St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1908-11-14

the heart OF the Bad LANDS went up
In smoke.
Brickyille didn't realize it at the
moment, because, paradoxical as II may
seem, the little blaze which destroyed
the town was easily got under con-
troll. The place hadn't progressed as
far as fire department, and 1t would
not have helped matters il 1t had. A
tipsy cowboy who had been sampllng
Pikey's hardware vaulted to the back
Of a Wolfish-looling cayuse, yelled
few times in hearty Montana fashion,
and then swung his RATA at the Chin
ney AS the moose fell fair about the
stack of bricks he dug spurs into the
sides of his mount and made run
upon the rope.
The chimney came down with a
crash, the fire was out; the fate OF
Brickville was written.
That is why the town does not ap-
pear upon any map. But if ever you
have ridden over the Northern Pa
cific you can probably recall long
and narrow valley to the north as you
passed out of the Bad Lands of Dako-
ia into the Bad Lands Of Montana.
That is where Brickville stood. The
soil all about is hard and dry and red,
and there is no verdure. Not any
where in sight is there a tree. The
side hills are scanned with black stra-
ia, and the rains have carried stains
from these and streaked the valley
will hot eli af no
little stream which winds away to the
south.
The black strata are seams of btu
minous coal, and it was in mining this
coal that the Brickvillians made their
living. There is still pay in these
streaks, but the people who worked
them have drifted away, and on the
site of the town prairie dogs and coy
otes and rattlesnakes hold annual con-
yentions which never adjourn.
If any place ever fully justified its
name, that place was Brickville. At
the height Of its prosperity it had, ex.
elusive of sheds and stables, 81 one
story buildings, including the railroad
station, the saloon and the tonsorial
parlor, and every one of them was of
brfck-even the sheds. There were
optimists who looked forward to
brick courthouse and a brick Jail,
and but for the fire in Pikey McGinn's
chimney these aspirations might have
been realized.
Pierre Succotash played perhaps the
most prominent part in Brickville's
destruction. Pierre was a French Ca
madam, whose rear name had come in
to collision with Brickyille's sense of
propriety, and some Of its letters were
dislocated by the shock. He had
been gold mining in British Column
bia, and no one had inquired very
closely into the reason of his coming
from a gold to coal camp; it would
have established an uncomfortable
precedent But he went nosing about
the wreck Of that chimney, as he went
nosing into everything that happened
in town; and Fred Richie, who con-
Quoted "the tonsorial parlor," which
was across the street from McGinn's,
saw him suddenly dart in and pick up
broken brick.
Now Fred and Succotash had said
some unpleasant things to each other
once upon a time, and Fred, believ-
ing that Pierre was counting trouble,
promptly ran in for his gun; but
when he came out Succotash was no
where to be seen.
Next morning Pikey found that
some one had carried off nearly half
of his chimney bricks, and he prompt
ly declared 1t to be the work of Slant
eye McCafferty, his hated rival in the
hardware business. Mac denied this
in vigorous language, and a gunplay
was imminent when the whisky
agent happened along and announced
reduction in rates by the barrel;
and then they had drink, and or
dered half barrel each, and the
Ratchet was buried.
But war was on hotter than ever
next day, for the remainder of Pikey's
loose bricks had disappeared in the
night. Pikey swore that Slanteye was
planning cheap extension to his gin
mill, and Mac retorted that he would
be fool indeed to go around picking
up hoodoos that had fallen from his
rivals leaky roof.
Then each got a shotgun and stood
out in front Of his saloon waiting for
the other to come along. And the
result of this was that trade fell of
in both places, for Brickvillians knew
that shotguns scattered their charges
and they refused to Stake their thirst
when there was chance that a stray
buckshot might next moment spring
them aleak. So it was that business
interests induced the rivals for a sec
ond time to declare truce, and then
the town breathed easier and drank
oftener.
a week later Succotash was mas
senger on a west-bound express with
ticket to Glendive in his hat band
And the next east-bound freight
brought in very scarce article
some lumber-and heavy iron roll
er marked with his name On his re-
turn he installed the roller in the
brick shack where he slept and put a
big paddock on the door. What he did
In that place was the town mystery.
But he was flush of money, ana one
day he caused sensation. He became
the owner of saloon, having bought
out Pikey McGinn-taking bar, stock,
goodwill and building.
Then, to the greater surprise of
Brickville, he promptly sold to Pikey's
hated rival everything but the build
ing. Pikey swore it was all put-up
job. and left town In disgust. succo-
fash said it was because he intended