Great Falls tribune. [volume], March 19, 1887, Image 3

About Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
Written for the Tribune by Y. HI. TI MS.
CHAPTER XVIII.
A PROPOSAL.
Sitting with bowed head in a gambling
house in Deadwood was a young man who,
after a rather unusual run of luck against
faro,, had just got broke. A little over a
year before, this young man with a de
sire to make a fortune, had left his home
for the Black Hills. That he had not
made his fortune was evident from his
despondent attitude and the facts as cited
above
In his bitterness of heart lie was com
muning with himself after the fashion
some men have when in their cups.
"Your a fool, Ed. Benton, your a fool,"
he said in a subdued monotone. From
out of confused murmers an attentive list
ner might have dihtinguished two words,
"M3oney and Kate." Yes, it was Ed. Ben
ton, the Colonel of his associates of the
Angels, but how changed. His eyes were
dim and watery, his shoulders stooped and
his tall figure attenuated and weak look
ing. It would have been hard to say
which was uppermost in his mind, the
money or the woman.
"hard luck partner" said Wild Magill,
as with unsteady motions he approached
Benton. The forlornness of Ed's face gave
him confidence, for as he tapped him on
the shoulder he said: "I'll show you a
game theres more money in than faro
bank."
Wild Magill was a devil-may-care char- 1
acter, who though he was considered a
hard man, was neither dangerous nor des
perate. Under the guise of boastfulness
he assumed to be a desperado of the worst
type, but he was cautions enough to pick
his men. His plan was soon told. Ed.
could have an eighth interest in the Geor
gia mine, if at midnight he would help
two others to jump it. A prominent Paci
Sfic coast capitalist would see the matter
through. There was some risk of course
" of bullets from Winchester rifles, but the 1
Georgia could be taken, and then a for
tune awaited those who made the capture.
With awakening mind Ed. listened to the 1
plan. Not himself, feeling hurt and des
perate, he was on the point of saying yes,
when a boy thrust into his hand a note. f
C--PTER XX.
CIIPTER XIX.
AN AWAKENING.
"M3r. Edward Benton, Present," was the
superscription written in a small neat
hand. With astonishment he viewed the
signature-Kate. Could it be possible?
Was it Kate Owens? Following the direc
tions contained in the missive he applied
for admission to room 5 -- hotel, and
was received by demure looking woman
in black. Despite the demureness of her
assumed expression it was the same Kate
Owens whom he had left so lovingly over
a year before. Much surprised and dis
appointed was Mrs. Owens when she
viewed Benton's haggard face and dissi
pated figure, nor was she slow to give him f
her unqualified disapproval. He felt the
sting of her words, knew that his appear
ance but too plainly portrayed his irregu
lar and intemperate habits. In his anxiety t
to divert her attention and coversation
from his dissipation he vaguely launched
r
forth in a recital of how he would soon
r
succeed in money making. lie told her
the proposition conveyed to him by Wild
MIagill, and though actually ignorant of 1
the value of the Georgia. told her extrava- t
gantly of its worth. She listened closely
and attentively till he had exhausted his
subject and story, and then said:
"Don't have anything to do with it. MIa
gill is a boasting fool, and your reward
will be but a paltry one compared to the
risk you will take." Her tone was com
manding, her manner positive. She spoke
with a certain confidence and assumption
of familiarity with the subject which stag- ii
gered Ed. She seemed to know all about
it; was better posted than he was and
wound up her advice with:
"The best thing you can do young man,
is to get sober and get to work." e
What right had this woman to talk to t
him in that manner? and still he did not
say one word in return to her rebuke.
When the vials of her indignation had
been fully poured out, she condescended
to give him some news regarding herself.
Four months ago Mr. James Owens had t
been kind enough to die. With a sicken
ing sense of her deceitful praise of the
departed spouse, Ed. listened to her re
cital impatiently. Her tale of Clara's hap
piness with Paul Gerod jarred upon his
ear. Never until now had he entertained
any suspicion of the woman's character.
Owens had died bankrupt so she told him.
Her lather had been compelled to pay a
few small outstanding obligations, and
rather than have the old man throw up to
her what he had done for her late hus
band 'he had come to Deadwood under
the protection of the very same capitalist
who was about to sieze upon the Georgia
mine. The truth of the matter was she
was a rich man's darling.
Ed, though he was fully aware of his
own debasement, loathed her advances,
and though he gave tacit assent to what
she proposed, was determined to free him
self from her influence. So promising to
come back soon, he returned to the gamb
ling house a wiser but little-better man.
CIAPTER XX.
FOR CHEYENNE.
"I want to go away", he said to Morton
who, ornamented with a big diamond pin,
was parading through his palace of for
tune. "I want a few dollars, and if I get
hold of any money, will send it back to
you."
Morton was in luck, his big gambling
hall was yielding him an immense reve
nue. In a most generous frame of mind
he listened with quiet and smiles to the
man who but two days before he ,ad
frowned severely upon. As long as Ben
ton's luck lasted he had made it pretty
hot for Morton's game, had won with a
high handed effrontery of manner which
made the sport a little provoked; now that
Benton was broke Morton looked with"
some degree of sympathy upon him and
said:
"If fifty will do you any good you can
have it."
Fifty dollars was more than Ed. had
hoped to get, but it was not much more
han enough to get away on. So with
thanks and promises he took it, and next
dayo was on the road headed for Cheyenne.
CHAPTER XXI.
TO SAVE ED.
The grabbing mine owner sat with his
wine at his elbow and an imported cigar
between his fingers.
"Kate, can't you remember young Ben
ton, seems to me you knew him out on
the Pacific slope," he said to Mrs. Owens,
who with languid grace was posturing in
an easy chair.
"No. I never heard of him that I can
remember," she answered.
"Did'nt you enquire of me about him a
few days ago," he asked.
"No, Major, I don't know of any such
person's existence," she replied with a
bored, weary indifference.
"Some one else perhaps," he mused
aloud. "Magill tells me," he went on half
to himself, "that he's got plenty of nerve
and will take the Georgia for an eighth."
Mrs. Owens, with dreamy, half closed
eyes, pretended to be in no wise interested
in the Major's conversation,yet every word
was being weighed by her, and her brain
was busy.
Le "If the Georgia's good I'll buy him out;
it if its not, what we think it is, he can keep
e it," added the mining magnate.
Kate Owens made a resolve. She would
see Benton again tnd warn him to have
d nothing to do with jumping of the Geor
gia.
The streets of Deadwood were alive with
swarming crowds of men. Women were,
e in those days, but a small proportion of
the inhabitants, and a woman on the side
walks during the early part of the night
e was a rather unusual sight for the motely
throng which moved with restless surge
n from one house to another.
e "Who is she?" was a question often
asked as a lithe, quick female figure with
half drawn veil elbowed her way through
y the crowd up the main thoroughfare. No
d one seemed to know. Whatever her er
rand was, she was in earnest and in a hur
n ry. So that men stepped aside to let her
r pass and turned to catch a glimpse of her.
d Kate Owens knew where the Georgia was
located and knew, too, that on this night
the jumping was to be done. Knew that
y before the act would be done it might be
accompanied with loss of life, perhaps
murder. In vain had she attempted to
bring Ed. Benton to her. ter efforts had
been unguccessful. Believing from an
e overheard conversation between Wild M3a
g- ill and the Major that Ed. Benton would
e lead the movement, sie determined to find
n Benton and dissuade him from taking part
in the affair. Up the hill she went with
eager-hurried steps, past cabins and shaft
houses, dodging prospect holes and climb
ing around and over dumps, unheeding,
everything, with but one all-absorbing in
tent-to save Ed. Benton.
(Continued.)
General Sheridan for Presidenf.
New York special: There is some presi
dential gossip floating around among poli
ticians. Senator Teller of Colorado is the
latest statesman to uncover a candidate.
It is Teller's idea that the only way in
which to carry the country for the Repub
lican party is to put up a soldier candi
date. His man for the place is General
Sheridan, who, besides being popular with 1
"the old soldiers would, he thinks, capture
the Irish and labor votes and run with the
Susual success of the Ohio candidates,since I
he was born in that state, but, as Teller i
says, belongs to the whole country.
Price of Wool.
r
Coats Bro's. of Philadelphia quote Mon
a t
tana wool as fellows:
Unwashed, fine, bright...........21@22
Medium..................24@26
" Coarse.... ..........22@23
"Dark colored or heavy.......19@21 t
Cowboy Hospifality.
One hot afternoon, says a writer in the
(Cosmpoiton, as we were approaching Big
a Dry creek, a cowboy suddenly rode in
sight on the crest of a ridge and came
down the slope toward us at a swinging
gallop. He sat as erect as a bronze statue
and had he been lashed to his horse like
another Mazzeppa he could not have sat
i more perfectly motionless in his saddle.
Instinctively we straightened up our tired
shoulders, and sat erect also. Evidently
he wanted to speak to us. So we rode
forward to meet him, wondering the whi'e
whether his manner would be agreeab e
or irritating.
After we had civilly exchanged how do
you-dos, he inquired if we had seen any
horses since morninr. He had lost some,
anI up to that time, two o'clock, he had
ridden about twenty-five miles in search
of them. No, we had not seen any horses.
So we fell to asking questions about trail.,
creeks and water holes. WVe were getting
a deal.d of information, when he suddenly
exclaimed:
"Looky here, fellers! The best thing
you can do is to pull on to our ranch and
put up for awhile. It's only twelve miles
from here. Take the trail that leads off
to the left, about three miles ahead. You
won't find anybody at home--the boys are
all eff on the round-up you know-but
just go right in and make yourself at
home."
"Isn't the door locked?"
"Thunder, no! We never lock doors in
this country. Somebody mighi come
along hungry, and want to get in to get
some grub, or stay all night. If a cow
boy wanted to get in and found the door
locked, he'd just simply break it down."
"Aren't you afraid of thieves':"
"Oh, no; nothing is ever stolen. A
magi's upon his honor, you know; and be
sides if a feller'd ever really steal anything
out of a shack, the country' d soon be too
hot to hold him. Anybody that comes to
a shack hungry is expected to go in and
get a square meal, and stay all night if he
wants to."
"Isn't that privilege often abused?"
'No, hardly ever. Say, you'll find a
cow at the ranch, and you can milk her if
you want to. There are plenty of eggs
about the stable, if you want 'em, go for
'em. Just make yourself at home and
stay as long as you please. Just make
yourself at home and stay as long as you
like. I'll be glad to have your company."
A few more remarks were exchanged,
anti then our cowboy gathered up his
reins and said:
"Well, I've got to finish my circuit,
twenty miles more, I reckon; so I must
be moving. So long. I'll see you at the
ranch about sun down."
And flinging the last remark over his
shoulder at us, his pony galloped rapidly
away; a moment later he rode over the
ridge and disappeared.
There are now on the pension roll of
It the war of 1812 only 1945 surviving pen
sioners, while there are 17,212 survivlng
ewidows of pensioners.
Lookout Mountain, the historic ground
n of Hooker's battle above the clouds, has
15 been bought by a syndicate of capitalists,
1I who propose to make it a national pleas
o ure resort.
A copy of the original Latin edition of
r the "Letters of Columbia," printed in 1493,
has just been sold at Cologne for $1650,
the highest price ever paid for a book in
t Germany.
Bishop Taylor's "C('ongo" steamer will
e be lighted by electricity, and will carry a
s saw mill on board. Hose to squirt hot
o water on obstroperods natives is tobecoil
ed conveniently on deck.
The national electric light convention
wI hich met recently in New York found
it necessary to adopt a standard of wire
t gauges, the standards in use varying wide
2 ly in both Great Britain and the United
t States.
Of five people, who on their dying beds
last year confessed to great crimes, only
one told the truth. In the other cases it
was shown that the "confessors" could not
possibly have had anything to do with the
crime.
Archibald Forbes, the prince of Euro
pean war corresponaents, say that there
will be no war on the continent this spring.
England, he says, would not resist a Rus- 3
1 sian occupation of either Bulgaria or Con
stantinople.
1 The yearly consumption of hops in the "
1 United States amounts to 270,900 cwts.,
a while the production in 1886 did not ex
ceed 230,000 cwts. Consquently we must
9 import hops soon or find something to take "
r the place of them.
The Prince of Wales has just granted a
warrent for a new Masonic lodge to be
called the "Anglo-American." The lodge
Sis formed with a view of affording facili
ties for American residents in England
meeting their brethern of the English
Grand Lodge under the constitutions of
t the latter body.
o LvECLIPSE
Live1y, F d and Sal Stable,
re~at Falls, Montaznia
Hamilton & Eaton, - Proprietors
SBUNKS , CORtRAL
And And
SCooking Accommodations
T For
Stells lS FEED
Furnished free t ~..
FREIGHTERS, mr..
Ranchmen and all othre Ammals
patrons of the Eclipse
Broken and Unbroken Horses For Sale.
BEN. E. LAPEYRE,
DEALER IN
Freds Dqgs, Patent Medicines, Stationey, Wall and
BUILDING PAPER, PAINTS,
Oils, Glass Lamps, Cigars, Etc., Etc.
Prescriptions Carefully Compounded at
all Hours.
P0 rk Ilotel,
GREAT FALLS, MONT.
3 The Only First-Class Hotel in the City.
Open Day and Night.
Bar and Billiard Room
In Connection, Stocked With the Finest Brands of Liquors and Cigars
D. C. Ehrhart, Prop.
CASCADE HOTEL,
1 QREAT FALiLS, MONT
The Only First-Class Restaurant in the City
Centraily Located, Good Accommodations, Convenient to Ranchmen as it Adjoins the
Eclipse Stables
STEVE SPITZLEY, Manager
="Furnished Rooms in Connection. 1st. Ave. South.
HORSES FOR SALE Well Broken
Saddle, Work and Driving
HIORSES.
Address, CHAS. BREWSTER, TRULY, MONT.
Range-Smith River
BEACHLEY BRO. & HICKORY,
General News Dealers and Stationers.
CANDIES, NUTS, TOBACCO AND SMOKER'S ARTICLES.
Prices to Suit the Times.
Great Falls, - - - - Mont.
Great - Falls - Exchange,
JERRY QUESNELL & HERMAN WILDEKOPF Prop.s
Fine Wines, Liquors and Cigars. BILLIARD and POOL Table.
GREAT FALU - MONT.
Across the Missouri River above
the mouth of Sun River is now
running. A new wagon road con
necting with this Ferry whibh in
tersects the Helena road near Eagle
Rock, and effects a saving in distance of TEN MILES between
Great Falls and Helena. The road is plain and good.
Expert Tonsorial Artist. F, o.a. - .