The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-12
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for the Blood and the
Best that Money Can Buy.
Hence take only Hoods.

kind of row, and had to jump over
into Colorado, where in a short time he
was elected mayor of Buena Vista The
place was then the terminus Of the
South Park railroad and the rendez-
vous for as tough a lot of beings as
ever congregated in q frontier town.
All efforts to hold them in check were
futile until Bill Thompson became
mayor and began cleaning them out.
He killed few of the ringleaders, shot
others full of holes, and finally the
toughs all moved away, leaving Buena
Vista as quiet as a New England vii
lage on a Sunday. Colonel Babcock
had some mining claims near the town,
and one day he drove in and was sur
prised at the change that had been
wrought. He expressed his admiration
of Bill Thompson's executive ability,
and wanted to do something for him,
but Bill was then in the full glory of
power, and did not need help of any
kind.
BABCOCK'S $50 INVESTMENT.
.'When the railway was completed to
Leadville, the town of Buena Vista
vanished, and Bill Thompson was out
of a job. Before long he was sick and
broke-fat broke, without a quarter in
his pocket. His friends had all moved
away, and he was alone. Colonel Bah
cock arranged with a hotel-keeper to
take care of Thompson, and sent him
$50 for pocket money through a mu
tral friend, with the understanding
that he was not to be known in the
transaction. Bill at first refused to
accept the money. and Colonel Bah
cocks name had to be disclosed be-
fore ne would take it. A little later
Ben Thompson sent word to his brother
that the indictment against him had
been Cuashed, and Bill went back to
Texas.
Some years later Colonel Babcock
was in Austin, engineering the state
house deal, and trying to get a bill
through the legislature for the erec-
ton of the building on a land grant.
The anti-northern feeling was intense,
and the Texans refused to have any
thing to do with the id Yankees. In
this dilemma Colonel Babcock sought
in vain for an ally. He wanted a DoD-
ular Texan to join with him in the en-
terprise, and offered a big bonus for
{he right sort of a partner, but it went
unaccepted. Get Ben Thompson, the
city marshal of Austin, to back your
project Babcock's lawyers told him,
and it will go through a-whooDing.'
But Ben Thompson could not be reach
ed and it looked very much as if the
statehOuse scheme would have to be
dropped. Ben was one of the Texans
who talked the loudest against allow
ing northerners to carry off the s0oils.
and he was in a particularly angry
| mood against Colonel Babcock One
day Colonel Babcock was walking
down one of the main streets in Aus
tin. feeling pretty blue. He was a man
who disliked to be beaten in anything
he undertook, and the slipping away
of prospective profits did not bother
him so much as the bitterness of hav-
ing to admit to his partners that he
was unable to carry the deal through.
BILL THOMPSON MEETS Bah u)CK
"As Colonel Babcock walked along,
!. thinking over his bad luck, he heard q
shout like the whoop of a. grizzly bear,
and the next moment he was DiniOned
in the arms of a big, bearded giant,
who nearly Rugged the life out of him,
while he yelled:
D me if it amt Colonel Bah
| cock! Well, I'll be d!
Recovering from his establishment,
the colonel found his captor was Bill
Thompson, the man he had assisted at
/ Buena Vista, and that, instead of be-
/ ing held up by a drunken thug. as he
at first feared, he was in the arms Of
a rough frontier friend, who was
merely working off his excess of joy
at meeting an old acquaintance. Bill
gave the colonel another hUgging, and
| then they renewed their friendship in
/ the orthodox Texas style at a handy
/ bar. After chatting over old times,
| the men separated, without a word
| having been said about the state
j house matter The first Bill knew of
| the nature of Babcock's errand in
Texas was when he met Ben an hour
or so later, and said:
Ben, I've just met the prince OF
| good fellows, Colonel Babcock, the man
that was my friend at Buena Vista
when 1 needed one sorely.'
Ben said nothing, but chewed on his
quid of tobacco with more than usual
energy, while his brother ratified OFF
the story of Colonel Babcock's gener-
osity, and how, now that he was in
their own state, they must treat him
with true Texas courtesy. Ben took il
all in and when Bill had finished his
story said quietly:
Leave it to me, Bill. I'll fix UP g
surprise for him that will do him good
He's the fellow that wants to build a
statehouse.'
CONVERSION OF MARSHAL BEN
1.-THE next morning Ben Thompson
went over to the MOTEL where Colone
Babcock was stopping, and walked into
the latter's room, extending his hand as
he did SO, and saying:
Colonel Babcock, I've just learned
how you took care c. my brother Bill
when he was in trouble up in Colorado
and I've come to tell you that I'm YOU
friend in that state capitol matter
THAT was all Ben Thompson said
and before Colonel Babcock had recov.
cred from his surprise enough to speaI
the big city marshal Of Austin ha6
gone from the room as quietly as he haC
entered it. There was no formal com.
pact between the men; none was heed
ed. Ben Thompson had given his word
and that was enough. He went tt
work among the members of the legis
lature, and in a short time had wor
them over and the state capitol bill
was passed in the very form in which
Babcock had presented it. The state
house was built and Babcock and hi.
partners cleaned up profit of So, 1000, 00i
out of it, and I've heard it was ever
more than that. But, whatever it was
it all came from that $50 Colonel Bah
cock sent to Bill Thompson when tht
latter was in hard luck"
AS Meador finished, Kennedy, with
out saying a word, set out the bottle,
and glassas, the party ranged up at tn
bar, and the silence was not broker
until Paddy Carroll, raising his glass
said:
Here's to Ben and Bill Thompson
they're the kind of bad men I like"