The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1874-06-18

was DeBuu III earnest, an puSned
through just as long as the peoples
money held out. When that was all
done-every last cent gobbled up-the
folks at Goosetown planked down their
mortgages same time the Huckleberry
Flat felix's forked up on the same line,
an by that time the road was ready for
the rollin' stock.
No forgot. The company found
they'd made an oversight somehow, for
when the depots were built they hadn't
enough money left to lay in their win
ter's stock of coal, so they had to pay
Tor that out of their own money.
I lived midway between Goosetown
an Huckleberry Flat then. was my
own man, with nigh nine hundred dol
lars in my pocket, an feelin' of my
oats purity well SO nothing d do me
but professional life. An as I was
counted strong in our debatin' society,
an was master hand at spellin', l
concluded to start q newspaper. The
moment I said I'd do it, the Goose
town folks covered every dollar / had,
an blamed ef [ wasn't q edditur
almost afore I knew it Well, Jest
about that time the railroad was COM
pleted, an everybody was crazy to get
trip over 1T. Some folks made SO many
trips they made quite talk. There
was the Mayor, he'd run down to
Huckleberry Flats as much as two,
three, or mebbe four times q week.
Thinks /, here's my chance. I've start
ed the ,Streamer of Liberty on the
strength of the railroad, an the rail
roads got to support me. L concluded
I'd see about the Mayors many trips,
SO / went over to the railroad office, an
kinder struck up desultory conversa-
tion with the superintendent. You see,
I wanted to come at the business in o
roundabout way. Says I, "See here,
Shackleford G knew him like book
went to school with him), whats
the reason Tom Winterbottom spends
so much money runnin down the road |?
How can he afford such nonsense ?"
Sh-h-h," says Shackleford, givin'
me the wink; haven't you been
fixed ?"
"What do you mean ?" says I jest
Hasn't no one been to see you with
ticket ?"
cts likely they'd found me if they
had"
Shackleford's face cleared up. "I
was wonderin' why you was SO savin' Of
your ticket. Look here, now, Writ,
you ought to be on the dead-head list"
didn't half like his look. 1t was q
cunnin' smile Shackleford had, and
sly. An he was so blamed deep you
never knew where to find him. So I
told him right short .--..
81 don't think a man who can edit u
paper is any deader in the head than
railway officers" i'... l'.
Pshaw !" says Shackleford "yeu
don't take. AU edditurs are dead
heads, an it's onacountable how you've
been overlooked. I'll fix this thing
right at onct. I'll give you an annual
pass"
"Is that the way the Mayor does it ?"
said I.
"To be sure" ..4- "a
The next day I got aboard the cars,
an there was Tom Winterbottom ahead
of me. But the conductor knew his
trick like a gambler, an nobody was
any the wiser until somehow it leaked
out, J. reckon, all along of Winterbot-
TOMS ridin' over the road so much.
jest about this time the company
wanted to dig two-foot trench acrost
to the new settlement. They'd made o
perfect lake of the old town, chopped
up the old town hall for kindlin' wood,
an did purity much as they pleased. an
no one could say boo because the town
was purity much theirs to do as they
pleased with. But when the Town
Council learned about the Mayors free
ticket, they kicked up terrible rumpus.
They held secret meetin' one Sunday
in ST Sturgiss grocery, an swore SOL
emnly the company shouldn't strike a
pick in the trench until the matter was
settled satisfactorily. That fetched the
company. They knuckled at onct, an
every man got free ticket.
Same time writ colyum an three
quarters in the Streamer of Liberty
dwellin' on the importance of the early
completion of the new trench. almost
made myself believe that the new trench
was necessary to the salvation of the
State, an without it ruination might
fall upon every last feathero of the chick
ems in the limits of Goosetown. I took
occasion to point mockingly at the
prostrationof Smoky Run, proved that
more butter an eggs were sold in a
week in Goosetown than were sold in
Smoky Run in two (Which wasn't so
wonderful, considerin' Goosetown was
twice as big), an came down on the
Town Council severely for their shilly-
shallyin', temporizin' policy. So coun-
ellis was compelled in a manner to rec
ognize the Importance of the two-foot
trench.
The company got along for a-spell
first rate after that. They broke down
a fimpsy bridge or two, KILN about a
dozen people, an all strangers, but the
Strean1er of Liberty demonstrated that
such accidents were unavoidable, an to
be expected, like any other dispense
ton OF Providence.
But one day the widow Klingenfel-
ters COW got her nails pared ruther
close right on the edge of the new set
tlement. Leastways the heft of the
testimony tended that way. There was
forty witnesses swore the COW was fair
on the line between the old an the new
town, an as many swore she was more
than half on the old town. Twas
mighty clost swearin'. The widow was
very popular. She was rich an remem-
bered Observation-Disclosures her enemies.
Her COW was ruined, an she wanted its
value. The company's lawyer said he
pay for the hoof, but he wasn't in the
milk trade. The judge wriggled out of
it at last. You'd never suspect how.
Said he to one of the widows wit
nesses: .[.
Chow was the COW headin' ?"
For the old settlement" said the
witness, afore his LAWYER could give him