258 ELECTION FOR MAYOR. 



saloons. The poll was to be open only one day, and I found 

 that every decent man who went there to vote for our candi- 

 date returned without having been able to do so and more or 

 less battered. The gamblers were managing everything, being 

 to a man Johnsonians, so I got a ticket for both, one of 

 them being blue and the other yellow, the blue being for 

 our man ; so putting this in my pocket and flourishing the 

 yellow one in my right hand I went down to where the poll 

 was being held. Here among the gamblers I found several of 

 my " old friends " from St. Joe, who immediately shook hands 

 cordially and asked if they could do anything for ine, on which 

 I said I wanted to vote, allowing them to see my yellow ticket, 

 but that I was afraid one was liable to meet with rough treat- 

 ment in doing so. They assured me, however, that with them 

 there was nothing to fear, and they passed me with the greatest 

 ease through a very rough mob to the entrance to a narrow 

 passage between two rails, at the end of which was a small 

 window where the tickets had to be handed in, and on 

 reaching this I passed in my blue ticket and at once left for 

 the hotel, not waiting to see " my friends " again. I was 

 congratulated on being one of the very few supporters of our 

 host who had returned in a sound state. As it turned out, all 

 my strategy was wasted, as Colonel Johnson was returned by 

 a large majority, and I had the pleasure of seeing him driving 

 round the town that evening in a carriage drawn by six horses, 

 with a barrel of whiskey on the front seat, from which he 

 dispensed freely to all comers. 



My ague was no better in Sheyenne than it had been in 

 camp, returning every morning about ten o'clock and making 

 me so weak that I was fit for nothing, and this induced an 



