The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1921-10-27
LURE OF THE CANNING TABLE 0M MONTANA I'M FRONTIER DAYS is
TOLD BY NOTED WESTERN FARO DEALER WHO BECAME FARMER

loon. He did not object to watches.
Some men carried potatoes in their
pockets. l have see a potato that
had been carried for years. They
would be dried out and as hard as
rocks"
Life Was Strenuous
That the life of the early-day
gambler was not one of ease is the
declaration of Young, who found it
as strenuous, under the conditions
that obtained in the early sos, as
any work he ever did.
Games hat lasted two or three
days were not uncommon, and / have
seen them last four and five days
without a STOP" he said. Men who
became engrossed in a game would
sit at the table constantly, even hav-
ing their meals sent to them. 1t was
a great strain on nerves and body
and few men could stand such a life
for years continuously without break
ing.
Il nave seen a play delayed for
half an hour or more while two men
sat staring at each others counten.
ances," he said. Just try to imagine
yourself holding an expression while
a stony-eyed gambler tried to look
through your face. 1t was not an
occupation that increased mems
years. 1t broke them down young
when they followed it steadily and it
broke them financially in time, too.
"Of all my acquaintance who
played, and many of them made big
stakes, not one that l remember quit
with anything worth mentioning.
Some of them spent their last years
in the poor house. Some of them got
away from gambling entirely before
it ruined them and that was what /
did.
while money came easy it went
the same way and every winter was
sure to see much suffering here.
Men thought less of saving then than
they do now and hard times found
many depressed and dependent upon
the good will of those more fortunate.
Shelter for Homeless
Charity was not organized in
those days the way it is now" he
said. I'm the winter of 1882, the
hardest l have ever seen, with the
temperature at 68 degrees below
zero, 1 have seen 500 men sheltered
in a brewery. Saloons and gambling
houses would be filled also with
homeless men. 1t was a matter of
life and death for the homeless and
they were given special considera
tion in such times. Ordinarily the
sleeper was not welcome in a saloon.
"There was an unwritten law that
the police would not bother a man if
Lo 30 not oc1aan GAncannont1v
the loafers who were awake would
show it by moving when a policeman
up. 1t was common for a
to sit with legs crossed and
swinging one foot. They would
swing their feet for hours just to
show they were awake and l have
seen a man sitting in this position
and swinging a foot after he had
fallen soundly asleep and was snor-
ing. Even in his sleep he was tes-
to the fact that he was elig-
bile to remain in the warmth and I
of the saloon. j
1.-The Salvation Army and other t
ike charitable organizations were t
not operating then like they are 10Y
there was no place for a man to t
apply for help except to other men. /
some people are always complaining {
about the restraints they feel now
md wishing for the freedom of early
lays. They don't stop to consider {
he drawbacks. We are better off s
.oday than we have eve been. 1t is I
merely hard for some folks to get S
adjusted to changed conditions. If {
/ person lives right today he has the c
,est chance he has ever had to be s
If he fails to live right he a