The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

Obee and Crick, known as the Missouri Boys, sneak into Idaho City in 1865 to take revenge on a saloon owner by burning the place down. The fire rages out of control, ruining businesses and lives. So, when Chinese gold miners show up to work and spend money a few weeks later, they are welcome.

One day, young Lily sees the 27 Chinamen at the river singing. They’ve diverted the water and are taking out gold. Crick and Obee come along with a gun, claiming that this is their spot and the gold belongs to them. There is an altercation in which one man, Logan, receives a shot to the shoulder: “Still, Lily thought he looked calm, like he wasn’t in any pain, though he was a little sad” (268). Logan throws a rock and hits Crick in the head, and Obee runs.

In the next section of the story, titled “Whiskey and Wei Qi,” Lily and the Chinamen are in Logan’s garden, where his associates are tending to them. He teaches her the game Wei Qi (or Go) as he drinks whiskey. Logan says, “Every place has a taste that’s new to it, and whiskey is the taste of America” (271).