Document text
V L've: _
mwauthier, dheldon F.
zn,7elere
'7e.ri-nt Jo.. 7izt, '#7
rldre Jorgensen Nneerson, _aiJdress
1101 Houston Fort 7forth, ToXel was
born at Tronhyen, Norway, Auenat L101865.
Ea immigrated to the United otates in
1873, locating in Palveston, exae where.
he 3tayed year. He then oame to Arrt
wheAl haz ratIlk:C hia home
since, with the exception of six munths
kluririg 187G. His firl:t Ji iL "Ol't
.orth, was working lbr blaol:smith
tInaep Lnd lichtrn roe ogoLoy.
lidergon established a gun store in 1877
andhi operntud the bu$Jiness o,Intintously.
At this tiie (193$) his store is the oldest
ala meoilm-ibing stores ,y,neratIng in
port 7orthip Most of his trade, during the
early days of his business Game L -lm Otiq•
touters among the eewboys, ranohmen and
buffalo hunters. Pla first big sale of
goods and a bill of #360,00 Xbr six..shooers
anti arinnitton sollt to The S -m '1nss ,7!nnglnot-
ed out..laws of the 170s. Anderson vas one
of the larty of preminent oitizene that
urrangoil for r.21c 'Waisted Jim Jourtright, ft
Irominent Ylort ,orth citizen, to esoar)e from
three J. 3. Marshals az0 six 2exas angers.
During his early days in ;;'ort =loi-th, he was
sil-)t at and defended himself t,.1th a six...gun.
Page 1
1,--;c L:40
Jib Story of frontier Ofiyo ioll,ws;
"I was born Al -ronhayen, iioraay, :',uguet 21, 185.
7innslctin the name of my home on into 7:ngliah, we would
spoak i c1:23 tAwnhoTle, ;it tba cf 1E, I lo:n my nntive
anl atartei the.Uhlted tes, I enterud the itated
nt;es Pt New York, nnd travaiod to Calveaton, ?axle by rails
"I remained in Galveston about one year and then eAre
to rt orth., I have been n resident of Fort 1:orth, since
Gauthier, Sheldon Fe
T:fingslore
Larroct Jog, Dist. ?T
Pe #2
73C 240
my arivel in 1874.
"A tan named Miller conduoted a binekamith sho7),
ti jhop nne ltghtning rod money here at the time, and I
secured my first job working far Miller selling 1141tning
rodn. This job I took for something to do temporarily.
was attraoted to 'Fort Worth, by rumors of a railroaC be]ng
otended 'I. from Dallas into and beyond Tlort "!orth, immediately.
There were many delays and the time when the roud viould enter
Tlort :orth„ was indefinite.
"1 did not intenC o remain in Port fo.1:th, in the event
the railroad projeot was a failure, so far so the imteiate
time was ooloerned. While waiting for Wle railrou,d ,u.eation
to be settled, I sold lightning rodes and node a suocessfUl
rode salesman,
had an apparatus to demostree lightning Pnd
could show how the rode wilts supposed to Irevent a bull'irr from
being s-,ruak by the elm nt, Int, the facts are, thr. a be11.'-
ing tins exposed to lightning by having thc rods attached. There
a no law being enforced ,.gainat frmidulenl; repreaent!-Aion of
t7soC:: those days, otherwise I would have bee-, pl, d In jail.
"Any mon Who oould sell lightni247; rods was elssed as
eu-)er-seleawm. Selling rods taught me I mould sell merchladise,
and the job va.s the means .f teaching me ameeg the :Aer,t valuable
mbject of my education. Iddeoided that selling gods was the
busines I ought to engage in for a livelihood. Idecide( on
orth aa the lroper plaoe to establiah myself, if a railroad
Imilt into the to. After considering bhe cer,:.acteri4tic of 4
Gauthier, SheloOn Yip
')Angelore
Tarrant Co., DiA6 #1
Page 15
MCC 240
the people and custom of the day, I declined to operate a gun
s tore
"Livin5 in Port ,Worth, at the time rcl-aa great many live
wires gagetters. Among the most prominent gogetters was one
min whom we all admired and who stood at the head as a rort
IlTrth booater. is man was Captain n. B. Paddock.
"Captain Paddook was our printer. Be printed our
letter -heads, envelops, saris and such other printed matter as
we needed* Be, also, published a newsprpert The Fort worth
Demoorat. It was a one ghee), not very large, folded paper pre-,
tenting four pages*
"Paddoe's paper was a booster for Port Worth*, lath the
aid of his paper, he inoeulated the citizens of Fort worth with
the idea of Port Worth's !tartars as being one with tremendous'
opoortunitlesi. Als prediotion„ these daisy was that 'Fort orth
will be a ii-o,.-,perous village of 5000 population.'
His pre-
diction proved to be somewhat °correct, but he waa little oon-
servative. 44ct a few hundred short in his ectimLtion :‘f he
nopulation.
"Paddock printed,- mart or less Constantly, in one oormer
of his wiper a pioture of a wheel*, The hub represented Fort worth
and radiating cut from the he was 15 spekes• These spokes re-
present'd railroads whioh would be radiating out from the :Port
north ,.)t the future., lkis, prediction was close to accurate.
Gauthier, Shelia. Pe
Pangelore
Tarrant Co., Dist: I!
Page 4
PBC 240
"Captain B. B. raddoekwas a high olass Mani He was
educated, had wisdom and vulture. Mb waa a serious minded
man and precise, but had humor: Hb enjoyed a joke and could
take one as well as give ono.' Be was splendid company sociable:
-loweger he allowed nothing to intartere with his civic work
and he was oonstantli aflgaged in 'some move to improve the tow**
ai9 slogan was,' let tort Werth be the gateway to the est.'
Dallas had a railroad and vs had none, but the spirit of Port
°arth citizens was to wirer atop fighting until a railroad
=tore the tow*.
"Those days, Paddock had lots of oomptiny in his civic
et_orts. Boosting the town was the avocation of most men,
Paddock had -an exeallant ***worker in a man noted Pater Smith.
In addition, theme was Joe Brown, Eph. Daggett and mnny others.
'Teter Smith was the maybe raised the money with
which to put through the projects.' Smith took the lead in
raising money t. pay bonus to the railroad builders, and he raised
thousands of dollars. BlOh Daggett save the rsilraod I).10 acres
of 1.nd, Wmioh Is boated B. of what is now Lancaster -t.„ for
the sidetracks, yards, depot and warehouses.
"The eiVio leaders started to bring a railroad into t!')e
town sad nothing was too great for then to overcome in order to
Ll000mplish their purpose, and the road came.
"Joe Brown, a Jeolehmans was our merchalt prince. ve
called him the Marabout Prise. Ns started in business Lere with
a oanitra of $1,800 lai after the railroad entered Fort Worth,
Gauthier. 3he1dea1.
Rangelore
Tarrant Jo., Diet 0
Page a
hie grocery buolness grew until he di( four and a fourth
million 'dollar's worth of business a year. A monument of his
inter;)rise still stands. It is the three story out stone
building, boosted at the 3f, M6 earner of Main end Lanester
streets, known as the Brawn Bleak.
"Our mayor was a great man and a leader in boosting
-'ort '7orth. He was 0. H. Day mid operated one of the best
saloons n the town. Those darn the salion keepers were nmong
the mt prominent leaders of the town. The saloon and gambling
houses were among the leading businesses. Consequently, the
businesses supplied sons of the leadlig citizens. They rode
the best saddle horses ant drove,the beat carriage teams. Ther
dressed with the beet of clothes an, were men whom the citizens
eould always depend upon to Make a atiai
ltto" any worthy cause.
II
"It is a frot, the saloon, gamblin houses andueen,
houses Teri one of Vie (thief faotors oontributi to building
Fort :orth* ahall reoount the reason.
"Port Vorth was surrounded by many r!ow um. The va4t
country W. was piractleal4 one °luster at crw cra,a. 310110.0
hunters, numbering in the thousands, were on the plains hunting
the buffalo*
"All the population, espoolalll of port worth, -ere
more or less isolated* For weeks0 and sows times months, at a
time the cowmen would see nothing but settle, buffalo, horses
and cowboys* There was 1140 diversion for these men whom they worked.
Gauthier, sholdon F.
'hngelore
iurrant Jos, Diet. 17
,e 6
The nntur-1 human desire for diversion and entertainment, unused
these rtL,!n t) seek it when they had time ,ff from their v.ork.
Ina town -..hieh presented the beat variety of entertn11....Lent that
theue inea desired, wee the town to whioh the mm14
0
ftilheev: men lived a rough life rtnd enjoyed rough rimueement.
They ?;;:mbled with. their life every day while at work. Therefore,
many of them, oleo, obtained a thrill glaneling lb r money: .The
huta:m being, by nature, is a eoeial being, by ntttuirel, 1:3 a aozif.1
beino-7- and desires oompany. Men enjoy mi.xine 1tI his felloi,
„ARn and engnging it social aotivities. The Jowboy Imo not inter
ozod in oink teas,- ping-pong or any other enterteinm.nt of that
na Lure He deal red he,..man stuffs
"fort Worth saw to it thst- the cowboy was tUrnihed the
en. te rta /anent which amused him.- rherofore her w. s Ate
Viva g..-:te:krith of safloons, gambling houst!u, hon?..ytonk.r.7, ary'l other
3jAilar -pi-. 2es et aneasament. Thee plaees entortti nmrit
irr ?cople to IPort Worth from hued reNle if 1113 es
millionz of dellarts viar-th of easineaJ t thc.. aiy.
2.1mant was about the leading indurtri
and
the .ov:ri Curing
th.ise -arly val tithout this entertatmient, the .ir••3t najority
iri:3itor:, and traders would have gene to scr.e other town,
The ..`.41:3C13.'nt -business not only brought money .nto :2ort orth, Allah
i.ent irt i till, but indirectly, put money '_nto thc till of
evely other line of business.-
1The sitizena of rart,Worth were °Impelled to °house be- 1
Oauthier, Sheldon
-ngslore
Varrnut Jo., Dist, f?
Age 7
tween permitting the rough plaoes of amurement to oferfite or allow I
the :)opul:.Ition in the trade territory to go some where -else. We
x:.x.mitted the, aameemamt mad here Gams the trade, which built up
the town.
"The buffalo hunters started to haul arise buffalo hides
to rAort 'orth, in 1875. The hid as war: corded anC. heN for
sqipment ')y rail when the antioipated railroad built into
Plort liorth. le X. X* corner at lam:aster and Min streets,
where the Brown 5look is now looate, was the first buffalo hide
yard. A tter the railroad entered the town, thc hide yard was
boosted nt the T. P. reservation, the tr?ot of lard loon ed S.
of the railroad tracks and depitt.
"when the auffiklo hunters began to haul hides to Fort
orth,411most any tillGe of the day one amid see several wagon
LJ%ds, with trailers attaohed, arriving from the W.
,hen I established my gum store in 1077, I located it
in the 100 nosh an 3* weathsrfort st. 1. et,rted with a capital
of 15,A borrowed money, and have continued in the business since.
I am, at this time, the oldest nershandising business ;n fort -orth.
'I did a tremendous business with bulfalo hunters. I
hive sold around 500 buffalo gUns to the hunt ers during one year's
t el. The name of these gums were 'Sherpa -ifle t, and welled
14 pounds. The llama of the gun use built in tw lenghts, 28
and 30 inches long* Ths pities of. the gun wt.'s .;60. -,1th each
gun sold, also, was an 11Ong,'bill of goods conaisting of one,
Gouthior, f_ihelcon
'ffrrront Co. Dis t.
or mre, Log of powder, about 300 pounds of lead, 3000 primers,
a ream of patoh Poper ne londing.tools., ho totrl amq2nt of
each sale averaged about Ol00.
"The younger generation of today, porhns do not knowv
what path paper and primers aro, co I shall •ive an ezplapention
of thoso•artioles. Patoh paper was used to wrap around the bullet
before placing it in the shell. Patoh paper was oonduoive to
mal:ing the bullet pllow the rifles of the gun, tieUs developed
more speed. The ammunition was preparcd by hand. The bullet
molded, poder plaood in the shell and the bullet, after wrapping,
:Inserted in the 'shell. The primero wore the igniting. apparatus'
which won) set in the on of the shell.
"The buffalo gun was the farthereet shooting gun of all
guns built thoso days, and one that the Lndian, raiders keeps -cited.
The gun oausod the Indian to say, 'white manshot where no see.'
Because* with the gun one oould shut CV3I a hill and drop a bullet
in the ravine at the opposit ode.
"However, my first largo bill of goods sold was bou.ght.
-by 5311 .Bass's gang, the notorious out -laws of the .276s, itich,
deprodated in the S. W. The tot/ bill was 360. for pistole
an ammunition, The amount was 7)111d for with 2O. gold
ry stook of goods was not very large at th time and the sale
almost °leaned me out. This sale waa mn,de about six months be-
fore Sam lias was killed at found hook, Texas, and a week be-
..2-71r0 the gang robbed the bank at Forney, Toxn.:,. At the tine
Gauthier, Madan P.
nangelore
Tarrant Co., Dist. if
Page 9
The best oleos of elastomers I had wen: the cowmen.
Zhu oowboys bought high class guns. In addition, I enjoyed a
s tiifactory business from other claps of citizens, The follow-
ing phrawes were often repeated those days: 'When God made man
he mad him unequal in else. Later, he saw his mistake, and to
rectify his error„ he had a man named Co3ts make pistolass
Therefore, in Port Worth, those ewes th. run. eo.ualized the size
.of min, and every body (Periled a gun. Nt, busil,eas thrived.
"To illustrate how the pistol equelied mpn, I :tall
relato the Jim Courtrtght episode.
"Gourtright was a man whom everyone admire, and the
man was entitled to the respect of those soosin4ed wIth
b000use he was square.
'ES had served so Marshal for the tin and had, had
an nnumaal large number of friends among 11 *lasses of people.
13ometime prior to the incident I am to relatt.,
Jourtright had gone to the 2erritory of New Mexico, !..ve, did fatty
Re a in guard. There was some labor trouble aid a clash re-
sulted in some of the miners being killed. ,:ourtright returned
0 7ort orth after!ke affrays and established a detective
agency.
'One morning a mme oalled at eourtright's office raid
disoussed terms Xov Gourtright's service to apprehend soap
allogA criminal. Owartridbt was invited to a000mPKPY the sailer
c"authier„ '3heldon 3.
.arigelore
:arr-nt cc., Diot. f7
.ce 10
to the ;outineritA Kotel 22- the pIup-„)e.of ihspecting LaTe
.ex's the caller allege he had. hen the coIlsr and he
;21:riared In the hotel room, ou.,-tright WSJdi3bv hiz caller
nad t.Ao men who ;ere acaroted in the roam. The three men were
deputea from the Marshal 'a 02 toe in Now ;,bx1(30. They
113;l2Q1 :onright unds: arre3t a chnrge of murder, whieh was
83--veo0 to have taken alaee uring the labcr treaJle.
"The deputiec wolfld not allow ;eurtright to oommunicate
with nr ono, nnd werp prearing t) 1 nye with him on the T. P.,
6:30 P. M. -o:t boind train.
"3uapicion aroae in the Tinde of lourtright 's office
,help, after he *Mei t) return or send !Tord an hour after he
stted he would return. The office help reported ic inoieent
to spveral of „!ourtright's friends, and a search started immediate-
ly. The loeation and :;ourtright's situation was soon ascertained:
Jhen his friends learned of his preCicament, they organized a
v:rlys and means oommittee and did a good job af-reseuine the man.
"Those days there were no paved streets. The streets
were muddy when it rained and duoty when It dry. ihc center.
ponultion was around the cr.irt ;Tons°, with the depot about
mile away. It hapaened to bu wet at the time. A= time for the
train's departure arrived, the depot Inv, crowded with many people
outside.' '41rory haak and vehiele available in to was in use
tranaporting people to the depot and :ItIray oo -pplied bo walk
through the mud to be present.
.loeldon
3rTU1t O., Di3t.
etre 11
1Z 240
"Judge Tread, our Distriet Judge at the time, was among
them present at the depot. When the three deputies apaenred
with Jourtright, an application for a write of habeas oorpus
was presented to Judge Head. Mb heard the application at the
depot, ape signed an order directiag the prisoner to be de-
livered to the custody of the *riff of Tarrant Co., pending
ajudioation of the writ.
*Duriag the interval, between issuing the writ ard the
hearing on its merits, there was arrangements made to save
•Jourtri'ht. Also, the authorities of New Mexico. demanded
from the Governor of Texas, protection for the U. 6. Marshals.
lhe (lovernor assigned six '4:exas Rangers to xoteot the men.
"Judge Head held that the officels were. within their rights
to have custody of the prieloner, after our Governor had issue4
extradition papers. ie evenfng arrived for he dea-rtureoof
the Marshals and their prisoner or the 6: 0 I. M.
"Those dye the lergeet restaurant in town was low3ca's.
It had a 35 foot front err etended to the tAlev. In the
rostsurent tilers!, two tables 60 foot long l ads restauratt was
wher, offioals always tom, prisoners for meals before entraining.
The deputien, a000mpanied by six rangers, etoped at Laws n's
for super. LaA:son si4Ated ,;ourtright a t the eiv of a tabla with
the deputies and range s on eaeh side.
'71authier, _iholden F.
nngelore
?a 'e 12
PM 240
'The restaurant waa crowded, all wa,ohing nonchalantly,
the officers an) their prieamer. 4ome were sting and same were
standing around.
"The elJak struok six and at this instant, CourtriOrt
rached beneath the table and arose to his feet holding a six—gun,
.45s, in each hand, whioh he levelLd on the oft'icev4. he
officers Jumped quickly totheir feet and reached for their guns,
but at the bnak of each officer wen two men. These men each
grabbed one arm of an oftcer, locking the arm behind their
back. The officers were held tightly, although some triee to break
loose, but found that their captors ;:meu how to put the pressure
on the arm. The men rhianerod thc m7ic-,,rst erAr. ssyig„ 'don't
iloot, flon't shoot, bemuse you might hit same inoaent pers)n.
Of course, thero. was no need to admonish the officers sbout shooting,
beonlse they were helpless.
""Jourtright walLed out through the 1.1L'- door. Cue of thZ
fnutes au die horses f. town me iL the alley. rtri-ht
mo-anted rly)1.1.1!;ed 2in horse tznd rode away.
"ry part in the arrangenonty was pinoing the guns at the
enC of the tnbles. I )Lung the guns from sorew—eyee, by a light
cord Thief' would hold the gun's weight, but break essily. Ihe
table cloth hid the guns. The two men which were standing at the
back of each officer and looke their arms, were selected ihr the
strongUi and knowledge of locking arms.
•"The following day Courtright was placed e dry goo3s box
Gauthler, jheldon f.
see7elure
Thrrant Co., it.
e 13
r.13C 240
and shied by exprees to Ctalveuton. From there he went to New
York on the HallTy steamship line.
"The charges agninst eourtright esre investigaeed and found
to be, as he had stntee, unfounded. The indietment was dismissed
and he returned to Yort ferth, six months after his departure.
e who lived in Fart 'erte those yaye had to meet many
obstacles, but never bacLed away fro e meeting and overe.00ming them.
7or instanee, sickness was rsmpant before the wells were dug, and
people too their supply of water frerJ the Trinity .7iver.
"Typhoid fever wee prevailing to some extent at all times,
until the wells were sunk.
seeter was hauled to the PUbliceSchAel in barrels from the
river. 2o suhool w:)!:, a two story building boated at eatherferd
and 1m streets. Thi2 wnter kept the ohildren sick end the citizens
deolded teat they muet sink even. Finelly an erteeian wail was
dug, follawed by others, and the citizens secured their wetee
tease wello then tyshoid Ceeued to teke its toll of lives.
%eller the eel's were eank, we tepeoved our Tire Departeent.
A man naed i'eters was the well digger. lie put down one well
adjacent to Win ,t., near the eouxt Reuse, and another on NOustan
,treet, used exclusively for fire surposes The town bought a
Tim engine and a hook•-and-aadder truok. The department was mode
us of volunteers, with the exoesbion of a paid man who ntteaded
to the horses.
from
Gauthier, 3heldon
:!anrelore
'arrant u4.4.0
Pare 14
met; relotu one part of the lire alarm system. As has
st-tedc Civeryone cerried a atn, and when the bell at
fire hall rang, everyone began to .ahopt. !-Therefore, when one
he -rd shots coraiwv from every di reetion and solxnded. es th owl].
a graj::r baff..tle wrs being fow7:hto then one knew th^t fire 1•-!!
exlatth lonertere.niltznetsly, vth tt-,o shootinco one v.:ould
see pcopls ran: in _on 1.l dirL,ctIcale tom is the l'ire :r1.
iirct firc hall t L4c story bui1,01n, 1;5 feit front
and 90 foot delpi. ?he buildinG was t oembinatfon fire hall,
;ity Kan and :."Unicipal -ourt.
day (lowboys aould be seen every where in pairs rid
groups. There had been a wooden sidewali; laid for about a blr)ok
each way running paes my store. I eoull .7 the jine'Tkine
al.o4crvey as tho boys ate -pt on the :Ado walic. Iaould tell if
there wee one man or a ormid. Amy passed my place of business.
I hove aeon as many a3 50 in one rowl pasaing ra place cn their
way the 'Ince Tnp honicytonks which was loao•L:.0 near my etore.
"Tho 4:110 WR1 1 not,)771.)us ranee. It Wa3 a t3 story
'311111.1.10--: with 20 r0t11113 on tha saeond Theie vine a stove
pipe e-.,t,en,71,ng through the rioli from each room. :17'021 n etsnce
it a.)per.rfx7 a:.) a faotorys• Tha.stclve 2iperi and the aneonf) 7C, 77
30U1(1 be anon from tb depot. LTAny sr-mgers,
from a train hors as;ced about tht., nature of the feotoxy.
Gauthibr„ Jheldon P.
Bangelore
Tarrant Co. Dist. #.7
Page 15
PEC 240
,The lsoo 2ap had a long bar extendiEg almost the entire
length of the saloon. There was a danoe floor IL the °enter of
the main floor and the four ()corners eadh oontained some gambling
gnus. One corner contained roaletts„ one stud poker, one a
money gnme and the other a gams sailed bird Sage.
"The plat,e employed a regular demo° °eller. Dancing was
altiost all square danoes. Eaoh danoe was out short and the let
sail to the dancers by the caller was promenade you* ps-trr? to
the bar for a drink. The queens reeeive( a pereentage on all
drinks they bosted to the bar, and the girls generally called
f -A• the most expensivo drink.
"Usually, the laJt act for the Light was a farewell gesture
done by shooting off guns, and many times the lights were the
targets for the shots.
"After leavile the plaoes of amusemnt„ many of the wboys
would mount their horses and ride towards camp, going through
the strel yelling 'yip -pee,' and shooting their guns.
'There was an average uf about °Lie person a week killed in
the ciande hpll of the town. Things were dual if a week plivJed
'without at least one shooting affray.
II lived through those days »Mout any trouble with ove
of a oommittee to abritrate a matter. I oerbai. party sailed
at my store and offered me a bribe to influense me in behalf of
plrties Arvolved in the issue. As fellow's aotion aneered me
and I gave him a sound threshing. The party believed in the lots
equaliser. if. sent me word we would settle the affair with .70ans*•
oheldon 4 P 10
'angelore
rarrant 7 Fra 440
1 returned an answer to the effect, thnt If it wan neoessary
wno ready.
1 aounle of rmoks after this I was shot at by a man In
hid!,nc. I made s run for the legation from where the shot came,
with a drAm gun. I failed to see anyone. This ended the
hooting of my dispute. licr,ever, for 1 year I kept my eyes open
for a man that might be hiding ac I went tl and fro.
Gauthier, Sheldon 7.
Turrsnt Jo., Dist. it
Rangelore
ANDRE 4746 ANDERSON'S
aupplementry Story
Page 11
FEC 240,
"The theater °ailed the Centennial was run by a man named
Low. It was looated at about eleventh and rsak View Commerso)
streets, and was one of the major attreetions Jf the town during
the period from the !Piddle Ms to the early Ms.
Sow was a man about dr feet tall, weighing about 186 pounds,
with an exeellent physique. I oan best describe the man by agying
he was an Adonis type of man. Low always dressed immaoulately,
and wire expensive Jeislary with diamonds being conspiAus. PO
was affable and knew how to handle people so he might aeoure his way.
"Low was generous and enjoyed treating his friends. He made
frequent trips visiting other saloons and treated the wrowd.
Also, he was liberal with donoations to oharity and to publio sab—
soriptions for various purposes.
"A story was often told about Low whidh I' shall repeat. It
gives some light on the manes nature. When he made his visits to
other saloons, he frequently gave oompliaentry tiokets to his
theater, but he always bestowed this gift on men, as a rule ernimen,
with plenty of monettio Low had bon:leers to support thr tioket
takers in the event some ,me tried to put one over on the doorman*
A oertain mark on the oomplimentary tioket would oakum the tioket
taker to rause flhonor the tieket. This sot always resulted
in angry words and sOme,small *Grape, but at the proper moment
Gauthier, Sheldon 0,
1:a:Aelor*
Tarrant Co., Dist, 17
pqre 12
Low always appeared to settle the matter* ale ticket tahers
would -always reoeived a severe reprimand from Low, for not
recognizing a gentleman* He would deli;er a talk oxi the esteemed
'position the gentlown held in the community, and would demand
t4at such incident.not happen again* Ihis act always satisfied the
pride Ind touched the vanity ,1 the holder of the 6omplimentary
tiohet. Always, there W/18 reoipropation by the gentlemzn by way
of spending money freely to prove to the crowd that Loy; was
correct in his estimation,
"Now, to describe the kind of place he operated*
"'Low opernted a girl show theater, dame hall and
gambling games, en the ground floor was the bar and donee hall.
The'denoing floor *as in the center of the moms. The theater
was at the rear of the bar and danee hall. Gambling was operated
oa the second fleer. Also, the rooms eseupied by %be *tresses
were located on the Becloud floor. Above the first richer was a
gallery, extending around the *jar part of the room. The so
tresses would wit in the gallery Wthen not engaged in their sets
on 214 staae. he acts were ef the uourrileue type and very
st4;gestive, and for men may. N3 ladies would attend the
theater unless disguised, which meny did and enjoyed the show.
"The oustemers, mostly cowboys, wild visit the astresses
in the gallery. These women had a system of selling their visitors
a key to their ream. If ens bought a key, he would have the pri-
vilege of treating the actress in he room, paying 41.00 a bottle
Gauthier, dbeldeii
Bangelore
Tarrant Ge.,Dist./7
Page 13
?EC
for beer and other drinks at the same ratio in prise, ane be
undisturbed during the visit.
"DuriLg this period, I operated a gun sterol also .1 did
gun-smithing an partisular meehanieal work. aas (palled on
for repairing gambling devises. Per instanse, the roulette
wheels for Low and other gambling proprietors.
"The reulette table eon:lain* a number of numbered oempart-
meats into whieh a stall ball drops after spinning around the
wheel. These compartments are just large enough to resolve the
ball. The bettom of a major pert of,these eempartments were fixed
so as to be movable and 'mild be raised slightly. The operation
nf the eempartment floors wna dens by means of a small lever and
wire °able. Whieh were congealed. These wires ran to the floor.
2he devioe woe manipulated with feet of the gaming overeater. It
wns these devides, and ethers, whieh I rspeired.
"Suppose a heavy bet wns made on the double 0, if the ball
started to drop into the double 0 compartment,,menipulptien of the
seetion's floor multi eau., the ball to roll to the adjmaent
oompartment. The only way a player could win lips for the operator
t* bosoms paralyzed in his feet, and I never knew of such to
happen.
"Once ins while one would hear of some fellow winning a
large stake, but generally it was some party oenneeted with the
gambling business, and the winning set w -s put on for advertising
purposes. _Frequently, a player would be allowed to win a small
amount, ard this was done to ensourage the players.
Geuthicr, Sheldon ift. P• #4
Rangelere
Tarrant Co.,Dist.#7 FE6
"Those days certain people of the teen weuld take a spasm
of righteousness and demand that gambling be stopped on the
Sabbath day. Ooessienally, the offielals would sensed* a point
and send forth an order to stop gambling on the Sabbath day and
to close all places whore gambling ens operated. Such orders
would told forth until the spasm cooled, which generally took
three or four weeks.
Sew hvd his gmmbling apparatus arranged so he could move
it easily. Therefore, when an order would be received to *lege
all gambling places on the Sabbath day, Mr.,Low moved his gambling
paraphernalia out of his ettsblishment, and continued to .prate
the rest et his business on the Sabbath. This met of Law caused
vanement pretest, but the ofelsials were of Ole *pinion thrt when
the gambling paraphernalia wts moved out of the establishment, it
ceased te be a gambling house. Monday morning gambling resumed.
"The White Ulephant MS the mist magnificent pilule in Fort
Worth those deys. It ens located between Third end Fourth 3troets
on in. It mg a enema, garbling house, and rostaurant. There
were no queens eenneoted with the White Elephant. Before its open.;.
ing, the place was advertised to be Imp Of the finest combination
saloons, Fembling houses and ,restaurants, without any exeeptions.
'Those days ladies did not frequent saloons, but the good
ladies *f Fort 4erth could not Taoist taking a look at the -"its
Elephant during its opening night, and a large number came to look
at the place.
Gauthier, sholdon F.
Rangolore
Thrrant ee.,Dist.d7
Page 46
jaokets, shirts, collars and bow -ties.
"Leading frew the trrrosm ses a wide stairway running to the
second floor where its gambling room was 13oated. On this stair-
way was laid the very best uf carpet. At the entrance to the
gambliN; rues was a mddium size table on which was stnoked gold
and silver coins, standing about six inches high. A uniformed
man stood guard at this table.
"The men selected to run the vr,rieue• gambling games were
chl)sen for their good looks ea well as ability to operate a game.
.he exoellent appearance of these men was the general talk among
the ladies. Every game operator was dressed in a suit orstom-made
from the highest grade of cloth. They were white stiff -front shirts
with a conspicuous -diamond stud in the bosom, a conspicuous dia-
mond rias on their finger, %TIC the dherm which hung.from reir
wateh chain also centnined a diamond. rheas wero groomed in
the latnnt of the day. Theref!ore, they presented an attractive
appearanee, rind no much se th.1 many of the tidies of the town
vied, with each ether to receive the attention of these same oper-
ators, and to the elm of the ocsbeys.
"There wan no'dherge fur drinks to the patrons of the gamb-
ling roam, and there were no restrictions to the kind of drinks
served. The rule was t* let the patrons drink end be merry, be-
cause the devioes controlling the gaming tables took care of the
proprietors. In addition,tho mere. the patrons drank the more reek
less they became with their money. Therefore, the free drinks
were a geed investments
Cr_uthier, Jnellen F.
Rangelore
Tarrant Ce.,44st.417
T*age 17
"The restaurant was panned with oelored weiters,.alsG,
dres3ed 1.771aculately. In the reutaurant one again saw high grade
out -glace. 1:verythinG was spotless obout the tables- and set with
excellent silverware.
"At the other end of the aaloon grade was the First and
Last :Thunoe &alum. It was lsoatod on Yrunt.treet (now Lancaster)
across rron the old -depot. This vic's Ake place the 'cinches, pa-
tronized., It was the kimi of e place Ontrenized by the fellow
who felt ut Lome where he could eApecterate on 7,ho floor at will,
where he could sit down on floor or lie down in a earner, and
ir one became to drunk for loOomation there 4116 fl'recta where one
wig placed until apbered. This oal4on had one large room used for
pleeinz the drunks. he max contained no furniture aks3 non just
lay an 1.1ke neer.
"I have aeon this drunker's ream peeked like sardines in e
Gan. In fsot, I have seen men lying one en top of another.
"All these men knew they would be robbed of their money, if
they kept it on tett, parson and became drunk. Therefore, many of
them would give their raoney to the pronrieter ter eafe keeping.
The proprietor would keep a rossorendiam of the drinks served to
the owner ef the money. At least this was the understanding.
When one df these men finished his drunk and galled for his money
he would be handed a memeraneum inateRd of money, except enough
to get back home, if he lived out of town.
Gmuth Jielden r.
Itant!e re
Terre Co.,Dist.0
seemed to me, the proprietor reesened thrt these men
would in drunk so long as their money lasted. Being at it
YA,18 fair the men t* eut his drunk short, the proprietors used
their eneil tt ger-PI advantege Nor themselves and fer thr general
healt of the drunk.