Glacier County chief., 1940-04-19

floor The music starts and the
prompter shouts, "All hands around"
Off barges Wild Bill bounding like a
bucking bronc to the approximate
jingle of his spurs lost in the general
uproar. Perhaps he is a little clumsy
and rusty but his enthusiasm makes
up for any lack of skill and if his
spurs do not trip him he will not draw
more than a little sarcastic advice from
occupied to even notice. His partner
manages with dignity to keep time to
the music and give him an occasional
boost in the right direction. However,
as the dance progresses, his delight
In the paStime grows and he cuts
corners and swings wilder and wilder
on the turns until when the prompter
shouts, Set your partners or gents to
the right" she has difficulty in stay
ing on her feet. The "tarantula Juice"
which he used to gargle the accumu-
lated dust of months from his throat
is having its effect and he is really
and a-rarin' to go.
An Irish tune or hornpipe usually
finishes the set and Wild Bill, now
thoroughly warmed up to his work,
finishes the set with an amazing in
genuous connection of steps, spins and
jumps accompanied by a wild and
bar officially ends the dance and
while the barkeeper raps his blowers
as hint to weigh out" the girls sit
down for a brief rest, for the night is
still young and Bill has to be herded
through another 40 or so such work
outs.
The night progresses with Bill still
rarin' and becoming more and more
belligerent until he suddenly resents
some remark of an onlooker to the
extent that he seeks revenge for the
insult with the first thing he can lay
his hands on, which will probably be
his gun or. knife. Instead Of making
fight. the bystanders will merely duck
out of the way of the lead
In the dancehalls were seen people
Of almost every rank including Judges, !
legislators--all except the ministers.
Run as they were with a plentiful
we're bound to occur frequently with
the consequent results that the hurdy
place for boothill for one or both of
the participants. Under the excite
ment Of stampedes men became quick
tempered and impulsive and. when at
least partially under the influence OF
liquor. they said more than they meant.
Under such circumstances calling a
man liar or a thief was provocation
enough to shoot him down where he |
stood. But could the two have been
separated until both were sober they
would have. in all probability, pooled
their remaining resources to get the
price of another drink
The courts, while imposing heavy
fines for such minor offences as steal !
ing, treated murder lightly. A man
brought to trial on such a count. es-
pecially if he was rich or had large
number of friends. could with reason
able certainty have expected a verdict
OF not guilty. All formalities of the
trial were of course carried out in a
dignified manner, but everyone knew
what the verdict would be before the
case started. He was thought of as a
friend and not murderer and the |
Juror who knew him would remember |
the hardships they had gone through |
together and allow this to influence his |
decision more than the crime. Perhaps |
this was natural. Life in a new country |
Is hard and dangerous and in times |
OF sickness and accidents, a mans life !
rested in the hands of his friends. So |
man whom you knew and trusted
thick or thin
They went according to their noun
tain code which did not condemn
Sayings under certain circumstances. |
However, these men were not the law
less type of Plummer, for example, |.
and had not the road agents appeared
upon the scene, 1t Is probable that they
would have slowly adjusted themselves
into well ordered community and the
Vigilantes would not have been neces-
sary at this stage Of Montana's history.
Early morning Is the best time to
sprinkle the lawn. thorough wetting
is best; 1t promotes deep healthy roots
in contrast tn the Shallow roOt cvctap,