompanying illustration). a
dropping mustache hides a mouth that
Is ample for the practical purposes III
eating and drinking. the eyes are brown
and dreamy about 4 o'clock a. m.. the
figure Is straight and the movement
easy. some would say lazy. II ne were
selected for a physical model IL would
oe TOT "A bOnemidn fatnef tnan an
Adonis or 2 Hercules. In days agONt.
when In the circle. he was as lively as
a cricket. yet as harmless as a dove.
but advancing years and the RESPONSE
bilities Of domestic life have toned him
down and the sparkle OF wit comes as
seldom from him as the sparkle OF wine
appears before his lips. He does not
maintain a pew in church, pass the
contribution box or sing in the choir.
but morality is his guide eve though
the bump of veneraticn is not abnor-
mally developed on his Uranium.
Though a part Of politics for many
years he has never been ambitious for
political preferment. He has never an
nounced himself as a candidate for the
United States senate: not even for cor
oner. his. however. may be chargea-
BILE to his poverty rather than to his
modesty.
Harry Collins has enjoyed prosperity
and laughed at adversely. but IL will
always be said of him hat whether
there was sunshine or storm be walked
with conscious pride among his fellow
men and
Bore without abuse the
Grand old name Of gentleman"
PHIL A. JULIEN.
Butte. Dec. IL, 1898.
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18

Having reoched his conclusion end
being mindful Of the fact that n roll
ing stone ahsorbs very little nutr.ment.
Kelsey promptly retraced his steps to
Bozeman. enveloped sam LanghOine
with the hypnotic glance of his steel
blue eve. and in a short time became
the sole owner Of the Chronicle. which
is and always has been one OF the
best weekly papeIs published any
where. though concessions TO the Mis-
souri, contingent are still an occasion
al feature of its always readable coll
umns.
While Kelsey Is a forcible and incis-
i've editorial writer on all topics that
come up for treatment i'm the usual
run OF events, II Is as a humorous
writer In prose and verse hat he Is
most widely known. though humor Oft
times gives way 10 pathos. Favored
a these writings are with a homely
philosophy that he owes To his Quaker
ancestry n a quaint and irresistible
humor that bubbles up and over ev-
erything. seemingly OF its own motion.
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18
ABEL KELSEY YERKES.

His first name Is Abel-Abel Kelsey
Yerkes. Quite a mouthful when you
get il all together. | suppose there
were not a dozen people in the state
who knew the full name Of the Bard
of Sourdough before reading IL here.
In fact. ! have reason to believe that
IL was only known To the wife of the
defendant and myself. and It was no
doubt on account of this evidence Of
close intimacy that the standard ask
ed me to lay bare to the public the
secrets Of this mans past life. Though
subject to moods and conditions-when
the divine sfistus has secured a
strange hold on him-that would puZ-
zle the most truthful and afectionate
of biographers to dissect. ! have ac-
cepted the assignment, feeling that l
know much of my victims career that
he has hitherto succeeded i'm hiding
from the public. and that ! cannot give
these disclosures wider publicity In
Montana than in giving them to the
S~tandard-or the Yellow stone Journal.
though the latter paper is. perhaps.
too religiously censored to take all
that ] may have TO say.
Kelsey" as his wife and I call him.
first saw the Light OF day at Borden
town. y. J., in the fall Of 1858. IL
rains me to say that Bordentown WAS
famous before Kelsey honored il as
his birthplace. ] would like to be able
to say of this Jersey village that its
history dates from the advent OF
Abel Kelsey Yerkes. poet. journalist
and model husband. but alas, long he
fore 1855 Bordentown had its notables.
Not such as nowadays confer fame
and retribut.on on a locality by start
Ing a boom and a bank; selling town
lots on the neither side Of the horizon:
inaueurating electric car lines on
which the lonely motorman gradually
com insane through lack Of inter
course with his fellow men. and final
iy. but always. prematurely collapsing,
leaving a trail of blasted hopes N
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18

sc~ientiously recommend to those who
ire not particular as to the kind Of
politics they nave poured into them
As a terse. vigorous writer. as one VINO
has a firm grip OF the English language
N is confident of his ability TO ar
nj IL readably and t%astefully, Col
onel Gordon does not take second place
I'm this state, admittedly well equipped
with bright minds behind its press.
Colonel Gordon has always been n
progressive citizen Of his chosen city.
He has always insisted that IL is the
one section Of Gods footstool best
adapted to the fullest enjoyment OF
life. In his paper he has constantly
and eloquently urged progress In NUM-
cipal affairs. n mainly through his
e~ndeavors Miles city was the first and,
until this year. the only Montana city
to own Its own water works and electric
light plant. He has been city clerk con-
~tinuously since the city was incorpor-
ated. I'm November, 1887. Where can
another such example of public conf
dence and esteem be found? He has
been president of the chamber of COM
merce for three years. In fact he Is
now all that there is visible of the
chamber Of commerce. He calls him
self together. reads the minute of the
last preceding meeting. and is the
whole thing. For this reason. he has
a hold on this position that is not
easily shaken.
Gordon is now filling his second term
as register of the Miles City and office.
which In no way a~bbreviatts
or breaks in upon his edi-
torial duties. as he hires a man
to split his wood and devotes that time
to office matters. In 1895 he was sent to
Helena for sixty days. as a legislator.
but this i'm no way soured or jolted an
even and loynhla disnoSition. which is
rejoiced when warm friends call him
just plain SAM" though his promin-
ence and standing i'm the state. his
pioneering and his ability. have natur-
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18
PHIL A. JULIEN of Butte.

then I first met Julien, and made an
acquaintance which soon ripened into
friendship. 1t was the era OF hustle
and rustic and scoops. The reporter
who achieved a beat was always hand
somely financially remembered when
he drew his weeks pay, and the unfor-
Inmates who missed a good thing were
ether severely reprimarded or dis
missed. Newspaper men came and
went. The best remained. Phil julien
stayed on. He was always in demand.
either to write editorials. do special
work or cover assignments. His Work
was good. clever and appreciated.
I think the first time / ever met Jul
lien was early one morning at the cof-
fee house Of John Glitch. a famous re-
sort for might hawks" then on Cur
It's street. The proprietor made a for
tune In his business and attributed
much of his success TO the rare Bo-
hemians who visited his place. John
was an excellent cook. anxious to es-
tablish a place that should be 90 Dem
yer what Delmonico's was to New
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18

nature Il that locality. and uproot
what little faith men had I'm their
kind. Not such notables as these. had
Bordentown. but rcal-comparativrly
real-personagee. who. by virtue ~
pull or merit. are still known as nav
ing lived a generation or two ago.
which. as the world goes. is quite a
distinction.
There was Joseph Bonaparte. kel-
sey always refers to him as Joe I'm
a weak but tNCusable attempt To con-
meet himself with royalty. Tom Pane
lived there, too and wrote his Age
of Reason" N a house hat you can
see the northwest gable Of by climbing
on the roof of the house I'm which KEEL
sey was born. You could. Of course.
see the whole house by going close to
4. but my endeavor Is to graft Kelsey
onto these people in some way. ever
II I have to climb on the roof of the
house to do IL. Hopkinson and Ste
wart. too. are familiar names IN Bor-
dentown. Mrs. Parnell. the elder. the
mother OF the patriotic and eroiic
Charles Stewart Psrnell. lived there.
Prince Murat. when I'm exile there.
founded an American family which ne
afterward basely deserted FOR another
slice Of royal pie. and. though not GER
tain Of my ground. I am inclined Ia
give this New Jersey village credit for
being the fountain head OF Borden's
condensed milk. So you see IL would
be something Of a job for me TO dem
onstrate hat Bordentown. y. j., u
chiefly famous as being the nativity
Of Aka Yerkes. In fact. Kelsey himself
foes not lay much stress on the Incl
dent.
They were Quskers-the elder
Yerkes-and IN Observance OF the Gus
tom OF hat sect. never called heir
~fair-haired boy anything but Abel.
which so wore upon the youth after
ne had mastered the story OF the fate
of his biblical predecessor that. on
emerging from home influences. no
threw all Of his first name except tbs
cap a" into the hell box" and en-
deavored To forget that IL had eve
happened. This burning Of bridges
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18
COL. SAM GORDON of Miles City.

Associated with Sam Langhorne. KEEL
ssy established the BoZeman Chronicle
in January, 1883. and for a while SEEM
ed To he contented. but within a wear
the spirit Of unrest again took posses
sion of him and. disposing of his in
terest i'm the Chronicle To his partner,
he again set HE face toward the set
ting sun, and never let up till ne
struck Olympia. Wash. where he So
journed during the summer of 1884.
When he had traversed the continent.
Kelsey took counsel with himself AVID.
after summing up the merits of every
locality ne had ever visited or lived
in. he decided that "Bozeman the
Beautiful' held a place in his heart
superior To any other.
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18

in walking In a fall Of snow, although
which he broke the first trail for three
weeks. Indians did not modest him
because they rightly believed that a
man who could make that trip bore "A
charmed life. He was soon made "A
member OF the firm and what was in
tended as n quick business trip ripened
into "A permanent residence, which
Miles City ought To be. and Is. thank
full for. When the railroad anne. the
transportation business by means OF
bull trains languished and died. and the
firm retired. after Colonel Gordon had
spent about a year In closing IL up.
II was at this juncture that the long
ing of Sans life. frequently appeased
by communicating pieces To the large
New York papers. bore satisfactory
fruit. lie associated himself with w.
-. knight. RS editor of the Daily Vel
lowstone Journal. which mad its first
appearance Sept. II, 1898. He soon
after bought Knight out and since has
personally seen To II that his paper
comes nut every day of the week eN-
cept sundays and holidays. u Is a
goou paper. Ii IL a paper we can con-
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18

took place when Kelsey was about is.
BY that time he had matriculated In
the country print shop; knew type
lice when he saw them: had made the
usual demand for the loan Of "A left
handed shooting stick" from THE other
office" and had become an adept IN
the mystery CT wiping himself on the
office towel 80 as not to get on more
Crime a he laid OF. In A word, he
was a printer. and being such he ar
ed forth to see the world: To cOuquer
or he "A slave. Minnesota was then
Dss6) the gateway 20 the great North
west n through its portals there
passed, one summers day. an auburn
haired. blue-eyed youth who had a gu
ture concealed about him. II was nos
mad visible through outward pru:u-
~berances. Perhaps he himself only
contemplated IL i'm a far-of. dreamy
way. but the genius that stood spoI-
sor for Whitcomb Riley and Gene
Field was not far away from Bordcn-
town on the day when Kelsey made
his first audible protest against being
horned" and the lambent fame Of its
torch beamed full enough on his in
FAINT mug to illuminate the store
house OF his fancy and endow with la
tent life "a myriad OF quaint and home-
~ ideas that for some years past have
flowed like sweet waters from his pen.
At Glencoe. Mimi. Kelsey held a
case" for a while in the Register office.
and later picked "phat" and lean from
the hook in the composing room Of
the Alexander Post. OF course. there
wa no composing ROOM" and THE
hook" was merely a piece of bent and
twisted baling wire nailed to the side
Of the packing box that did duty as
the editors table. but the ethics of the
profession demand that these crude
accessories be CLOSED over; we get SO
in the habit of doing this in writing
obituaries that IL comes quite easy.
IL was along in 1879 or 1880 that Nee
nee-sotah" became too literally pom
ulated with "Swensky" to suit KrI-
sey. HIS complexion favored the be-
lief that he was n descendant OF the
old Morse vikings, an original export
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18

tensive business man than most peo-
pie could hope To get. At the close Of
these years Mr.. Wilder proved his o
hdence in his faithful ervan by pay
ing him the highest salary received by
any wage Garner i'm 81. Paul.
In the winter Of 1881. Mr.. Wilder sent
sam 10 Miles city. to look after his
Interest In the firm of Broadwater.
Hubbell a. Co. then one Of the largest
and best known in the Northwest. He
did not come i'm "A palace car west of
Bismarck. NJ that point the railroad
abruptly broke off and ran into the
Missouri river. Sam came via buck
board. He came leisurely. taking the
whole of eight days and nights i'm
which to make a minute inspection Of
the country. extensively composed of
bad lands. The reason he did not freeze
was because he was deeply ~engrossed
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18
Their Two Degrees.
he said,

This Is a heart test. dear" he said.
With lilac locks a-curl:
A poet he of a pale mauve shade;
His voice a brooklet's purl.
But she was a modern medical maid
A Harvard Annex girl.
Loves fever is strong. you say?' said
she
'Is the diagnosis true?
Yes. Fahrenheit proclaims you right,
Your pulse Is ~two-oh-two!
And that. I'm sure. to your temperature
Must give a proper clue
She came to rest on his manly chest.
(Which made her nose grow numb);
Her cheek she hid in his carotid
His jugular meath her thumb:
And the two NJ. DIS took their degrees
As simple YUM. and Y.-U.-M.
John O'Keefe In New York Press.