The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-06-28

tender at the old Waldorf-Astoria ho-
tel. His ability to manufacture a
special gin drink of his own inven-
ton won the heart of an English
Bolger," and, according to the old
timers. it was some mixture. The
Englishman, who had spent a few
weeks at the Waldorf, had one for
every meal, and he was so fond of
the Gin Bolger' that he offered him
don club. the Towerton. and for this
reason Sam. in the spring of 1899.
boarded . boat for England.
The Gin Bolger'' became almost an
institution in London, and visitors at
the Towerton club spread the fame of
the drink for miles around. and Sam
was at the pinnacle of his career. And
then she came into his life.
She" by the way, slung a tasty
hash at a quaint little beanery on the
Strand. Sam "fell' like a comet. She
was a dream of loneliness. Sam said,
and when he tried to compare her
with other fairy creations of his &C.
quaintance-check girls. ballet dane
ers. dishwashers-he found that she
had all the charms of all the others
tied up in one neat bundle of lowell
ness.
proposed She accepted. And then
the inventor of Gin Bolger" began
making plans for little coy place for
two. He was|to be married on June
tragic day in his life. When he
showed up In his nicely pressed Prince
Albert for the occasion. he learned
that she. yearning for a social position
that he could not give her, had eloped
with the third assistant coachman at
Buckingham palace. sleek. well fed
Britisher who on two occasions had
driven Queen Victoria herself.
Sans heart was broken. He could
not mix the Gin Bolger" well from
| them himself, and he was fired a few
| months later. He went to Paris. try
| ing to forget Mary, and got a job in
| a sidewalk cafe as a waiter. but when
| he spilled a glass of cognac on the
| italian anba ssador's coat. he was sum-
marily dismissed.
He Became a Wanderer.
The old Topekan, wistfuIly remem-
| bering his happy days in Topeka but
unable to return because he could not
| Withstand the hardships of prohibit
| ton, became wanderer on the face
| of the earth. He went to Africa. and
| to India, and to the far away places
| of the Orient where cool and danger
GUS liquors were Served in tall. thin
glasses. He migrated from the Orient
| to Alaska.
In the wild life of the frontier min
| ing towns, Sam Bolger almost forgot
| Mary, and her chilled shoulder. But
| he was shot in a fracas at Dawson, in
| the Klondyke, and for months how
cred between life and death. When
he did recover. he went to Brazil,
| where he remained two years.
When the Cripple Creek district was
teeming with its greatest power, the
world was thrilled by the great strike
at Gillette, in the district. The town
sprung up like a mushroom. In ten
| days there were 5000 inhabitants.
Among them was Sam Bolger, who
| started a refreshment parlor which
| flourished nightly. And then, a few
months later, the town ceased to
| exist. The gold was a myth. over
night the populace left. All but Sam,
| to exc out a starving living by pan
ming the stream that rushes out from
the beautiful Red Cliff canyon.
In 1912 a party of Topekans dis
covered Sam, the only living resident
| of Gillette. The frame shacks that
| once housed thousands now were tum-
| bled into decay. Sam still kept a
| few black bottles on his shelf, and
| once in a great while a motorist, driv-
ing to Cripple Creek. would come out
/ of his way to see the deserted vii
lage. and Sam occasionally could sell
| a drink.
Colorado went dry January 1, 1916.
| No one knows what became of Sam
| then. He was a very old man, but
| perhaps he was still vigorous enough
| to go to some wet state. Even If he
| did, the final outcome, after July l,
| will be sad one. Prohibition GER
| tainly has been the torment of the
| life of this historic old Topekan.