The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-03-19

to the low ones.
Badly" Sharpless, it is said, built
the house in which Judge Casselman
now lives. His trade was that of the
green table, and he painted deck
It is said by one or two old timers
that he started to decorate his dining
room with figures Of cars, but his
wife objected and he did not accom-
plish this work of art.
In Bismarck he ran barbershop
for time on the spot where Len
hart's drug store now stands, and al
SO ran rough and ready "gun boat"
on the Missouri river. Later, as Bis
marck became too refined for him,
he moved further west in search of
adventurous fields.
Tells OF Adventurous Life
"Baldy," in telling his story in the
Los Angeles Record, recites some in
cidents of his days in Bismarck. He
was born April 20, 1850, in Rochester,
N. Y. He was the second of eight
children. He admits he was happy
as child, though the lot of his fom-
lily was hard. The mother, after the
death of her husband, took her brood
to Wisconsin where she had broth
er. At Ia, Badly" went to Lacrosse
and hired out as decksweeper on
Mississippi river packet boat. He
learned to be handy with the paint
brush.
From tina, time on "Baldy" was
confirmed riverman. He was on the
water IL years, logging, docking
freight, and similar jobs.
In 1876 he went to the Black Hills
in the gold rush. He didn't find any,
but, according to his story in the Los
Angeles paper, he came to Bismarck
and got job tending bar in a saloon.
He got to be faro dealer and dealt
bank two and a half years-for SIS a
day and what he ate, smoked and
drank. When the bank closed, it's
proprietor had salted down $4,000
and "Baldy," who had married an
economical girl of German descent,
had enough money to buy some Bis
marck property worth $4,000 and to
return to river life with $l,4OO cash.
"Baldy" built a houseboat-nick-l
named a gunboat-which he ran on
the Missouri. He went as far as
New Orleans, but the chief stock in
trade was said to be liquor. Shauers
bought phonograph for $3.50 when
they were scarcer than hens teeth,
and houseboating up and down the
river, he charged natives five cents
to listen to it. His wife was con-
slant companion. He had also nick
le-in-the-slot camera, and, travelled
about either by boat or wagons,
cleaning up about $40 day.
UP until the early 1900s "Baldy"
the western and northwester rn !
part of the country, and got into Ore
gon and California. Later he drifted !
to Louisiana, because monographs
had become common in the North
west In the backwoods district Of !
Louisiana he piled his business of |
selling monograph music at five !
cents per. Bad luck hit Shauers
when he was at the zenith Of mis- i
in 1914. He was plotting |
1ousebOat down the Tennessee river. |
His wife was attending to the engine.
She stepped across. the driving shaft
20 reach can of gasoline. Her dress
taught and she was hurled violently
% the deck. He clothes were pretty
much torn from her body,
Ministers to Wife
Shauers landed the boat, and min.
stored to his wife, but she died.
"The next year, "Shauers is quoted
n the Los Angeles paper as saying,
made my big mistaken marrying
Jessie. She was only Is. l was 65,
tut didn't feel old. But should
lave known better.
For a while all went swimmingly.
The penny arcade business was good
3y his first wife Shauers had no
Unto his second, SON was
'orn.. The sky was free from clouds
lntil the day when he persisted in
'orking on his engine in the blind
ng sun until sharp headache made
impossible for him to continue.
Lay On Bed
He lay down. on his bed, and in a
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