The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-01-20
DIsGRACED BY HIS SHIRT.
TFrom the New York Times.l

about as interesting as any other
place."
The man who spoke was William F.
Bailey of Dayton, New, one of the old
est OF the oId-tiIne miners of the west.
He went to Virginia City, New, with
James G. Fair; he knew John w. Mac
kay and James Flood and all the men
of millions who found fortunes on the
Comstock. This is the first time that
he has been away from Nevada in 50
years, and it is his opinion that New
York is too big, too noisy and too styl-
ish. Mr.. Bailey is a guest at the Hoff-
man House.
''Those were the days." he said, "the
Cos and '70S. Those were the days when
money was like water, and a man with
500, 900 was considered broke. No one
would trouble about carrying nickels
and dimes then, and if man asked for
q loan of 500 he was looked upon as q
tramp. If he had asked for 81 900 he
would have got it in a minute, for no
man liked to see another starve. But
all that is past and gone. From sc, 900
people the population of the ComstocK
has dwindIed down to $1,000 and nickel
is as welcome to the average man now
adays as an old sombrero to a goat.
I'm those days, when Mark Twain
was reporting for the Virginia City
Chronicle, when Sam Davis was print
er's devil and Curly Bill the stage dri-
yer, and old man George Hearst, the
great prospector and Mark Twain
partner, were the ruling spirits of Q
street, there used to be some hot old
times. There was a great rivalry be-
tween Hearst and Mark Twain when
ever any social function came off, and
it was a hard race between them to see
which would dress the best.
Zone night Curly Bills niece was
getting married to a young fellow who
washed tailings at the Empire mine on
the Carson river, and it was a swell
affair. Everybody in Virginia City and
To- -%rNVa nr,5
date the crowd Curly Bill threw open
his biggest barn and paid $3.50 to have
the orchestra from Piper'S Opera House
furnish music.
er woman had gone broke in a faro
game, and had put up all of her GUS
toners clothes to try and win back
some of the money, and Hearsts boil
ed shirts went with the lot. On the day
of the wedding he went all along G
street to buy a shirt, but there was
none that would fit him. The boys had
all taken a fancy for boiled shirts, anu
dealers had run out of stock. True
enough, there was a box car load Of
them on the Frisco freight train, but
that was three days behind time, owing
to a snowslide in the Sierra Nevadas.
George began to get nervous, and fore
saw that he would have to go to the
wedding in his red shirt unless some
thing happened. So he went into the
Nevada bank about o'clock in the af-
that the cashier had been authorized
to pay $3.50 to any man who would
bring in No. Is white shirt with
Starched 'front.'
1.-TWO hours later, when the bank
closed, no one had appeared to cash
in a shirt, and George was in trouble.
He had to have a shirt, and he knew
he couldn't borrow it, for man who
would stoop so low as to borrow shirt
in the early Virginia City days would
run a chance of getting lynched for in
sanity. George knew this: but he had to
borrow and from an intimate friend,
who would say nothing. The only man
whom he knew well enough was Mark
Twain. So he wrote a note to Mark,
apologizing most humbly, and begging
the loan of a billed Whitley as shirts
were called then. Mark was thunder
struck when he got the letter, but, de-
spite the rivalry that existed between
them, he couldn't see his old friend go
to a wedding looking as If he had Just
come out of the 800-foot level.
$50 he wrapped up one of the best
and sent it to George. He also sent
letter calling George to account Tor DO
ing such q thing, and said that IL 1t got
abroad it would ruin him socially, and
that he couldn't even expect to be
elected mayor of Red Tail Gulch.
George didn't reply, but appeared at
the wedding in fine style. The shirt was
too large by several inches, and George
had evidently found that he could not
button on a collar, so he came without
one, and in it's place was as handsome
a piece of new red flannel, knotted sail
as ever 1 saw. His trousers
were tucked in his boots, which were
polished like brass; his clothes were new
and fitted as well as any in Virginia,
and his long gray hair VS. oiled with
two kinds of hair dressing. He did look
great and when he kissed the bride her
prospective husband wasn't any TOO
easy. Hearst always was winner with
the girls.
INC .
married couple had just started on a
honeymoon trip to the Mound mouse.
Wine was flowing pretty freely, Tor
Curly Bill never did do anything I'M
less he did it in style. Some of the boys
had begun to whoOp it up and were
getting gay, the faro bank was running
in full blast and the horse stalls of the
barn had been turned into poker rooms;
George went into one of them and
took a hand. In about half an hour
he came out with about $4,000 and IN
vited the crowd to drink with him. The
fellow who lost most of the money was
a young chap named Joe DOlan, who
lived in Phoebe. His uncle was rich and
owned a big ranch of cattle He gave
Joe $4,000 week, but the BOY lost II IN
Virginia gambling and was one of the
worst losers in the town. He was angry
because Hearst had won, and while
George was setting with them up he
remarked very loud: That old guy
with the stuff looks as if he was ready
to be lynched."
1T struck hard. George dropped his
glass square on the floor. In the heat
and the excitement he had removed the
red flannel from his neck and was going
around with nothing in it's place. That
is what made Joe Dolan get so fresh.
Well, Hearst went up to him and with
out saying a word took out his pistol
and handed it to some one who was
standing by and then struck Dolan in
the jaw hard enough to stagger him.
Dolan's anger was up. He took off his
w "a
to fight the old man. Now it looked as
if George wasn't going to have as much
chance in that fight as a new hat, but
he showed that he could use his fists
and Dolan didn't have a child to beat.
Both men went at it in good style and
he crowd stood around in a ring to give