The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-11-10
pockstader OF the STAGE.

From the Kansas City Times.
Frank Jopes. Lew Dockstader and Jace
Malloy had a little chat one evening re-ii.s
Gently after the minstrel show on the subj
ject of hotels.
Jack" said Dockstader to Malloy. whol
is chief clerk at the Hotel Baltimore, you
fellows don't treat me as we'll as a land-ji
lord up in Cedar Rapids did one time. II
struck the town with the show one fall
morning and this hotel man met me at thol
train with an auto. He assigned me TOT
the best room in his hotel and had special
delicacies for me to eat. In the afternoonl
he took me out to see the city In the auto
Next morning when i asked for my bill hel;
said l owed him nothing at all.
'How's that?,I asked.
were my guest. Mr., Dockstader,si
he said.
g But I said, Il never met you before.
What do you get out of thfs?' I
You forget he replied, that you gave
me two passes to o show. That con-
cluded D~ockstader, illustrates the power
of the pass
Speaking of hotels, came from Frank
Jones, when the minstrel man Nod finished
his story, you fellows probably didn't
know that / was once a clerk in a hostelry.s
Well, I was. 1t was out in Caldwell, Kas.,
about twenty-five years ago. Caldwell4ati
that time was a lively, tough town. ri
herds of cattle were driven through III
every week and the cowboys used to- make
the nights red hot. ! forget the name OIL
the hotel in which I was employed but III;
was the best and toughest in town. Malt
10y, you don't know anything at all about
real hotel work. Why, every day I used
to have to carry trunks and drunk up-s
stairs. I was the only elevator the hotel
had. 1 was also bellboy and frequently
cook. Every time the cowboys wanted a
liff1a extra finn fhavsd s1,orroW c11rs Clty,ov0s
cook. Sometimes they'd bring him back
But sometimes they wouldn't and then
we'd have to entice another chink to town..
1t was yellow peril then sure enough
for the Chinese. When our cook was out
~delighting the cowboys I'd act in his place
In the kitchen. I used to ave to wiring
chickens necks on chicken day. One day
a rooster got away from me. 1t was the
only chicken in town that: day so 4 had to-
chase it. 1 ran it five miles. I got II
thought dropped dead. When 1 got back
a st. Louis dude asked me where I'd been.
I thought I'd be a humorist. Out after q
cocktail, : I replied.
20, 1 .see,' he said. You were the
chaser The joke tickled the cowboys so
they made me buy eight ounds OF drinlSS.s
which cost me a months pay I got even
with the dude, however. / gave him q
room with a halfbreed INDIAN who slept.
with his spurs on and had terrible night
mares.
All the time \ was clerk thereI did
not use a bed. l slept on the counter:
Every night or SO a drunken coNbov
would come in and wake me by poking ms
in the ribs with a slxshooter. He'd tell
mo to give him Il certain room and I'd
have to go up and throw the man already
In II, out. How did I happen tp leave:
Caldwell? 1t was this way. One evening
when I was acting as clerk. cook. walter
and dishwasher. ascowboy asked for beans
I brought him some, but he couldn't chew
them-they were petrif1ed. He got mad at
them. though, and swallowed them any
way. That night he was awfuliys sick
Next morning he sent me word he was
coming downstairs to get me. ! decided
to pull OUT
You were afraid he'd shoot you. eh?..s
came from Malloy.
20. no. replied Jones. The wasn't Il.
He said he was going to make me eat :
dish of those beans.