The Bozeman courier., 1926-06-18

July. OF course the saloon with its
questionable entertainment was al
ways available, for these flOHrished
wherever there was the slightest ex-
cuse for a settlement. In fact it
was often the pioneer business Cd !
institution. AS a rule, the saloon
was not as wicked and depraved as
generally painted, and served as a
meeting place for the socially in
clined, the drinking for the most |
part being merely a social gesture,
and a custom rarely abused except /
by the few addicts found in every /
community, and who still survive |
in these air-tight CD prohibition |
days.
But trust to high-spirited youth to /
find decent recreation in idle hours, |
when they set their minds to it. Sew
en- Of us youngsters found ourselves |
with large amount of time on our
hands when the sawmill at which we
were employed closed operations
late in the fall of 1888. A stock
/ tender with a few head Of hOrses to
look after and an occasional carload
of lumber to ship out, was the on
ly one to remain on the payroll, while
the cook, "DUtchy," was allowed his
board for continuing his work in the
kitchen. The rest Of the gang
| bought supplies at cost and remained
in the excellent quarters at the mill
to await the opening of spring work.
It was a cOngenial bunch and I am
pleased to state there was not ser
iOus quarrel, nor single lapse from
the easy moral code of those days,
, during the whole four months of
that period when the devil is credit
ed with providing occupation.
The bOOkkeeper, an elderly man
of rather high mental attainments,
remained with US also for couple
of months, and under his guidance
several of us learned a measure Of
the more intricate games with cards.
the evenings being mainly given to
this amusement. Reading matter
was bought occasionally from the
train newsbOy, who also filled our
orders from lists made out by the
bOOkkeeper, and I may state that
his selections showed a fine literary
discrimination.
For outdoor recreation there was
always hunting, as there we're no
closed seasons in those days, and
there was plenty of large game on
which to practice our skill in repIen-
ishing the larder-frOm the common
Whitehall deer easily scared up in
any of the willOw-fringed river bot
toms, to elk and mountain sheer
which could be found in the noun
tains twenty miles to the south. An
telOpe always ranged on the nearby
benches, while prairie chicken and
sage hen we're numerous.
One day Bert and Jess had gone
: out after a couple of geese which
II they had observed floating in the ic!
U waters of the Yellowstone. They were
N unsuccessful in stalking these sus
III piciOus wild fowl, but Jess an
" nOUnced:
III "There's a fine patch of smooth ict
II in the big slough across from thu
U Burns ranch. Gee, I wish I had /:
III pair of skates"
nj No sooner said than Red spoke up
III Let's make some skates. Them OlC
u mill files will make good runners"
m Red was handy with tools, ant
III while he and Burt hammered out thu
III runners or blades from wOrn-Ou
m twelve-inch mill files in the black
u smith shop, others fashioned sole
. from cottonwood and in a short tim
we had chosen a pair of serViceabl
skates, modelled somewhat after tn
sO-called Dutch" style, such as Ou
grandfathers had learned to cut fig
ures on the ice with. They Wer
even fitted with screws for our boot
heels, while straps were bOrrOWel
from the several sets of harnes
hanging in the mill stable. The WOO
soIes were grOOved to receive tn
blades, the latter drawn out at eacl
end, turned over and the points driv
en- into the top of the sole. Hole
were drilled through the wood sole
for the straps, and while they wer
not much for looks they Wer
strong and after the blades, whic
had been retempered, were grOun
sharp, we had skates that for sci
vice were equal to any ever USED
We put in many hours that Winte
on the ice with our hOme-mad
skates.
AS the warmer days Of spring az
preached, running and jumping col
tests became popular; we even eI
sayed boxing, but the making {
suitable gloves stUmped us, thOug
we tried many makeshifts. We pJ
up parallel bars, a fine hOrizOnt'
bar and a springbOard, and drew @
the big sawdust pile for material fl
a wrestling mat, also for landiI
pad for sOmersaults from the sprinl
board. Some Of the boys develops
expertness in athletic work and eve
accomplished difficult feats in acr
battles.
When spring finally came and Il
mill began activity again, we ST
found recreation during the long e
enings with our improvised gymns
ium, varied by an occasional sWi
in the somewhat chilly YellOWstOn
There were also other diversiO
which occasionally claimed our q
tentiOn. With the country to &
north becoming populated with ca
tie and sheep men, some genius co
ceived the idea Of bridging the y
lowstone to replace the ferry viii
had done duty since the first sett