Gunnison news-champion., 1912-04-12
eoA1Av00 8DGA
susa1ssso 0ssasr 0eiaosss.

tuDa1nDsao 0Dsaw eoi~oois.
u.oAsd - eAay OSsoL ana haviaG -
sah>s spsctai sA5scsise pstna n st,0. \
Oas suly nasusnl ssr tAe to- 1ng1aAvss
v dsta Into oAseiaaa. Thls Uaa & 49,
tiDs ~ humsa ss.av0oi - ~ paains
sesstry. . sseshiaa. bst,aaG nnsasssuo
af sll thst ~as rough. evil. 60 brossa
along the entire ssUnti.g Cussaaar
ily auiss enough e~stNG Ne hssss a
aaylight the to~p bscaas . saaA
ssturnssta With the apysuasA - dash-
Rese. MS ceeseiess orgiss bstAG aossily
continued until dawn. uus sf thb
psstsd aA srsch woea - shs kansas
Pscihc being temporarily suspenaed
~ Indian eussseska. the esaaerr nsAe
both nisht snd aSy s'ise h'deous. and
the stnxle dirty strUet which com
posed sheridan liasd Sifh shscAs.
crowded with ssleons. The dull deed
prairie stretching sWay % every Side
TO the horizon. was consested Wteh
humanity during every hour 81 the
tssaty tour.
h Vas q Fsm pic.ure Of dsprsvssy
cad desolstion. the environment dull.
oleomy. forlorn; oil that wss werthy
the eve or thought besnG the pslsisG
human elemeRt. All about eatended
the barren plains. except where -
one side q rsvine cut through an oves-
hanging ridge. From the seethin0
street one could leok Mp TO the sum
init. and see there the graves ef the
many who had died deaths Of violence.
and been borne th.ther IN their
boots" Amid all this surrounding
desolation wss sheridan--the child of
a NV brief months of existence, and
destined to perish almost as quickly
the center ~ the grim picture. Q mere
cluster of rude. uRpsinted houses,
poorly erected shacks, erimy tents
happine In the never ceasiRe wind
swirling across the treeless waste. the
ugly red station. the rough cowpens
flled with lowing cattle. the huge. un-
calmly stoaes. their false fronts deco
rated by amateur wielders of the
paint brush and the earish deRs Of
vice tucked In everywhere The pen
dulum Of life never ceased swinging
Society vas mixed; no mon cared who
his neighbor WAS. or dared to questioa.
wess tsW. ys4 tAess Oeee NsttinG -,
male forms In plenty. TIE saloon lights
revealing powdered cheeks ana paint
ed eyebrows. II Vas . strange. rest
less populace. the majority here To-
day, disappearing t0morrow-cOw-
boys. half-breeds. trackmen, graders
desperadoes, gamblers. saloon lheepers,
merchants. generally Jewish. petty Of
ficials, and q riG-raR no 0ne coufd &C.
count for mere Aoating asbris. The
town was an eddy catching odd bits
of driftwood such o. only the frontier
ever knew. Queer characters were
everywhere. wrecks Of dissipation, De.
relicts Of the East, seeking nothing
save oblivion.
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
quarrelsome 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
congenial spirits. frenzied with liquor,
spurred recklessly through the street
hiring into the air, or the crowd. as
their whim led; bands played popular
airs on balconies. and innumerable
"barkers" added their honeyed invi-
tations to the perpetual din From end
to end it was a saturnalia of vice. a
babel of sound, a glimpse of the in
feTno. Money flowed like water; every
man was his own law, and the gun
the arbiter of destiny. The town
marshal. and few cool-headed depu-
ties moved here and there amid the
chaos. patient, tireless. undaunted.
seeking merely to exercise some
slight restraint. This was Sheridan.
Into the one long street just at dusk
rode Keith and Neb. the third horse
trailing behind. Already lights were
beginning to CLEAN in the crowded
saloons. and they were obliged TO
proceed slowly. Leaving the negro at
the corral TO find some purchaser for
the animals. and such accommoda-
tions for himself as he could achieve.
Keith shouldered his way on foot
through the Heterogeneous mass to
ward the only hotel long two-storied
wooden structure. unpainted. fronting
the glitter of the Pinoeer Dance Hall
opposite. A noisy band was splitting
the air with discordant notes. a loud
voiced barker" yelling through the
uproar. but Keith. accustomed to SINH
lar scenes and sounds elsewhere.
STROBE through the open door of the
hotel. and guided by the noisy. contin-
uous elatter of dishes. easily found his
way TO the dining room. II was crowd
ed with men. a 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