Rocky Ford enterprise., 1899-05-18
A TALE OF THE FRONTIER
Anecdote of Joe Lowe, Form.r,x
1tA and Dsnver :"

Anscdote OF Joe Lowe. Formerly q, W.
itA and Denver. "'o1
The correspondent Of a Chcaro ~
per rehearses the early scenes ~
Wichita, Kansas, us follows:
II haven't been in Wichita bo,.
since It was the end of the track k.Vi3
the widest and wickedest town in
West. 1t was the center of the % 90 !, Y
trade in those days, the shipping Ia no;aa ~
for the Texas herds; the end ~ PVl ~
trail, where thousands of steers u,,ts ,u
had been driven across the ranroS Sel
Indian territory We're loaded on :, III
ears every week to be shipped to th1 MI
eastern markets. verything was wid W
open then with vengeance, and %
cowboys were kings. w
"One night l attended an cn,er,,,.
ment In the Palace opera house "n
place with some such name, kent ~
"Rowdy Joe," a famous characterp ~ y
had formerly been known as Josous
Lowe of La Sale, Illinois. He wos
boatman before he came to this ca~.
try, and had won an enviable rann.a
ton as the toughest man in KnnSaa
MI. Lowe kept n drinking place
gambling den and n dance house co,.
bined, and Mrs. Lowe, who was hst,a.
known as 'Rowdy Kate was his coss
Ter and first lieutenant. Together tho,
made a powerful team, and the at,r,:
tions Of their place Of business ws,,
well advertised between the Nissan,
river and the Rocky Mountains, Ths,.
was nothing to beat 1t then, and tbe,. @
has been nothing to beat 1t since.
ION the evening Of my arrival.
was In the spring of I'll ATTENDED
vaudeville entertainment at this n,
nous place, and the great attrac,Io,
was q 'serio-comic artist Of the fert.
nine persuasion, whose pictures wa,,
plastered on all the dead walls i,
town. At the close Of her first numha.
while waiting for the applause to sph
side, she leaned against the side n
one of the stage boxes which was "a,
cupied by a gigantic drovcr and pa,.
ty OF friends. With his long arms b.
reached over the rail, grabbed he,
around the waist, lifted her into HI,
box and placed her calmly upon b,
knees In less time than 1t takes I,
tell 1t.
The audience was furious at the d.
milIarities taken with its favorite, al
there was a rush for the stage. n.
big drover dropped the girl. and. dras.
ing his revolver, held the crowd 4;
bay. Then bedlam broke loose, AZ!
pretty soon nearly everybody began h,
shoot. Those who did not care to pal,
tlclpate in the battle started for IL.
door, and their flight was hastend b.
hysterical individual, who In LEAF
Ing from one bench to another. struet
a big kerosene lamp with his head a.,
sent 1t flying into the midst OF the p,,
demonium.
"How I got out Of the place mere
was able to decide, but 'Rowdy JOes
palace was heap OF ashes two hous
afterward. and there We're rumors ..
numerous lost lives.
'Rowdy Joe passed In his cheSti
at Denver only n few weeks ago. Ts
town got too tame for him and
went out to the mines. Then. after y
reached the nge Of 20. he decided y
settle down and enjoy peaceful ".
During the last blizzard he drove !,s
town and left his horses hItched In y
street without blankets. A policc.n
Of humane instincts took them b
stable, and Joe expressed his visra
that Interference and OF pollceasa .
general in q saloon where he had 'sk.
en- refuge from the cold. An ex'nsr
bcr Of the Denver police resented ID
criticisms. 'Rowdy Joe Is In the cen.
terry and the ex-policcman Is In ~
awaiting trial for murder"