deadwood

A steady stream of miners, ranchers and cowhands filtered in and out of the Number 10 Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota.  An inexperienced musician playing an out of tune accordion squeezed out a familiar melody ushering the pleasure seekers inside.  Burlap curtains were pulled over the dusty windows and fans that hung down from the...

Deadwood’s first dance hall opened May 1, 1876, with only the owner’s wife and daughter to entertain the customers; six women of more questionable virtue were soon added to the staff. Within a month, two more dance halls opened their doors. These were quickly joined by the variety theaters where a customer might be sensuously...

A grim-faced bartender led a pair of sheriff’s deputies up the stairs of Deadwood’s Lone Star Saloon to the two lifeless bodies sprawled on the floor.  One of the deceased individuals was a gambler named Kitty LeRoy, and the other was her estranged husband, Sam Curley. The quiet expression on Kitty’s face gave no indication...

“Poker Alice” Ivers A steady stream of miners, ranchers, and cowhands filtered in and out of the Number 10 Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota.  An inexperienced musician playing an out of tune accordion squeezed out a familiar melody ushering the pleasure seekers inside.  Burlap curtains were pulled over the dusty windows, and fans that hung...