The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-11-17
IN HOTEL CORRIDORS.

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dams they all started to talking at the
same time but finally one of the old
frontiersmen got the floor and said: i
can tell you some things about Indians
which would put to shame any of the
stories you have heard about the red
skins, but I have no desire to send the
cold chillS chasing up and down your
vertebrate, so I will tell you an ordinary
every day incident I was working on
ranch in the early 70's near where
Dodge City now stands, and we had an
eastern man with us who had been IN
the west about two months. He was
would sit by the fire in the evenings
and tells US fairy tales of the dark and
desperate deeds he had done in the
past, embelliShed, of course, with all the
frills and f1ourishes he could conceive.
He was not afraid of the Indians nor
Satan; in fact, he was the nerviest man
who had ever crossed the Missouri-ac-
cOrding to his version We let him have
/ his way until the boys got a little tired
of it and came to the conclusion that he
would not put up a fight that would in
tereSt a kitten. We got our heads to-
gether and fixed up a job that
thought would make it entertaining for
the young man for awhile. We were
about II miles from the post and our
camp was among lot of small hills
which would afford us a protection from
the Indians in case they should get on
the war path The night after we had
fixed up our scheme we began to tell
Indian stories, and I can truthfully say
that I never before heard such a. lot
of blood curdling stories as the men told
that poor conceited fool from the east.
They kept it up for several nights and,
after he had been well imbued with
stories of Indian torture, they began to
tell of rumOrs of outbreak among
the Indians in the Territory. This was
continued for several nights and the
young man declined to sleep in the
camp, but took his blanket and slept in
the hills where he would have a chance
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terialized. He spent many nights on the
hard hills before the climax was sprung.
One night after a lot of particularly
wild stories had been told we had arrang
ed that we would all raise up about u
O'Clock and fire our guns while we gave
the Indian and cowboy yell simultan-
eously- We had a gang of men in camp
who could make an Indian ashamed of
himself when it came to giving the In
dian YELL and they did themselves cred
1t that night. When the first gun was
fired we cried Indians and the racket
began. After we had kept it up for
about an hour we quieted down, and
towards morning some of the boys went
out to look for the eastern chap, but he
was gone. We searched the country
over, but could hear nothing of him and
it looked as though we had scared him
off the face of the earth. We gave up
the direct search for him in few weeks
and settled down to work. You must
remember that in those days the dis
appearance of a man did not bother any
One-it was a common occurrence. 1t
was several years after that when 1
happened to be with a gang of cowboys
who were on their way from Dodge to
the Panhandle country. We struck a
camp of Arapa,hOes and in the camp we
found the eastern man we had frighten-
ed near Dodge. He was a gibbering
idiot and I learned from the Indians
that they had found him wandering
over the prairie shortly after the time
we had scared him with the imitation
Indian raid. They had allowed him to
follow them simply because they could
not help themselves and they would not
injure him for they saw that he was de-
nented, and no one ever heard of an In
dian lifting his hand against an imbe-
Gle. He had lived with them ever
since and they had come to look upon
him as a mascot. I felt sorry for the
poor fellow, but I guess he was as well
off with them as he would have been in
an asylum. I never hear of Indian raids
without thinking of the poor fellow and
I have always been curious to learn
what his history has been since last
saw him"
s'I stepped into a saloon in Kansas
City few days ago" said a well known
politician, land received a. temperance
lecture that would have been very
good one wor man who was just start
ing in the business of patroniZing the
bar. I was with friend who occasion
ally takes a drink but who is what
would be called a light drinker. I am
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decided that a cocktail would be a de-
licious drink to give us an appetite for
breakfast, Sc we stepped into a saloon
to get it AS we went in we noticed a
man at the end of the bar who was talk
ing earnestly with the barkeeper, but as
we stepped up to the bar the barkeeper
handed him a quarter and came to wait
upon us. The man who had been talk
ing to the barkeeper was a perfect pic
ture of a. Weary Wi1lie.s His nose was
spongy, his eyes bleared and watery
and his skin was blOated and wrinlxled.
His whispered conversation w. husky
which indicated a parched throat. His
clothes were ragged, dirty and altOgeth-
er filthy. His collar was buttOned close
to hide the shirt that was not there. He
looked as thirsty as a desert and evil
IDENTIFY stood in need of an oasis The
oasis came in the shape of the quarter
which the man behind the bar gave him.
When he had gone the barkeeper said:
Notice that man who was talking with
me2 There was one of the SWEETEST bar
keeps in this town at one time. He could
have started a business any place and
would have had all kinds of backing.
My. but he did sport big diamonds! Had
a swell rig, too, and cut a great dash
driving around the town, but he has
gone noW-can't hold a job any place.
Whisky did it. He got too fond Of the
flowing bowl and took to drinking as
much as he sold. It didn't take him
long to go. That quarter I gave him
means five big drinks of cheap whisky
at the barrel house down in the bottoms.
He hits his old friends for a little sum
each Weekdays it is for something to
eat, but we all know where it goes It's
a pity, too but forgot, gentlemen,
what is it you will have I looked at
my friend and he looked at me. and when
he said settler lemonade I nodded as
sent. I didn't feel a bit like drinking
a cocktail after hearing the story and
could see that my friend was affected
the same as ]"
''I have met men who are sore because
they bet on the losing side in the presi-
Dental race said a gentleman at the
Oxford, but the sorest man I have met
was chump who bet on Bryan because
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