Des Moines courier. ([Ottumwa] Iowa) 1848-1854, 1851-12-04

IP'iuC"hIit rhstous' as udliy ulspr0Vi0g
his cherished opinion-didn'i come b,
his means in an honest way--some.
thing was said about an Englishman who
died at bis house, and left money To some
heifs in England, and left this man exec
u,ur Of his will. and IN possession Of the
..soversigns, Smith didn't say he kept
! lhe money, in so many words, but he
winkrd, aud guessed. like enough The
heirs never had heard from their uncle =
Smith wenI on however, farming aud
improving his pre-emptio.., till a, last The
lands carne in market, and sorry To say,
Smith had not the wherewiihai TO pay
Tor his eighty acres. He had improved
tconsideratiy- was worth four dol.
lars an acre--it was his only chance and
hope-what shmlid lie do! lie could
moi pay one twenty five for il, and must
lose il il he did mi; alas, for Smith! For
tnnately, however. in The neighborhooL
had settled one Bsnwn-ShyIo lock Shark
Brown! A very neighborly man-h he
inquired into the situation of all The set
tiers around him--a very good man, and
man OF money! He drove nine miles
10 meeting every Sabbath day, although
his horses had worked hard all the week,
and he had prayer meetings at his own
n"nse frequently. He was bald headed
and wore speclacles-- was very good
man, and great relieftu all the neigh
borhaud.
Brown always had an abundance Of
provisions on hand. and il was a source
Of grea, qualification to him to be able to
furnish his neighbors in their extreme
necessit, --at The highest price. 10 besure;
but then il was kind thing in him to
IEave il, and be felt grltified iha, i, was
s". Brown was helping, too. great
maay just such men as I.afa, cite Smith,
who had never made any hing al farm.
Ing, 10 buy their lands. and Secure them
from speeula,ors. He had an utier abb
horrenee Of specnla,ors. and great re-
spect and sympathy for actual settlers,
and especially ihe poor. Brown always
took the title IN his own name---but then
i. was very kind in him 10 secure The
lands from sreculaiors-and then he
gave bond for deed To the actl,a. set
Tier, with chance to redeem the land in
one year by paying twice as much as he
had advanced; but then il was something
TO have bond for a deed--il was show
for n tile, and another years possession,
with a chance 10 render the land more
valuable by additional improeemen.s;-
aud then no man could lay out his
money Tor na,hing. and the probability
was money would be money another
year! As Yankee peddlcr said to
smar, lady ont here, when he urged her
TO bay a lot Of woaden fasseis, MADAM
said he "ihe fassef makers are all dc4d.
and fassets mHl be Jossefs another
y.ar." The old lady ..bit'' and took
lie whole 10, ON speculation! bu, lha, 5 a
yam" And then ngain Brown was an
upright and Christina man, and would
noi take advantage Of misfortune, and If
they could not meet the ..bond' when
due, he WAS not the man To take the
..aesh. = mol he, ifhis name was Shylock,
but woulahe te content with interestonly.
on his dacais--twenty Ave per cect son
the bpnd aud they could have another
Year. or longer If they wanted, and con-
linued 10 improve The lands--but that he
mus. expec, puncinaliiy. and that was
fair; no man could afford 10 be SD useful
for nothing. Brown was sair, and GER
tainly a great help to community Ito ac.
tna! settlers! Smiths land WAS decided,
and he was an encouraged man when he
placed in the hands oi Mrs. Smith The
bond, signed. sealed and delivered by
Shylock Shark Brown. calling for a war
raniee deed, ON The fulti,nent ol the cove.
nan,s therein conaAined!
Years relied on; Smith worked hard;
has crops were good, and every Thing
seemed prosperous. Every year Smith
thought he sloald be able Ia secure his
tile that fall; bnl when his crops came
off, aud he had paid his expenses--s,ore
bills made literally, building and fencing
oatlays. and laid in for winter he never
found himself 10 situation to meet the
entire demand. But Brown WAS con-
descending and lenieni, took his fifty
dollars interest on the two hundred due.
for whkh he advanced one. and was
very glad 10 be able to acco,nodaie neigh
Dor Smith ana,her year. And SO it was,
Smith kept his assertion good, never
making anything beyond mere living.
besides the Improvements in value OF his
farm, for which he took no title. until he
had paid Brown two hundred dollars in-
ieresi, and was going on another year!
But Shy lock Sharks appetite had be-
come sha,pened 10 an edge. He was
losing reputation for kindness and inleg-
rity. Widows were complaining Of his
oppression. whose husbands ~eslates had
become forfeited to his sagacious rapaci
". and orphans were dropping his name
from their lips in bitterness. The cloak
was al length entirely thrown off, and
The monster Brown siood forth himself.
grinning and imperative. Spi.h mus,
pay up or be ousied! Poor Smith,!
where could he raise The money! Every
thing was depressed--merchan,s were
iailing aud big men were hard up. One
hope for Smith! The county had been
organized. Smith had aiken an active
part in politics, was on vigilance COM
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