In the fall of ’51, no little excitement was created in the town, by the entrance of a person whose name was Ben Nickerson, but who was generally known, however, as “Old Nick.” He brought into the mines with him a rather superannuated specimen of a grizzly, with a diminutive donkey as an accompaniment, and the posters upon the fences conveyed the valuable information that on the hill in the rear of the Court House, within an inclosure erected for the express purpose, at 2 P.M. daily, Sundays unexcepted, would be witnessed a most terrific combat between these two ferocious animals: tickets $1, to be had at the door; reserved seats for ladies and children at half price. To the credit of the ladies in the mining regions, it may be as well to mention that none ever visited old Nick, nor his inhuman exhibition. Occasionally the programme would be changed by the substitution of a wild Spanish bull, in place of the donkey. In a short time, however, public sentiment revolted against the inhuman exhibition, and the citizens, en masse, tore down the structure.
Many old-timers will remember Syd Ketchum, of Hangtown. He was full of his jokes, and was rightly named, for it was his greatest delight to “ketch ’um” (the boys) occasionally. One afternoon he took his station in the middle of the street in front of the Empire saloon, and casting his eyes upward seemed to be gazing
at some extraordinary object in the heavens. In a few minutes he was surrounded by others who were anxious to see what he was gazing at so earnestly, and among these was Anderson, the actor, who took his station in front of Syd, and gazed intently and long in the same direction. Finally, he turned to Syd and asked what he saw.
“Oh, nothing,” was the answer as he walked away.
Anderson, with his hands jammed in his pockets, stood in the same spot and watched the joker until the latter was out of sight, and remarked, as he turned to enter the saloon again:
“Well, I’ll be durned.”
“It was but a few days after this that Syd, rushing into the Belle Union gaming house out of breath, exclaimed: