ded. It was not long before the rolling of
the chips made the sleeper resemble a gambling hall more than anything
else, and the cheering and enthusiastic crowds that greeted us at every
stopping place received but a small share of our attention at our hands.
As the ladies in the party had given the boys permission to smoke where
and when they pleased, the blue veil that hung over the various tables
was soon thick enough to cut with a knife. A mandolin and guitar in the
party added to our enjoyment, and it was not until the midnight hour had
come and gone that we sought our couches.

When we arrived at St. Paul on Sunday morning we found a large crowd at
the depot to greet us. A game had been scheduled for that afternoon, St.
Paul being in those days a wide-open town, and Sunday the one great day
in the week so far as base-ball was concerned.

"The frost was on the pumpkins" and the air so chilly that a winter
overcoat would have felt much more comfortable than a base-ball uniform.
Nevertheless it would not do to disappoint the people, 2,000 of whom had
assembled at the grounds to see us play.

In the absence of Mike Kelly, who had faithfully promised Mr. Spalding
that he would join us at Denver, and didn't, Frank Flint, "Old Silver,"
who had been prevailed upon to accompany the party as far as Denver, was
sent in to catch for the All-Americans, and as Kelly's name was on the
score card it was some time before the crowd discovered that it was "Old
Silver" and not the "Ten Thousand Dollar Beauty" that was doing the
catching. Flint's batting was not up to the Kelly standard, however, and
they soon tumbled to the fact that Flint was an impostor. At the end of
the sixth inning, and with the score standing at 9 to 3 in favor of the
Chicagos, the game was called in order that the Chicago Club might play
a game with the St. Pauls, then under the management of John S. Barnes.
This game attracted far more interest than the preceding one, owing to
the local color that it assumed, and the crowd waxed decidedly
enthusiastic when the game was called at the end of the seventh inning
on account of darkness, with the score standing at 8 to 5 in St. Paul's
favor.

So elated was Manager Barnes over the victory of his pets that he at
once challenged me for another game with the Chicagos, to be played at
Minneapolis the following day, a challenge that I accepted without the
least hesitation.

The special cars in which we journeyed were