citizenship, it was determined that an alcalde should be chosen and civilization inaugurated.
Nor was choosing a magistrate regarded by them as a matter of little moment. He who should minister to them in judicial things must be learned in their whimsicalities; he should be equitable at the horserace and wrestling-match, honest in his dealings at poker, and withal of muscular powers sufficient to enforce the mandates of the court. Above all he must be a man of character and respectability, one who could treat the crowd easily and often, and wholly free from the effects of those stultifying studies originating in Sunday-schools and week-day lessons.
Now a stranger might think that in so small a community it would be difficult to find embodied in one person all the necessary attributes. But such was not the case. There was George Kelsey; if you had a thousand to select from, you could not find a better man. First, his great round tent, standing in the business centre, cool and pleasant by day and well lighted at night, would serve splendidly as a courthouse. True, the clarion note of justice might sometimes be drowned by the clinking of coin and the rattling of glasses; for in this greatest of buildings w^as conducted the greatest of businesses, the dealing of cards and the dispensing of drinks. But then, with cards and drink law would fit well, and as already the place was a dispensary of no mean pretensions, to medicines for mind and purse add one for conduct much needed, indeed, and Kelsey's law, drinking, and gambling saloon becomes an institution of which even the young ambitious town of Washington might well be proud. It was understood at the beginning that there should be no taxes connected with the creation of the municipality, and to find judge, courthouse, business, and refreshments all combined was certainly a fine thing.
As for character, George Kelsey could match
