The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-08-11

meaning to build himself house, had
dug out a large shallow cellar; coming
back in the morning he found his cellar
a great lake of oil--so many hundred
dollars dropped into his hand, as it
were, in the night. Another day ii was
a WELL which had been sunk but Il little
way when a strong Jet of oil sprang up,
| spouting thousands of gallons into the
air, scattering riches 10 the winds till
the stream could be controlled and ear
ried off safely. Such stories came to US
| constantly.
BY degrees we began to be invaded.
Houses for refining the oil were built
all round US, and the pure air began to
be tainted with the smell of petroleum.
Everybody grumbled. Yet / dare say
the mere grumbling helped little to
keep up among us the daily interest in
what our neighbors were doing. Many
of our townspeople bought wells, or
shares of wells: many of the lower
class among them went away to Petrolia
to try their chances as diggers, or at any
rate TO share In some way the large
sums of money which began to circu-
late there. All through the winter this
continued the oil still rose, still was
refined and sold, and embarked for all
parts of the world; and every one
! looked forward TO spring TO open new
wells, and double the prosperity which
last summer had begun.
Great, nevertheless, was the amaze
ment with which, one day, we saw Pat
terson's door and windows fast closed;
and heard that he had taken his wife
and child and gone TO Petrolia. What
befell him there did not see with my
own eyes, but the tail was told me in
detail soon afterwards. He established
himself with his family at the newly
built hotel-do not attach any ideas of
grandeur, or even of comfort, TO the
woodland Immediately applied himself
to find and buy suitable place for a
well, meaning to make his fortune
without partners, or, if he could help it,
fellow laborers either. After careful
examination of the whole neighbor-
hood, and much weighing of the rival
merits Of the yet unoccupied sites, he
made his choice, and with part Of his
capital bought a piece OF land large
enough 10 sink well, such as those
which were coming dollars for their
lucky owners on every side. Here
he went to work, digging from
morning till night, and every hour hop
ing TO see the brown oil glimmering
duskily at the bottom of the hole.
Meantime Mrs Patterson had shared
but very slightly in her husbands cas-
,le.building. The prosperity Of the
last year had been delightful to her; it
had consolcd her, most likely, Tor much
past privation and trouble, and had
made her very hopeful for the future.
They had done so well, and she herself
was growing so expert an assistant. that
there seemed a reasonable prospect of
her husband being able to establish
himself in some large town, where they
could have real home, and where by
and by her little girl would 60 10
school, and grow up among other chill
dren, we'll clothed and taught and pro-
vided for. No doubt every dollar laid
by had been real good 10 her; the
sum as 1t grew seemed to represent sub
stantial comfort and responsibility in
the future. Ii was hard for her 20 see
the whole store risked in what was GER
tainly a game of chance; for she knew.
as every one else did, that though
there were many and great prizes to be
! dug out of the oil field, there was also
undeniable and dismal blanks. What
arguments she may hay used before
! they moved to Petrolia, ! do not know
she did not talk Of the matter then or
! afterwards but certainly after the well
was bought, after some of their money
had been paid for the land, some for
the materials necessary for working it,
and some for their board at the hotel,
she took up the part of making the best
of everything, and doing all She could
to help and encourage her husband in
the new kind Of work he had rashly
undertaken.
Patterson was, of course, entirely un-
used to hard physical labor. ne worked
at first with tremendous energy, and in
a few days began to feel that he had
overdone it. Sunday came, and the
perpetual digging stopped. Our poor
photographer, stiff and weary. could
hardly drag himself down into the
rough dining-room Of the house. where
groups Of men were as busy talking Of
oil as they had been all the week seek
ing for it, He went about from one to
another, hearing what they had to say,
asking lHe more experienced tnell
opinion of his ground questioning
everybody as to the depth below the
surface Of the ground at which oil had
been reached propping up his hopes till
they became ceTtainties. But he was
so tired that he was glad to 90 up by
and by to his wife's room, and drop
into the rockingham there for good
long rest.
She talked to him for little while.
and then he fell asleep. She hung up
a shawl to keep the draft from the open
window from blowing on him. and laid
another softly over him. for she had
noticed that he was shivery in spite of
the sunshine. Then she sat down and
kept her baDy occupied quietly, that he
might rest undisturbed.
But at one o'clock the dinner-bell
changing noisely awoke him, and they
all went downstairs. Patterson, how
ever. could eat nothing, and his wife
began to think seriously about that
plague of our Observation-Disclosures and