The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1922-02-17

her "wild and woody" days, II that
offensive phrase could at any time be
Justly attached to the town. The
pioneer plant which furnished the
''juice'' was not thing Of beauty but
lts installation caused much rejoicing |
for It gave an added touch Of stabil-
lty and respectability to the young |
camp and marked another milestone |
in its progress to greatness. But II
the plant was inartistic in its main |
features, its setting was even more
ncongruous-it was . scream. Lo-
Gated down In the placer diggings be-
low Mercury street, the plant had ell
the appearance Of having been flung
there by some mighty windstorm and
left there. It was deep-set In the
ravine between walls of alluvial
gravel which had last. been worked
by Cinnamon in the final cleanup Of
the gulch, and here and there in the
banks were holes gouged, evidencing
efforts to locate another paystreak.
The shack which housed the ma
chinery was topped by decadent
roof through which the seasons
floods streamed during showers. On
such occasions the pyrotechnic dis
play was awe-inspiring, for the rain
dropping on wires and dynamo caus-
ed short circuits that sputtered and
flashed and weirdly illuminated the
interior. The sensation was SO thrill
ling that usually the lone operator
Of the plant sought safety outside in
the storm until the downpour ceased.
When the plant was installed there
evidently was shortage of wire to
carry the current through the streets.
When the wires were strung It was
found the supply was short q span
Of about q whole city block. There
was no time to order more for trans
portation facilities we're slow. The
promoters of the enterprise were not
very we'll versed in electrical lore,
so they decided to substitute some
other kind of wire to fill the span.
The only available wire to be had just
then in Butte was of the barbed va
riety much used by ranchers for i'm
pounding and impaling live stock. So
q coil or two of barbed wire was
brought out and the connection
made. For a time it seemed to answer
the purpose just as we'll as the high.
1 VE1C0U 4u9U10t0U u40VO1104 0AO OV0Ay,
thing was lovely until the first thun'
der storm rode rough-shod ovel
Butte. The span Of barbed wire wa:
nearest the plant and it certainly in
vited the special discharge Of thu
|electric fluid in the atmosphere. Thu
Operator was astonished when, afte1
1.-The first flash outside, the business
lend of the dynamo spun round In
hall Of fire and waves of sparks leap
led threateningly from wire to wir'
inside the building. This playing
with chain-lightning was not includ
ed in his contract so the operate
hastily closed the engine throttle
banked his fires, put ON his coat, an,
quit. He could stand the playful
pranks Of the rain-drops, but he drew
the line at "bolts from the blue"
As the incandescent then was il
its experimental stage, of cours
only the arc lights were in use. T
the old-timers of the candle-ligh
lays, to whom the kerosene lamp wa
still q novelty, the new-fangled cor
traption was q source of much won
der, interest and admiration. It too
some time and q few painful shock
to get 1t through their noodles ths
, there was extreme danger In bec0n
ing too friendly with the thing. BIZ
. as they overcame their curiosity the
Z discovered that the street lamps ful
nished them with an excellent targs
: for pistol practice when they fe
d the need of a little celebrating spor
: But 1t was on the eve of the ne
!. year. when all ordinances relating
;, firearms were automatically annulle
and the bars were down, that the Of
y boys were in their glory. Before tt
Q advent of electricity one of the pop
|. lar targets on such occasions was
plug hat" on the head of some VI
wary tenderfoot who had not bee
q warned in advance of the Villa
/, Tell tendencies of the roughneck
= So when the boys emerged from the
. liquid retreats Of pre-Volstead da.
at the witching hour of twelve to a
sist in the birth, Of q new year
q discharging their artillery at Il
& stars. the radiant glow of the electr
~ arc was too prominent target +
10 them to ignore. Here was q targ
70 beautifully illuminated and wit
70 you hit the bulls-eye the light We
OUt. 4u0 Vu1y 108I0t was Su6t Suo
II were not individual targets enoul
,. to 60 round and 30 massed attacl
70 had to be made on one. And tn
J. consider how embarrassing It W
p when two shots rang out togethe
70 followed by q crash of shatter
L globe and the extinguishment Of t
n light, and each Of the shooters clail
T. ed the credit. Happily, the usu
70 mode Of settling the dispute "
ID with bare knuokles on the street
adjoining lot. Rifles. shotguns a
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