The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-07-10
AS TOLD BY A TRAVELLER
Story of the Hottest Turkish Bath
That Ever Happened.
BUTTE MAN WAS IN IT
He and the Hardware Man Masqusraded
as Bath House Attendants and
Gave Customers q Bath
With Decorations

" course, you 1ell0WS know all about
the delights and torments of a Turk
ish bath?" said the hardware man by
way of introduction. The barkeeper
had sent frantically three messengers
in as many different directions for
more mint and the still thirsty little
crowd was waiting the arrival of the
new supply.
There is young man in Butte, a
Newspaper man by the way, who partici-
pated in one of the hottest Turkish
baths that ever happened" continued
the hardware man. Talk about your
Turkish baths as in Turkey, with their
whipping with rods and all that; what
that sort of thing wasn't in it with the
bath l am talking about. 1t was a
bath of a century.
This young friend of mine and /, hap
pened to be in Seattle one night several
years ago. We had participated in the
joys of living for several days. 1t had
been pretty hot time and we were
prepared for hot finish. To stave off
the day of reckoning and bromo seltzer
we decided about 2 o'clock in the morn
ing to take a Turkish bath. Going to
decent looking place we found
single attendant in charge. He put us
through the regular course, and when
we were through put us nicely to bed
to sleep the sleep of the just and the
bathed Just before he went out he
said
Gentlemen. I hope you won't have
any objections to me leaving you. The
boss is away and l want to go out for
little time of my own. The fire in the
furnace is banked and all the doors
are locked. If anyone knocks, why
don't pay any attention.
I'VE assured him it was all right,
wished him a good time and he left. He
hadn't been gone half an hour when we
were awakened by the most terrific
rapping at the door. We sat up and
cursed little and then tried to get to
sleep again. But we could not. Who
ever was a. the door was determined
to get in.
Finally Mark--that's his name
sighed heavily and rose up. What are
you going to do?' ] asked.
Let 'em in said he. You are a
bath house attendant. See? And I'm
one, too. And we're going to give that
jay Turkish bath he'll dream about.
Go down and stoke up that fire and I'll
let him in
Il was with him, and I put in
fire that would make old Nero's little
Roman celebration look like a Fourth
Of July firecracker that had been used
When l got back Mark had two blear-
eyed remittance boys corralled. Did
you ever see a remittance boy? He's
an English younger son sent West to
make his fortune and get lost. He gets
money from home in regular remit
tances, and drinks it all up. These
boys had just got their remittances and
had been out They were the ones who
had made a racket at the door.
First We made 'em strip. Then we
gave 'em a towel each for decencys
sake. We led 'em to the edge of the
plunge and dropped 'em off suddenly
into the deepest spot as sort of pre-
liminary. They came up yelling and
spluttering, but we hit 'em one over
the head with a board and told 'em to
keep quiet and they obeyed.
Then we knotted towels, let 'em out
of the plunge and made 'em do cake
second pace until they begged for
mercy. Then we dropped 'em into the
plunge once more and wouldn't let 'em
out of the icy water until we got tired
by this time they were sober, and
were rapidly reaching the conclusion
they were in the hands of pair of
lunatics. We wouldn't let them talk
back, though. Every time they would
start to say anything we would hit
them with knotted towel and they
would quit.
I'VE we had them good and scared
we rushed them into the hot room and
locked them in. The place was steam
ing like a laundry. / had tried it and
found it as hot as anything l want to
experience in this world or the next.
They stood it for about three minutes
and then they began to holler. We
howled abuse and threats at them and
awed them into comparative submits
sion, but at the end of is minutes we
could keep them quiet no longer. They
were yelling bloody murder and trying
to break down the door.
Then we let them out, more dead
than alive, and threw them on the
tiled floor I poured hot water on them
while Mark rubbed them down with
the janitors broom. He did a good
job, too, considering the fact that hey
were squirming and yelling all the time
and we had to step on their faces now
and then to make them keep quiet.
I'VE gave them the plunge once more
and then we put them in the hot room
while we got our clothes on. BY that
time the police We're knocking on the
door. When we We're dressed we
opened the hot room door and then
sneaked out by the back way"
Just then the mint arrived and furth-
er storytelling was postponed.
AfuSr r.