Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1874-10-31
VERY SMART INDEED.

At the close Of one Of thoee financial hur-
ricanes which periodically afljct the United
eeatas, | deemed i well to adopt the prevail
ing custom and go West" People are
very fond of going West. and undertake lie
journey from various and often mixed mo-
tives. Ny own motives We're very mixed.
In the first place | had received from my
friend Wash Sparkington-best of friends
and most intrepid Of specHators-n few
"points" concerning the rising young town
ship known as SanpylIle, through which
railroad was shortly to We driven, for the
purpose .! developing the resources Of the
country. and enrichng those spectators
who had got the ''point'' carly. In the
second place, it was very hot i'll New York,
and my physician had recommended
change of air. Thirdly, had just broken
off an engagement to marry Miss Nette
Fish, whose pa, originally a Ierlynan, had
recently ''>truck lie, and was bumptious
accordingly. Fourthly, 'pool' to sell
certain stocks Short" in which was heav-
lily engaged, had not proved a success. As
Sparki,gton ob>crvcd, the bottom had fallen
out of tue spec. Filthy, things had gone
generally wrong with me, and it was neces-
sary to change the venue in order to avoid
unpleasant consequences.
Under these circumstances. concluded to
Try Sampylle, and endeavor to recuperaJe
by buying up the land through which the
projected railway was to pass, \ farewell
dinner at Delmonico's was given in my
honor by ''thc boys and forty-eight hours
later was in Sampyille. The first duty
of man had been fulfilled BY the construc-
ton OF an ct o NOUS hotel, where indigestion
could be acquired on the most cxo,bi:ant
terms. There was no lack Of excellent food,
yiIlainously cooked. and the loss of the
flcshpo;s Of De.monco weighed heavy on
Sitting opposite to me at table WIS W est
ern belle, eating green corn after the prlm-
cval fashion. that is to say. by seizng q
corn-cob--pentifully annoin., with butter
ut either end, and gnawing the .j"icy NOR
rel without regard to appearances.
On making inquiries concerning the land
on sale at Sampyile, my spirits We're Sigh
ly dashed. Somebody had evidently got
the "pont' before me. Looking carefully
over the lots through which the railroad
must necessarily pass, found that they
had been bought up within short time by
n single s3ccu.ntcr-one Of the original set
l.
wenhoek indicated his descent from fine
old knickcghocker family, and | maweled
much to find the representative Of an ancient
race vegetating in the West. OF course
hated him He had clearly forestalled my
little speculation, and, if to be bought off at
all, would not part with his purchase eX-
cept at a large profit.
Much depressed and fatigued by my stroll.
drfted into the kotchum House, the big
hotel aforesaid. Bringing up at last against
the bar, my car was attacked bya strident
voice exclaming, Il guess I'll take mine
straight" and turning sharply round, en-
counted my old friend Hezekiah Dodge,
who, from high legal and political po ition,
had step by step taken the down track, till
he had sunk into Il louiei round ar out
West II was the old story, plenty of go,
but no ballast IIez would-in the begin
ning-work for weeks like man, and then
90 '.on bust" till his best friends were
scared at his appearance, and wou.d then
pull up all at once, and become a decent
cilizln till further notice. His garb indica-
ted that he had yisibly declined in the world
since we had last met, and certain glasSi-
ness Of the eye told that tale which is re-
vealed at once by the light blue iris, but
long concealed by the rich brown eye so
frequently met with in the States. His
hand did not shake of course--the potations
of the day had steadicd il; but Ilez was
little unsteady on the high heels OF pair
of dainty boots, which contrasted strongly
enough with his general appearance.
Gradually edging Iiez out of the crowd,
lured him away to Il quiet cobbler and
cigar, when he became at once coherent,
and delivered many sarcastic remarks on
that one-horse place, Sampvile. Now,
thought |, is my time to get posted on this
section Of the country, and at once opened
out on real estate, inquiring, by the way,
who and what this Mr.. Van K.auw wenhoek
might be.
Look a here" said IIez, 81 am as fond
of Klauwenhoeb as am Of lniuns He re-
fused to loan me Il ten-dolar bill few days
ago-the mean cuss and, let me tell you,
he owns Almost the hull Of the township.
Fust Of all, he started in dry-goods; then
he went into grain, and lager beer and lum-
ber, and now is president of the bank. He
is a smart man, yes, sir And they don't
know much of lis antccedents round these
parts, and they don't inquire. No, sir, in
this section Of the country it amt well to
ask too many questions. So long as man