River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-06-01


'Peck's Bad Boy" Etc)
Copyright. 1906. by Joseph b. Bowles)
Monte Carlo.-Dear Uncle: / blush
to write the name, Monte Carlo, at the
head of letter to anyone that is a
Christian, or who believes in honesty
and decency, and earning a living by
the sweat of ones brow, for this place
is the limit. If should write anybody
letter from South Clark street, Chit
cago, the recipient would know l had
gone wrong, and was located in the
midst of bad element, and the in
ference would be that l was the worst
fakir, robber, hold-up man or assassin
in the bunch.
The inference you must draw from
the heading of this letter is that dad
and l have taken all the degrees of bad
ness and are now winding up our ca
reer by taking the last degree, before
passing in our chips and committing
suicide. Do you know what this place
is, old man? Monaco is principally,
about six miles square, ruled by a
prince, and the whole business of the
country, for it isa country" the same as
though it had king, is gambling. They
have all the different kinds of gam
bling, from chuck-a-luck at two bits
TO roulette at million dollars a min
ute. What started dad to come to
Monte Carlo is more than know, un-
less it was new American he has got
acquainted with, a fellow from North
Dakota, that dad met at sort of dance
that he did not take me to- 1t seems
there is a place in Paris where they
go to see men and women dance-one
of those dances where they kick so
high that their feet hit the gas fixtures
Well, all [ know about it is that one
Wednesday night dad said he felt as
though it was his duty to go to prayer
meeting, SO he could say when he got
home that in all the frivolities of trip
abroad, even in wicked Paris, he never
neglected his church duties. l never
was stuck on going to prayer meeting,
so dad let me stay at the hotel and play
pool with the cash register boy in the
barroom, and dad took a hymn book
and went out, looking pious as | ever
saw him.
My, what difference there was in
dad in the morning. | woke up about
daylight, and dad came into the room
with a strange man, with spinach on
his chin, and they began to dance, like
they mad seen the people dance at the
show where they had passed the even
ing. They were undressed, except their
underclothes, which were these combi-
nation suits, so when a man gets into
them he is sealed up like bologna,
and he has to have help when he wants
to get out to take bath, and he has
to have an outsider button him in with
a button hook. Gee! ! would rather
be a sausage and done with it, Well,
dad and this man from Dakota kicked
high until dad caught by the ankle on
a gas bracket, and the strange man got
me up out of bed to help unloosen dad
and get him down before he was black
in the face. Finally we got dad down
and then the two old dodgers began
to discuss proposition to go to Monte
Carlo to break the bank.
Inc OdhOtd ul1A o3AOCu CueLI AlHSLl-
cans had no right to be spending their
own money doing Europe, when their
genius was equal to the task of acquir-
ing the money of the less intelligent
foreigners. He said they could go to
Monte Carlo and by system of gam
bling which he had used successfully
in the Black Hills they could carry
away all the money they could pile into
sacks. The man said he would guar
antee to break the bank if dad would
mt his money against the Dakota
mans experience as a gambler. and
they would divide the proceeds equally.
Dad bit like a bass. He said he had