Life in a frontier city, 1884

Monday, April 15, 2013

From H.P. Waite's collection of McCook Tribunes

Itinerant Gambling Men: February 20, 1884; McCook is a mecca for gamblers who ply their nefarious vocation without interference from the authorities. Not all are local characters. Itinerant "sportsmen" drift in and out and the natives are invariably poorer but wiser after the outlanders have paid the community a visit. They know the dates of the pay car's visit and it is said that some railroad men lose a month's wages in a single night.

A horse's suspicious death: February 22, 1884; A settler on the south side of the river has had a neighbor arrested on a charge of criminal libel. The prosecution was founded on an article the accused wrote and had published in one of the County papers. The item concerned the death of a horse belonging to a third neighbor, which had left the land of the living under suspicious circumstances. The utter recklessness with which accusations of the most serious sort are made is astounding!

"Leisure Time" February 25, 1884: Those who live in the country, as well as those who live in town, have their social diversions. In nearly every neighborhood a sod house will be found with one room (it may be the only room) large enough for square dances, about the only kind of dancing that anyone knows anything about. The floor is either dirt, or made of rough boards. The light is a kerosene lamp on a bracket fastened to the wall, or to a center post that supports the roof's ridge pole. The music is an accordion or a fiddle. Then, of course, there is the square dance caller. The young folks travel for many miles in lumber wagons and on horse- back, to attend these affairs, and the sun has often risen before the dance breaks up. Then there are parties at which "post office" and other innocuous games are played, at which there is much hilarity. Some sort of refreshments -- usually sandwiches and coffee and cake -- are served. Taffy pulls are also indulged in and are hugely enjoyed.

Frontier Justice -- Cutting through the red tape: February 28, 1884: A divorce case has been engaging the attention of the community for some time. The local character in this domestic drama has been here for several months, having come to McCook from an eastern state. It developed in due time that he also had a wife and four children in his old home town, to whom he wrote that he was engaged in the mining business here, and that while, at that time, he was short of funds, he hoped soon to be in a position to provide abundantly for his dependents.

Without telling his wife in the east of his purpose to discard her and their children, he instituted a divorce proceeding against her. As sometimes happens in such cases, she acquired knowledge of his perfidy, and unexpectedly appeared at a special term of the District Court, which was called to dispose of the matter. This turn left him unprepared, and necessitated a continuance of the case for several weeks.

The railroad boys interested themselves in the case, to the extent of learning that while he was in the receipt of an income sufficient to provide for his family, he had not been doing so, and the wife and children were in destitute circumstances. The railroad boys called upon him at a local hotel where he had been living for some time -- with a local female companion, and informed him that unless he mended his ways, a coat of tar and feathers would be administered to him. He did not stand long on that order, but left McCook on the first train. Thus justice is meted out to the wrongdoers in this community.

Cleaning up the City, one Bath at a Time: February 28, 1884: The following advertisement appeared in this issue of the Tribune -- "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." Call at Sharp's Barber Shop and become clean. A.P. Sharp has all the conveniences and apparatus to insure a good bath. Give him a trial."

Those Pesky Cowboys: March 3, 1884: a number of cowboys staying at one of the hotels in McCook succeeded in making consummate fools of themselves by their miserable bellowing around the place, to the annoyance of everyone in the neighborhood. Yesterday morning they terrified the citizens by shooting into the street from the second story windows. the mayor and constable made an unsuccessful effort to apprehend the culprits, but as soon as they were out of sight, other shots were fired.

The Evil Rum: March 4, 1884: An intoxicated individual from Kansas indulged in the dangerous amusement, a night or so ago, of discharging his revolver in Russell's Livery Stable. He had driven into town sometime during the afternoon, put up his team, and he and his wife found sleeping quarters in the loft. He proceeded to break all the windows and compelled the two boys who sleep in the barn to leave their bed and dance to the music of his revolver, attired only in their sleeping garments, which, considering the frigidity of the atmosphere, was not an agreeable diversion. He kept the boys out in the cold, bare footed and bare headed for nearly two hours. One of the bullets from his gun went through the floor of the loft, within a short distance of where his wife was sleeping. Finally, the boys, pursued by two parting bullets, went in search of the constable. When that officer arrived he arrested the disturber. The latter settled the score by paying for the damages, and a fine of $10.

March 12, 1884: A cowboy who visited Benkelman recently from the ranch on which he is employed, pursued his custom of partaking too abundantly of "red eye." This always transforms a man, who on the range is beloved for his excellent qualities, into becoming a very bad man. On this occasion he happened to be in the local Post Office when the "medicine" took hold. He first made a target for his revolver, of the Post Office equipment, which before he was through with it, became pretty badly battered. He then turned his attention to the stock of merchandise, which occupies a goodly share of the building in which the mail is distributed. Finally, before he was disarmed, he sent a few bullets in the direction of an innocent bystander, who objected to this form of conviviality.

A Rough Winter: March 12, 1884: One reason for the heavy losses of cattle on the range this winter is that they died of thirst, rather than from starvation. The railroad company fenced its right of way to prevent stock from being killed by the trains, but left gaps through, which the stock could go from one side of the track to the other. Cattlemen, however, believing their herds would not stray so far if the fences were continuous, closed the gaps. The result was that the cattle could not get through to the river for water, and in the severely cold weather, many of them died of thirst.

Letters to the Editor: March 12, 1884: (verbatim) I wish to say that the gold headed cain of Major R.H. Criswell will soon be done. Mr. Byron the Jewler of McCook, will soon have it ready for presentation. It is to be hoped that the Major will continue in the practice of virtue, and observance of which he has lead some of his friends to determine upon presenting him with the above mentioned cain as an expression of the appreciation of his late faithful continuance in the path of sobriety. (signed) A subscriber.

On March 19th came this reply: Indianola, Neb. To the Editor of the Tribune: In your issue of last week there appeared a well written paragraph, in which my name is made prominent in connection with a gold headed cane to be presented to me for reasons, which I fear are meant to be ironical, or perhaps sardonical. Allow me to say in reply, that I suppose the matter of self-control in the use, or disuse, of intoxicating liquor is with me a moral battle ground, on which I have often fallen, and may fall again, but I am bound to fight the battle while life lasts; and though I am fighting against greater odds than anybody is aware or, I hope, and almost believe, that I am destined to triumph in the end, and whether I have a gold headed cane at all, I shall climb up into the region of virtue, self-control, and elevated manhood if I can. R.H. Criswell.

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