The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-03-26
A RINGER, SURE ENOUGH.
CLIN1T or 4 Law PRACTICE BEGUN
Urn FISTS AT CREEDE.
This Lawyer >ignaiiZed His Appearance Mt
the Mining Camp with IA scrap, and There
after Had 80 Meet All Corners or Lose
SInnhing The Wan Who Kent Hun.

lhe hinIng camp WIN "a NtTHp' ana
after Had TO Meet All Corners ar Lose
standing The Man Who beat Hin
W.sutxGroN. March 25.-"Whcn | made
Creole | had 81 said a well.known Young
LAWYER OF this city. Il had gone first to Denver
to take a place rs fourteenth assistant attorney
for u life insurance outfit. The wages | got
dldn't more than cover my board AMI keep.
and so | concluded that | might As well take a
chance and see II there was ANYTHING doing In
'ls hot camp for young fellows hunting Tor
heudwOrk to do, Creole was then at its high
water mUrk. As | say. ] only had 81 left out
Of u weeks pay when | landed in Creole. but |
intended to 20 right out and hustle for mining
business. locating my flee and shingle under
my hat until | got enough Roadway to rent Ii
shack room. | took NV grip up to Mrs, Gan
mons big square boarding house and held a
personally conducted conversation with tho
I'D woman. Her terms we're ten a week in ad-
vance. and it looked for a while as If she in
tended TO stick to them in my case. Well, |
was talking for Il place % eat and sleep, and
I'm afraid ! employed IL few doubtful con
measures. Nv Irish name helped me some. /
guess. and probably / threw Il hit Of my fathers
biogue into my speech. Told her. besides.
THAI ! had served mass for four or five years
when ! was a Kid which WAS a fact. ! got her,
all right.
This is a-Choosday. an yezll have dust {
sprinkle on yez mate by Saturday noight, wild
such a gift o tn Gah.' she said finally, and the
kindly old woman she had the esteem and af-
fe :tiUn o! every man in the canp-showed me
to a room. Along toward :! o'clock in the af-
t"rnoon / took u stroll dOwntoNh, logged out
In rather a city fed makeup, which was a mis-
take, for ! heard some Of. the boys giving me
the quiet lluot as | passed by the corners. /
uuup', r,, ,l,,rl tn u,ant ~, ry,, IA N,,t
with them, though. ! passed by a good many
places whence. through the open front doors,
the sound Of rafting chips reached my ears.
and ] dropped into one Of these places. 1t
was George Goodale's faro layout. as ! after
ward learned. | had never seen a game OF
faro in my life. and so ! walked up TO one Of
the tables to watch the game. / couldn't make
head or tail Of it. / stoo1 behind the chair Of
a big man in "A blue flannel shirt. He had
fiery red whiskers and a pair o. beady, bad
eyes. He was about u quarter shot and pretty
Ugly. for the dealer was getting all OF his chips.
| was told afterward that he had lost over
$1,000 In two days trying to break Goodale's
bank. He turned his head around and glanced
up at me a number OF times. but ! didn't know
then that some faro players don't like TO have
lookers-on stand behind their chains. and so |
didn't move. Finally he put his last chip on a
'oib' uud q tDulIo Vi luIlS lulcI lDt utdlcT
swept 1t in. Then the man in he blue shirt
half turned his chair around and looked up at
me out Of his bloodshot eyes.
Look a-here. YOU dude he said. address,
ing me without rising from his chair. YOU
can pass me back that blue Chip
Il was dumfounded.
" Blue chip?' said I..in a kind Of funk. I've
got to own. What are you talking about
The blue chip that you swiped from my
stack a couple OF minutes ago. he said. Hand
1t over. Orwell. the stream Of abu Sc that he
began to fire at me then VAS something fercs.
1t made me pretty mad. too. | had a quick
mental picture OF my folks down ut tho rail-
road station back East waiting for the arrival
Of my body In a box. but the talk that this
big loafer threw at ne got me boiling. all the
same. l knew. too. that il l wanted any min
ing business In that cump 1t wouldn't do for me
to stand for the abuse. with seventy-nve or a
hundred miners standing around taking it in.
l didn't have any gun on me. and l wouldn't
have known how to use it. ANYHOW. and con-
ndently expected TO be shot all to pieces; but
the way orened up on that hinge h~lackRuard
gave him tho dew! on IA chromatic scale for
IVY two minutes, he was SO much astonished
that no lust eazed at me with open mouth.
Then he rushed at me.
pom Now s TS1aS StanI.un fghtinE was a
at Ann Arbo,. and | had never been
beaten in a friendly set;to, ,My Ann Arhor
me. and l had taken good care Of myself right
along, punching a bag for half an hour or so
every day. no matter where | was. 50 that |
was right on edge and as TT az o fiddle when
this ugly giant made for me. He had about
four niche! and nifty pounds the best OF me.
he was a mere rough-and-tumbler. and that /
had q chance, with him. In fact, | was rather
eiated, Tor ! had confidently expected him to
shoot me. and. in fact DOM know vat univ
he DIDN'T use his gun.
~ got him square on the neck with my right
arms thrown, out as if for n clinch. and he
went down like a log with a yclp OF surprise
Get on to that dudey | heard a lot Of the
men IN the place say. and when my antagonist
picked himself ~. as he did impediately, we
ventlonal size for pugilistic sncounters..M man
I}Ss an a, me WITH m. s,we show Of 2 guard his
stomach with my left; Hs gave a grunt and
doubled up like a jarkknife. / stood and walt
ca Tor him to come again. He was bent
curses, and while he was d d"nbIedn IN ' a maa
slipped up behind him and. gently drew his
his knowing It,. When his wind came back to
MIN he made a leap for me and squared on In
REGULAR night style. but he didn't know the
game at all. and. his work was coarse. l punched
TIng, He recovered his bsianse when he
me. with a ,erowi like a grizzly bears. Thhiis.
time ] caught him square on the point OF the
Jaw. and his hash was cooked. He went do wn,
good and out. The crowd made for me on all
sides. some OF them hopping over my late an
tag2nist,s u1c2nsclous shape. and gave me the
cordial handshake. | had to take a good many
more drinks than I wanted with them. In
ten minutes or, so the big chan that / had laid
out came up. told me that he had probably been
mistaken ABOUT that blue chip. and handed out
his paw. ] took II, and so | started In with no
enemies In the Camr. and plenty OF friends.
A lot OF the men asked ms what my graft was
In Creede. and | told them | was a lawyer. lust
In camp In search Of enough mining eases to
make a living. They promptly told me that
j Il get all the mining cases | could handle.
and they made good. The very next day ! got
sizable retainers In ten casea. mostly from
miners who had seen or heard abour that good
luck SCRAP OF miEe In GOodale's place, and I
made good, with Mrs. Cannon by taking one OF
her ground noor rooms and hanging q shinple
OIL, the outside OF IL.
IL, did, not. take me long. however. to find
out that ! had a re putatiUn to sustain, not as a
lawyer. but as a lighter. The boys got to ar
ranging. a scrap for me on every Saturday
hight. 1t was plain that I'd lose caste II
hunEed. They were treating me right by Civ
Ing me a very large percentage OF the camps
legal business. So ] went in for a moderate
course OF steady training aud went M against
az the men they dug up for me on these Satur.
day night occasions, found most Of the men
lalrly easy. although | got "A few hard Iolts
from some big men with long reach an IA lot