any mission other than sight-seeing, hence the mass was constantly being augmented or diminished by the crowds pouring in and out of the scores of resorts with which the thoroughfare was lined.
Had one the least cause for haste, he was compelled to seek the roadway, not so densely thronged with the curious, excited, impetuous sight-seers.
Belated Concord stages, hauled by six-horse teams, huge freight vans, lumbering prairie schooners, and all manner of wheeled vehicles, were toiling up and down the street, separated from the board walk by parallel lines of snow, piled in the gutter to a height of three or four feet.
The buzz of conversation, the resounding snap of drivers' whips, the crunching of steel-shod wheels in the icy thoroughfare, and the frequent profane shouts to weary horses and mules, that mingled with the questionable musical sounds from the orchestras within, filled the air with a compound of sounds scarcely soothing in its effects upon unaccustomed ears.
Taking in the spectacle, I joined the throng, passing from door to door and witnessing scenes that almost beggar description. Chief among the places visited was Pap Wyman's combination concert and dance hall, with every game of chance known to the fraternity in full blast—faro, keno, roulette, stud poker, pinochle, and what not. On the face of a monster clock, behind a bar scintillating with a wealth of crystal, was painted the significant invitation to guests, "Please Do Not Swear," while upon a slanting shelf on the counter, facing the motley throng, was a large Bible, whose well-thumbed leaves gave strong indication that it had been frequently consulted. An orchestra of many pieces was grinding out popular music for the dancing that never lagged, and which kept up until the dawn of day drove the weary
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