Preble County Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1857-1859, 1857-01-22
Miscellaneous.
ADVENTURES OF AN OR
~ n! PHAN.

r-.
Towards the latter part of the sum
mer of 1910, lad of prepossessing ap
pearance entered the beautiful town of
., - - situated at the foot of Sen
eea Lake, near the centre of the State.
He had travelled from the western part
ofOhio, where his father, widower,
had died from one of those malignant
fevers SO common in newly settled coun-
tries, while overseeing the cultivation
of large tract of land, in order to regain
fortune lost during the disastrous spec
ulations of 1884.
Being an only son and left among
strangers, after the death of his father,
George Wentworth resolved to leave
Ohio and remove to the State of New
York, for the purpose of trying his for
tune in any manner that chance might
offer. He had passed through several
meeting anything to attract his atten
ten til reaching G--------.s- ----.s-s -sss.-4zl
This fine town, with its lovely lake
and fine scenery, struck his fancy, and
so he determined to-obtain employment,
If possible, and make it his future home.
While walking along the principal
streets Of the place-a shady avenue
overlooking the lake on which are .loca-
ted several fine churches and other pub
lie buildingsEhe saw large crowd as
sembled around newly erected liberty
pole, in front of one of the principal ho-
tels. On approaching the spot he found
that twas a political meeting, held
for the purpose of erecting the pole and
making party speeches.
Our hero forced his way into the
crowd Just as they were raising the tsstars
and stripes" with the names of their IA
vorite candidates, to the top of the flag
staff The flag had scarcely reached
half way, the enthusiasm being at its
height, when the cord twisted and caught
in the little wheel at the top. They
pulled and tried every way, but were
unable to raise or lower the flag a sin
gle inch. The excitement and cheer
ing ceased, and all eyes were. raised to
the half-masted flag. A portion of the
opposition party who were grouped to-
gether little in the rear of the main
body, began to jeer and joke about the
apparently bad omen, to the evidentd dis
eomfture of their opponents.
At length Judge s. -, editor
and publisher of the c. Jour
nal, then candidate for Congress, offer
ed $50 to any y-one who would climb the
staff and draw the cord through the
wheel. -.
The utmost silence reigned for several
minutes, but no one advanced to make
the daring trial. "Who will volunteer
shouted the Judge strongly excited, as
peal of laughter went up from the. OPP
position.
The ehuckle had scarcely died away,
however, before George with his cap and
shoes of, stepped before the Judge, and
with confident look, exclaimed:
81, sir, will climb it!''
"You, my lad, you are not strong
enough"
..:0hl yes sir, 1 am used to climb
ing"
Then go ahead, my little Spartan, u
said the Judge, at the same time Civ
ing him an encouraging pat on the
shoulder.
Steadily, hand over hand, his feet
clutching the pole in manner that
proved him to be an expert climber,
Geaxge made his way to the top of the
stan, WHICH was SO Slenoer InaI IL sway
ed to and fro with his weight. Nothing
daunted he wound his legs right and
left around the pole, and with his right
hand untwisted the cord. Shouting
fearlessly to those below to hoist away
he chung on until the flag fairly reached
the top, and then slowly descended.
The cheers that now rent the air were
terrific; opposition and all, joined in one
universal shout. After the excitement
had somewhat subsided, the Judge look
ed at the boy with admiration, and took
out his pocket-book to pay the promised
reward.
George noticed the action and ex
claimed
"Keep your money, sir; I want nc