The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-05-27
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EASY MARKS
BILLINGS cEsLEsTlAL WORKS
SILVER BOW AUTHORITIES.
500 KEGS GREAT GRAFT
Secures Room and Board by Telling
Gaudy Yarn About Highbind-
er Prosecutions.
I'm Fridays laily Gazette.

|16m Friday i1aily Gazette.
N For almost seven months 500 Kee
has played a confidence game on the
authorities of Silver Bow county that
could only originate in the crafty
mind Of a deceitful heather Chinee.j
1850 Kee formerly called Billings
this home, hence the local interest that
attaches to his story.
While a resident Of the Magic
City" 500 Kee bore a reputation de-
cidedly shady, even in the easy go
ing social circles of Chinatown and
it was at the instance of his country
men that he was compelled to leave
the city suddenly and seek an abiding
place elsewhere. He was u~nalterably
opposed to everything in the least
akin to manual labor and looked with
scorn upon those who toiled, still he
possessed his races love of wealth
and employed an original method of
qualifying himself for membership in
the mandarin class.
In some manner he had become the
owner of one of those commodities
of his people, who while supposed
to be endowed with a mind and soul
are yet recognized to have no great
err claims upon human consideration
than are bestowed by nature in CIV
ing them a human form and endowing
them with the distinction Of sex Just
how he got the unfortunate creature
could never be learned, but it was
said that he had stolen her from an
other Chinaman and brought her here.
He secured a room for her and then
was ready for business. For a sum
paid to him in hand he would lease
her to one of his countrymen for a
specified time and was always prompt
ly on hand at the expiration of the
leasehold to claim redelivery Of his
chattel. If the lessee attempted to
evade the conditions of the lease by
as much as an hour 500 Kee would
flourish a huge revolver and dispOs-
sess his tenant. This occurred on
numerous occasions and finally led
to a shooting scrape in n of the
restaurants, the owner Of which had
been the last to obtain n Of Soo's
peculiar leases. For this he was ar
rested and fined a good, round sum.
IBnt that was not the end.
= Because Of his trucculent disposi-
ton and freedom with cleaver and
gun and the ease of touch whenever
he handled the latter weapon the 9th
err Cinnamon had become afraid of
him and wanted him gotten rid Of.
Officer Hayden volunteered to be the
good friend of the tyrant's victims
and n night escorted 500 to the
Northern Pacific depot and saw that
he got on board of a departing train
for the west and did not get off before
the train was under good headway<
The woman was sent away later.
|From here 500 went to Butte and
Immediately called on. the sheriff and
told that officer a weird and lurid tale
Of persecution by highbinders,. who he
said had driven him out of Billings
and were even then on his trailt He
said he was a merchant in this city,
wealthy and respected, and the hus-
band of a wife whose beauty paled
the lily. Because Of her charms and
graces a number of wicked Cinnamon
had c%onspired to possess her and
had imported Ratchet men to steal
her and kill him. They had stolen
the woman. but he had ontwitted them
apA made his escape.
VHe begged the protection of the
sheriff and since then, i. was in No
vember, he has been a vo:iniary pris-
oner, with no more restrictions plac-
ed upon his actions than he himself
wished to impose4V Occasional
ally he has ventured out, but never
far. not for an instant forgetting his
u and always rushing back with
a story Of having been pursued by
some fierce, wicked highlander
thirsting for his rich, red blood.
but his graft" is at an end. At
list the authorities investigated and
learned that 500 was a fraud and
kicked him out of Jail, probably the
first instance Of the kind on record
Bring your shoe repairing t o Post.
afice basement. 74-tf