The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-07-07
.BONESTEEL BREAKS
FL RENO'S RECORD
SOUTH DAKOTA TOWN THE HOT.
TEST IN THE BUNCH.

Place and All Sorts of Games Are
Going Day and Night-The Dance
Hall and the '.Pihe'' Draw Crowdi
Unique Street Scenes.
Special to The Journal
Bonesteel, S. D., July 1.-THE street
scenes in Bonesteel, the gateway to
picturesque and attractive. Every
thing has the appearance of a carni-
val. There are numerous side-show
attractions, most Of them Of such
character that the ministerial asso-
citation Of any city could approve
them. Bankers and spielers rush UP
and down the streets, crying out in
night hideous. There is plethora of
monographs which howl with the
unison Of populistic convention.
The opening days registration
broke the record for the first day at
El Reno, and the government officials
are greatly pleased. They did not
expect SO remarkable a registration
on the first day. However, it Is not
thought that the registration will be
as large as it was in Oklahoma in the
aggregate, for the attractions are not
so great as they were In Oklahoma.
There will be no 100000 capital
prize as there was in the Oklahoma
drawing.
Bonesteel is apparently the Mecca
for the blind, and numerous mendi-
cants perform vocally and otherwise
for stray coin. The numerous slot
machines have exhausted the visible
supply of nickels.
The report of the discovery of gold
at st. Elmo is not generally credited,
L,,E * ~
erthe1ess.
"Union" for t5rafters.
An international convention Of
grafters and gamblers is being held
during the rush. The idea of union
or organization among grafters and
gamblers is apparently unique, but it
is being accomplished. Gamblers are
starting a movement to perfect an Or
ganization and officers will be secret
| ly elected if the movement does not
fall thru.
| No better place in the world could
| be selected for such a convention, for
gamblers from all over the country are
here. There are representatives Of
all classes, from the smooth card man,
who has taken his shy at the bank at
Monte Carlo, to the worker Of street
"fat games" and the three-shell man..
What is your graft?" is a common
| Viz
green cloth" No offense is intended
and none is taken. The gambler has
a unique philosophy. He thinks all
the world are grafters. It's a world
of graft, differing in degree from the
fraft Of J. Pierpont Morgan and John
D. Rockefeller, to the graft of the
three-Shell man and the street fak1r.
AL Kinds of Grating.
And the world of graft Is seen to
good advantage here. If the fascfna-
ton Of the gaming table appeals to a
man, he can find plenty to satisfy that
inclination. Faro, roulette, klondike,
are in full blast. Then there is the
graft Of the street fakir, the Stat
game" man who works g. swind1e in
which no one can win except the
booster, who is an expensive luxury,
but an present help in times OF
dull business.
Then there is the more unblushing
CRATER. He is known as the dip
largely because Of a penchant he has
Of dipping his hand in a mans pocket
when the man Is not looking. He is
a smooth man, the dip" and he has
been doing a rushing business, working
the trains coming into Bonesteel and
| Yankton.
! If these grafters cannot relieve the
unwary Of his money, there are others
who can. The dance hall Is a hum
mer. They are Of all shades Of wick
as far as from New Orleans to ply
their trade. They are located In
tents and frame shacks, according to
their degree of prosperity and sounds
Of noisy revelry can be heard at all
hours Of the night.
A "Pike" of Its Own.
| ponae+aal hos a "pilxa,, THE 81
Louis aggregation is not the only peb-
BILE Such Institutions of amusement,
as "Gay Paree' and other attractions
are found on the pike and loom up as
large part of the landscape in their
particular territory. When the spiel
business is dropped until the process
sion passes.
The street tscenes Of Bonesteel are
among its greatest. If Balzac, who
used to search the names on the street
signs for names of his characters,
might happen in spirit to visit Bone
steel, he would find material that
would delight his mercurial soul.
/ Crooks Hotel is one Of the first
class establishments. The name is
significant in view Of the large part OF
the population, but the proprietor in
sists he was not afflicted with sense
of humor when he placed the sign in
position.
Most of the places have aristocratic
titles. There is the tAk-Sar-Ben
hotel" the Manhattan place." and
the "Delmonico restaurant"
The palmer house" is q frame
structure on which the name has been
/ painted by the hand of a novice who
couldn't spell
Lawyers are in abundance and most
/ of them have their offices in tents
with their names printed over the top
Two John and His Bubble.
Another evidence of metropolitan.
ism which Bonesteel possesses is its
automobiles. The largest and most
complete is that owned by Benjamin
Two John. Mr.. Two John is a half
breed, or at least of mixed blood. He
owns lands, cattle and horses, automo-
bile, and, above all, a pretty daugh-
ter who is the belle of the county
When Miss Two John appears in her
automobile, Bonesteel society takes of
its hat.
VERSATILE ENGLISH LORD
Lord Grimthorpe peer clockmaker
church restorer and in one sense father
Of the English bar, has just celebrated