Semi-weekly herald., 1911-06-12
CHAPTER XVI.
introducing Doctor E.lrb.In.

time the human cesspool of the plains
| country, seething. boiling maelstrom
OF all that was rough. evil. and brazen
| along the entire frontier. Customar-
lily quiet enough during the hours of
daylight. the town became n mad
saturnalia with the approach OF dark
| ness. Its ceaseless orgies being noisily
continued until dawn. But at this
period all track work on the Kansas
Pacific being temporarily suspended
by Indian outbreaks, the graders made
both night and day alike hideous. and
the single dirty street which com
posed Sheridan. lined with shacks,
crowded with saloons. the dull dead
prairie stretching away on every side
to the horizon, was congestsd with
humanity during every hour OF the
twenty-four.
1t WAS a grim picture OF depravity
and desolation. the environment dull.
gloomy, forlorn; all that was worthy
the eye or thought being the pulsing
human element. All about extended
the barren plains. except where on
one side a ravine cut through an over
hanging ridge. From the seething
street one could look up to the sum
init. and see there the graves of the
many who had died deaths OF violence.
and been borne thither In their
boots" Amid all this surrounding
desolation WAS Sheridan-the child OF
few brief months of existence, and
destined to perish almost as quickly
the center of the grim picture. mere
cluster of rude. unpainted houses.
poorly erected shacks, grimy tents
Mapping in the never cessing wind
swirling across the treeless waste, the
ugly red station. the rough cowpens
tilled with lowing cattle. the huge, un-
calmly stores. their false fronts deco
rated by amateur wielders OF the
paint brush and the garlsh dens of
vice tucked In everywhere The pen
dulum of life never ceased swinging
Society was mixed; no man cared who
his neighbor was, or dared TO question
or women worthy the name there
were few, yet there were fitting fe
male forms In plenty. the saloon lights
revealing powdered cheeks ana paint
u
less populace, the majority here to
day, disappearing tomorrow-cow
boys. half-breeds. trackmen, graders
desperadoes. gamblers. saloon keepers
merchants, generally Jewish. petty Of
ficials. and a rif-rafr no one could ac.
count for. mere floating debris The
town was an eddy catching odd bits
of nj ,t.r
ever knew. Queer characters were
everywhere, wrecks of dissipation, de
relicts of the East, seeking nothing
save oblivion.
Everything was primitive-psssio
and pleasure ruled. To spend easily
made money noisily. brazenly. was the
ideal. From dawn To dawn the search
after Joy continued. The bagnios and
dance halls were ablaze; the bar
rooms crowded with hilarious or
quarrelsoms humanity. the gambling
tables alive with excitement Men
staggered along the streets looking
for trouble. and generally finding It.
cowboys rode into open saloon doors
and drank In the saddle; troops of
conxenial spirits, frenzied with liquor
spurred recklessly through the street
firing into the air. or the crowd, as
their whim led; bands played popular
airs on balconies, and innumerable
"barkers" added their honeyed lnvi-
tations to the perpetual din. From end
to end 1t was q saturnalia of vice. q
babel of sound. glimpse of the in
ferno. Money flowed like water: every
man WAS his own law, and the gun
the arbiter Of destiny. The town
marshal. and a few headed depu-
ties moved here and there amid tho
chaos, patient, tireless, undsunted.
seeking merely to exercise some
slight restraint This was Sheridan.
Into the one long street Just at dusk
rode Keith and Neb, tho third horse
trailing behind Already lights were
beginning to CLEAN In tho crowded
saloons. and they were obliged to
proceed slowly. Leaving tho negro at
the corral to nnd some purchaser for
the animals. and such accommoda-
tions for himself as he could achieve,
Keith Bhouldered his way on foot
through the heterogeneous mass to-
ward the only hotel, a long two-storied
wooden structure, unpsinted, fronting
the glitter Of the Pinoeer Dance Hall
opposite. noisy band was splitting
the air with discordaDt notes, a loud
voiced barker yelling through the
uproar. but Keith. accustomed to SINH
lar scenes and sounds elsewhere,
strode through the open door OF the
hotel, and guided by the noisy, contin-
uous clattsr OF dishes, easily found his
way to the dining.room. 1t was crowd
cd with men. few women scattered
here and there. most OF the former in
shirt-sleeves. all eating silently. A
few smaller tables at the back OF the
room were distinguished from the 9th
srs by white coverings in place OF oil
cloth. evidently reserved for the more
distinguished guests. DisdaininK cere-
mony. the new conner wormed his way
through, finally discovering a vacant
seat where his back would be to the
wall. thus enabling him to survey the
entire apartment
1t WAS not OF great interest, save
for Its constant change and the primi-
tive manner In which the majority at
tackled their food supply, which was
piled heltsrsksltsr upon the long
tables. yet he ran his eyes ssarchingly
over the numerous faces, seeking i'm