The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1908-12-29

brlckyillian hope of a metropolis in
Ihe heart Of the Bad Lands went up
in smoke.
Brickville didn't realize it at the
moment, because, paradoxical as it may
seem, the little blaze which destroyed
the town was easily got under con-
lrol' The place hadn't progressed as
lar as fire department, and it would
hot nave helped matters if it had. A
upsy cowboy who had been sampling
Flkey's hardware vaulted to the back
OF wolfish-looking cayuse, yelled a
rev times in hearty Montana fashion,
and then swung his RATA at the chin
hey. AS the moose fell fair about the
stack of bricks he dug spurs into the
SIDES of his mount and made a 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
nave ridden over the Northern Pa
cine you can probably recall a 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 Brickyille 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
with them on both sides of the muddy
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 it's
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
brick-even the sheds. There were
Optimists who looked forward to a
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 Brickville's sense of
propriety, and some of it's 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 gold to a 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
a 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 it to be the work of Slant
eye McCafferty. his hated rival in the
hardware business. Mac denied this
In vigorous language, and gunplay
was imminent when the whisky
agent happened along and announced
a reduction in rates by the barrel;
and then they had a 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 a cheap extension to his gin
mill, and Mac retorted that he would
be a fool indeed to go around picking
ND hoodoos that had fallen from his
rivals leaky roof,
Then each got 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 off
in both places, for Brickvillians knew
that shotguns scattered their charges
and they refused to Stake their thirst
when. there was a chance that stray
buckshot might next moment spring
them aleak So it was that business
interests induced the rivals for a sec
ond time to declare a truce, and then
the town breathed easier and drank
oftener.
A week later Succotash was a pas
senger on west-bound express with
ticket to Glendive in his hat band
And the next eastbound freight
brought in very scarce article
some lumber-and a heavy iron roll
or marked with his name. On his re
turn he installed the roller in the
brick shack where he slept and put a