The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1900-07-24

ttttNt PcC0lDE cigars across the hand
rail.
-Have smoker" says he. and pre-
seuied me with cigar. then struck
match on his breeches AMI gave me a
light. Pay for IT? Not much. Why.
the Britisher thought he was under an
obligation to me. He net his obliga-
lions. Once / saw man pay him
silver dollar that was in dispute. and
the Britisher flung it at his face. Next
time ] passed the man on the bridge
had two dry goods boxes for a coun-
Ter. a trading license stuck up. a lot
81 apples. two kinds Of cigars and
some trinkets which didn't catch on.
in three days he was fun Of grub. color
IN his face. a coat on his back and doing
q roaring business.
After week or so be began to build.
aud the beaver wasn't in IL for cunning.
On three bits of scantling across the
angle he put floor. walls. a roof then
2 glass front aiczg the hand-raiI with
sliding sashes. lie had a dog kennel
door under the hand-rziI 10 crawl in
by. box stove TO keep him warm and
cook his meals on. and enough floor
space TO roll out his blankets Al night.
In six weeks the man on the bridge was
worth a hundred and fifty dollars. do
ing business at hundred Per cent.
profit % eight dollars a day. Then he
began 10 advertise all over town with
pictures he made himself Of cats srnok-
ing. babies CRYING FOR EN-. and whole
menagerie Of men and animals enjoy
ing Of EN-. Here's from one of his poem
advertisements:
HE saw that the prospect was fair
II he only could find him a lair
But 10 place could be found
On the dry. solid ground.
So he built up his house in the air
With cigars he's seen desperate times
IS he roped IA the uickels and dimes
When men died OF his SMOKE
With gul1 and a choke
He was seat TO this town for his crimes
don't know whether il was the poem
or the cold or the Barring crash which
busted all the banks and reduced our
population TO half, but anyway the
crazy man Oh the bridge began 10 have
a bad time His trade went down 10
nothing, and instead of three square
meals day he began 10 MI up va
cancies by eating his own stock. five
cents worth Of candy for breakfast
and a smoke for dinner. Besides that,
Long Shorty. one Of our special brand
OF toughs. thought that the man on
the bridge was haeing more than his
share of prosperity. One morning late
in December Long Shorty put two
heavy timbers across the river behind
the man on the bridge and began 10
build a house on them beams. He
planked over his floor. set up his frame
of scantling and began 70 i'll in the
walls. then went TO the city council and
told them that he intended. al his own
expense. TO lay down an extra side
walk TO cover the space over the river
between the bridge and his new So
loon.
OF course that meant sweeping away
the man on the bridge, shanty and al,
by permission of the city authorities.
so 1 sent one of my deputy marshsIs
10 see how the Britisher felt
-Oh. that's all right" says the man
on the bridge Long Shorty rests one
end of his bridge tinbsrs on railroad
land and the other end on private house
property. II get his timbers sawn of
at both ends. the gentleman Will have
TO swing his saloon with ropes"
What fron?-
The Clouds says the Britisher, and
gave my deputy cigar.
Now. if that youngster had kicked up
fuss and gone after Long Shorty with
a gun. I'd have let them worry it out
between themselves; but the man on
the bridge, although only an alien and
q tenderfoot with nothing TO live on
but his native grit. was the only law
abiding inhabitant in my district. So
1 went TO Dan McPhail, and SAYS /:
Dan, guess I'm going to have my
spring cleaning"
Good business" says Dan. so we set
TO work making out list of the pro-
posed exiles. gamblers, buns. crooks.
etc, etc, who would never be missed
from Amber, 10 the number of IS. We
called a session of the vigilance com
mittee, posted guard around my lit
tie calaboOse and ran in the gentlemen
one by one until we had a full house.
Then we started the whole bunch-25
head-and herded them with stock
whips and chunks OF ice through the
streets 10 the municipal boundary.
where we turned them loose with the
remark that the world was all before
them where to choose One or two
who objected we chucked into the river
70 cool of. but for the most part they
went like lambs. including Long
Shorty. who understood that ia plug
him fun OF holes if he ever showed
his ugly mug in Amber Gulch.
Going back into town l interviewed
the man on the bridge who had stuck
up n crazy poster suggesting necktie
social or lynching bee. which was Off
eiOus Of him. and might lead TO harm.
Take that down. SAYS /. wondering
IL he'd thank me for running his enemy
out OF the country-but not bit of IL.
~Au right" says the man on the
hridce-curse his eneekl Il see that r
the people has risen in its might for
vengeance on the evil-6oers-where did
you hide 2~-London Black and White.