Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1912-08-01
MADGE
A Story of the
Former West
By JAMES C. FRIEBERG
By JAMES G. FRIEBERG

! made IN what was once the weStI"
When wild west" shows first appear
ed they represented what was really
going on between the Missouri river
and the Pacific ocean. or, rather, what
was then dying out. Now the western
half of the continent is dotted with
cities containing mercantile establish
ments. manufactures and dwellings
with every convenience, including lux
uries. The western settler has given
place to the ranchman, the prospector
to the capitalist, the gambler to the
teacher and the Indian to all.
These people of former times consti-
tute unique society. They were good
and bad mingled. the good constantly
striving to throw Off the bad. though
the line was not sharply drawn be-
tween them.
The women, though disproportionate-
iy small in numbers. partook Of the
same general characteristics as the
men. There was type Of western
woman, personated on the mimic stage
In eastern cities during the latter part
Of the nineteenth century, who was
very popular-a diamond In the rough,
Independent. free hearted. free handed
and supposed to be fairly moral. She
could ride, shoot or throw a lariat.
tackle grizzly or bring down an ante
lope at long range Some had fought
Indians. and all were fearless.
When very young man. desiring to
see people Of whom | had heard so
much. went to spend season among
them. The Union Pacific railroad was
being built. and Travelled on train
to the foot of the Rocky mountains.
Then / went on by stagecoach till l
reached a region in which gold had re-
Gently been discovered, and | put up
for awhile ut the boarding house Of
woman named Hayward Madge was
her first name, and she was seldom
called by any other. Those who adj
dressed her by the last name usually
prefxed Mrs. but whether she was
married. single or divorced didn't
know No one there cared.
There was that freedom about her
i IL.
Certainly nothing was conventional.
And yet there was line drawn be-
yond which no one ever passed. saw
one man attempt to pass it, and | also
saw Madge put him out of her house
with revolver.
l was not over nineteen years old at
the time and looked even younger.
Madge took me under her protection.
The first man who appeared to guy
me for a tenderfoot got dressing
down from her that shut him up In
stanter, and from that time. being con-
sidered by the frequenters of the house
as her pet. l was let alone.
Every one In the community gambled,
and Madge was no exception to the
rule Every evening after she had
washed and put away the supper dishes
she would sit down with whoever was
ready to play the national game of
poker. and more or less money would
change hands But at II o'clock, no
matter who had won or lost, she would
take the cards from the table and put
them away She said she didn't pro-
pose that the house should get the
reputation Of being a gambling den
On one occasion a man who had lost
good deal of money protested at the
game being summary closed. where
upon Madge informed him that he
would not be permitted to play there
again. Had she been a man there
would doubtless have been fracas,
but Madge had the support of every
man in the party, though it is question
able If she needed it think she could
have taken care of herself had the me-
cessity arisen
l wished to take hand at some of
these poker parties. but Madge would
not consent to my doing So One even
ing begged SO hard that she consent
ed When left the table had lost
$50. Madge handed me the money,
which ! refused to accept from her,
whereupon she forced 1t upon me. It
Is needless to say that this was the
last time / played the game In her
house.
OF course those who came and went
to and from Madge Hayward's were
floating throng Now and then some
one who played poker there would
drop out, and suspected that he had
been cleaned cut, though nothing was
said about 1t. and 1t was generally un-
derstood that any application for
small loan would be honored by the
mistress Of the house. Madge was
considered an excellent poker player,
but never understood that she was
mach ahead In the long run. She was
70 liberal that sometimes 1t looked as
II she must be behind
Nevertheless occasionally | cav her
win large pots One evening ] was
looking over game ut which she was
playing with some miners who had
come In during the day loaded with
dust. The miners were anxious for
high stakes and Madge was continu-
ally trying to keep the limit down
Presently a Jack pot began to grow
upon the table A number of hands
were dealt but nobody got the requi-
site cards to open the pot. and Mt every