Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1860-02-08
A GROUP nFPRINTERs.

There are but few OF our readers who have
not read with delight the Patent Sermons by
Dow. Jr., which originally appeared in the
New Tort Sunday Mercury. His death has
lately been announced, as occurring at San
Francisco. California, from drunkenness and
want. The first accounts prove, however, to
have exaggerated his failing. By the follow
ing extract of late letter in the Nelc York
Times, over the signature of EsGLAUCUs'' (Dr.
F. Tathull, last year member of Assembly from
Kings,) dated from San Francisco, it appears
that he was only subject to an occasional de-
bauch, and that he was not always intoxicated,
ssBy your last advces you were informed OF
the miserable death of dow, jjr., who died of
a drunken debauch on the 4th Of December.-
He was as quiet. inoffensive and modest a man
here as when he was preaching his Patent Ser
mons in New York; but about once in six
months he would have a big spree. He died
almost unattended, in a wretched room, but
not poor. He worked at the case, and con-
trbuted weekly when sober. to the Golden Era,
a sermon. If you have seen his sermons late
ly, you may have thought them but repetitions
Of his earlier productions. But this was not
so. He let his reputation suffer this suspicion
by permitting his publishers, when he was out
Of sorts, to reprint from the volumes collected
from the Mercury, without any intimation that
the new dram came from an old bottle. Shah
bly as he had treated himself, and dirty as |
found him when lying in his plain red wood
coffin, in front of the stable that is used for
dead house, you would have recognized the
features as the same once so familiar in Nassau
street He was buried in Lone Mountain Gem
eterv. the brief funeral procession being made
up almost entirely of members of the Press.''
The real name OF Dow, jr., was Eldridge
Gerry Paige. He came to New York, from
New England and sought employment as
iourneyman printer. Twenty y-three years ago
we stuck tpye'' in the same alley, in the
published by Horace Greely. Geo. Wilkins
Kendall, (the protector of the New tOrleans
Picauune,) Morgan Bates, Eve think since
partner of Geo. Dawson in the publication of
the Detroit .4dUertiser,) O. 4. Bowe, (who was
a fellow apprentice with Greely and afterwards
published paper at Little Falls,) stood at the
case in the same office. Bowe, Bates and
Paige are now dead. Kendall is still living
but has abandoned the chair editorial for sheep
raising on the plains of Texas. He left the
Yorker Office to commence the Picayune, hav-
ing acquired the capital for that enterprise, in
way that would hardly be considered ortho-
dox in a moial community. Before leaving
New York, Kendall had sstramped'' the South
as Jour printer-traveled for information, as
he said, through every principal village and
city in the Southern States, sometimes on
steamboats,, sometimes in stage coaches (there
was but one railroad in the South then-from
Charleston to Augusta and not unfrequently
X.
in a handkerchief, from his walking stick
Sometimes he was :sfluSh'' and we'll dressed
sometimes :sstrapped'' and seedy-but always
witty genial and gentlemanly. In his VEN
lures, he had frequently been boon companion
with many of the most eminent men Of the
country.
The Astor House then was but Just opened
and extensively visited by Southerners. Itwas
a fashion with Kendall to patronize that estab-
lishmcnt, after working hours. Strolling over
there one evening, after having s'washed up,''
he was agreeably surprised to meet several
gentleman whom he had known as merchants,
and lawyers and doctors. at Natchez, Misss-
sippi. After juleps round, and sherry cob
bier apiece, some one proposed to s'close the
night" with little game of poker. Kendall
had but about five dollars in his watch fob,
Ohere was no watch there) but he assented,
among the rest, to the proposition. EXcusing
himself for moment, he made rush down
Aun Street to the Office, where he hoped to
find some of his feliow-printers with money to
lend. Bates, as foreman OF the office, had been
detained making up the forms. He had eight
dollars and 'swe'' eve were helping BateS) had
two hundred and seven cents. Kendall took
the dollars (leaving us the cents) and thus
made purse of fifteen dollars. With this
fund he sat down to play. The play went on
till daylight. at seven O'Clock Kendall came
into the office, paid up the SO he had borrow
ed, told Greely he would give up his situation
and asked all hands to partake Of a s'pious
gorge that afternoon. All the hands were
but too happy to do that same, and still more
happy when their fellow craftsman ammo unced
that he was the fortunate possessor of about
500, won at the s'lttle game of poker" afore-
said, and that with the 500 he proposed ssto
start paper in New Orleans" In due time
the Picdyuae appeared-was a success-win-
ming reputation tor Kendall as a polished wri-
ter and brilliant wit, and what was better,
giving him princcly income. He has had
many hair breadth escape since that was
among the Sante Fe prisoners, and given up as
dead, but afterwards released; he went through
the Mexican war; has passed years in foreign
travel until, satated with enjoyment, and ii
red of the excitement of city life, he retired
to Texas, and is now master of thousands of
acres of land, and reckons more than hun
dreG thousand sheep, cattle and mules as his
individual property.
In time, Paige also left the Ne,c Yorker Of
fee, and in company with two others, CON-
menced the publication of the Sunday Mercury,
a paper bout the size of the Albany Times
The arrangement was that the partners (they
were all printers) should set the type. Paige
was not to perform any editorial duties, (Which
his partners were expected to perform,) and
there was no thought that he was capable of
writing. His transfer was the work of chance.
The Sunday .AitGs was at that time-as it always
since has been-the rival of the Mercury, the
latter being the younger of the two. Shortly
after the Mercury appeared, the proprletors OF
the Atlas enlarged their journal, procuring
new type and beautiful vignette head, rep
resenting Atlas upholding the World. OF
course the Mercury must follow suit-abandon
its plain apparel, and have an embellished
heading. A consultation as to what that head
ing should be was held between the two edi-
tors, but neither could make any satisfactory
suggestion.
Finally Paige was invited to cooperate