The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-03-06
NERVE OF A FARO FIENo
Steals and Pawns Employers Cash
Register for Money to
Gamble With.
From Thursdays Daily Gazette.

blessings this winter" said a we'll
known stockman from the northeast
ern part of the state to The Gazette
this morning. while you people
have been actually praying for snow,
we have had more of it than we real
~ needed and the result has been
that there will be some heavy stock
losses to be recorded when the spring
roundup is completed.
"A few days ago I had occasion to
make a trip Of the Milk river valley,
east from Chinook, and was surprised
lat the conditions obtaining there. Not
only was the ground covered to. a
great depth with snow, but to make
matters worse the snow was badly
crusted, making it next to impossible
for range stock to find feed. Dead
animals we're to be seer in plenty and
many more stood about all bumped
up and apparently ready to keel over.
The same thing was observable along
the Missouri. Some of the larger out
fits operating in that section have rid
ers out gathering the poor stock and
turning it owe to some of the smaller
Tanchers who have a little extra hay
that they are willing to sell. l may
be unduly frightened, but in my opin.
ion the outlook is anything but cheer
full for the men who have nothing but
the range to depend upon for feed
for their CATTLE"
A little knot of travelling men were
gathered in the lobby of one of the
hotels this morning exchanging *
periences One of them related a
story of a burglar who some days ago
stole a safe from a business house Of
Great Falls and after carrying it to
a convenient place broke it open and
helped himself to the contents. 1t
turned out that the safe was a small
affair and easily carried, but for all
that the relator of the incident
thought it was a remarkable piece of
thieving.
"Your story reminds me of an &C.
currence at Butte some years ago."
said another, that was about as nervy
q thing as l ever heard of and which
would have made a capital story for
the newspapers, but they failed to get
hold of it, for a wonder. The old
ComiQue, a famous resort in those
days, was then in the height of it's
glory and prosperity and money fair
ly flowed into the Golfers of the pro-
prietors, although it did not do them
much good, owing to the loose man
ner in which they conducted their bus
mess. The incident / am about to re-
late will convince you of this.
Zone evening l happened to be
%strolling that way and met n of the
owners of the house. who invited me
into his private office for a chat be-
fore the place opened for the nights
business. While we were talking one
of the bartenders came in and inform
VA t1io Cu1plOJC vi CldJ OCCdu0C I'll oOl1C-
thing that had gone wrong with it he
had been obliged to take the cash reg
lister to a repair shop to have it fixed
up and for that reason could not keep
count of the receipts in the usual
n He said, however, that he
expected the thing back in an hour or
two. L left and thought nothing more
about the matter. Later that night
! went back and found my host of
earlier in the evening in high humor
and evidently enjoying something
funny immensely. AS Dol as he es-
pied me he called me to one side and
said: The cash register is back,
and I'll bet you can't imagine where
it was Remembering what the bar
tender had said I replied that it prob
ably had been taken to a tinsmith, in
stead of to a shop where it was Gus
tumary to have work of that sort done.
You're mistaken was the reply. 1T
was not broke at all, but pawned.
One of the walters had a bunch that
he could beat the bank and began to
play. The bunch proved to have been
wrong and oon he lost all he had and
he came back and borrowed from all
the other men about the house that
would let him have any money. All
went the same way and finally becom-
ing desperate he talked the bartender
into letting him have the cash regis
ter which he took to a pawnshop and
got an advance on it. The register
was good medicine, for the fellow
commenced to win and Don had
enough in front Of him to enable him