KEACH SHEYENNE. 257 



can three desperate men inspire ; I have, too, seen a noted 

 desperado overawe a whole room full of men who looked as bad 

 as himself, daring anyone among them to say a word, when no 

 one opened his lips. 



On reaching Sheyenne I put " Henry " in a livery stable, 

 selling the other horse at once, as he would have eaten more 

 than his value at eight shillings a day, and I went myself to 

 Mr. Gildersleeve's once more, managing to get a bed to myself 

 by saying that I had a fever, which though not very dangerous 

 might be troublesome to anyone who caught it. If I had not 

 made some such excuse I should have been accused of putting 

 on airs, and there would have been trouble. 



The town had grown very much during the last three months, 

 and now contained about five thousand inhabitants ; but its 

 moral character had not improved, and a vigilance committee 

 had just been formed. This was a necessity in such places, 

 and at first did a great deal of good, the regular police being a 

 farce; but gradually abuses crept in, many joining the committee 

 in order that they might denounce some man against whom they 

 had a grudge, and there is no doubt that a number of innocent 

 men were hung in this way, as very little proof of guilt was 

 necessary, the trial sometimes not lasting more than ten minutes, 

 the supposition being that a man was guilty unless he could 

 prove himself to be innocent. 



I found the elections for mayor and town council going 

 on, and was urged by some men at the hotel to vote, as 

 I possessed the only necessary qualification that is, having 

 been three months in the territory. Our landlord was 

 the respectable candidate, the popular one being a Colonel 

 Johnson, an ex-prize-fighter and owner of one of the largest 



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