The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1875-12-30

The life of James Emmitt, as now be-
ing published in the Waverly Republi
can, is exceedingly interesting The copy
right is secured, but Mr.. Wetmore will
not complain if we publish the following
extract:
/ kept on at the store trading, and the
sale of. liquors was very profitable, but |
conducted it on an Independent princi-
pie which sometimes led to scenes that
my mind goes back to, and it causes me
to wonder that the result of such rough
work should not have resulted in my
losing my own life or taking the life of
another At that time there were no such
inducements to adulterate and poison as
what exists now, and the article sold
was sound, but sometimes men would
come to my place after they had been
drinking to excess, which made 1T evil
dent that they ought not to have any
more, and / always would persist in be-
ing my own judge of whom l would sell
| to and whom would refuse, and just as
is the case to-day. some applicants would
insist that if kept it for. sale ! was COM
PEELED to sell it when called for, without
being entitled to the use of any discre-
| tion on my part and in the instance
which 1 am now going to mention the
difference in opinion caused a lively
time. At first the work on the digging
of the canal was done entirely by the
inhabitants from the adjoining country,
but gradually few Irish worked their
way down into this locality, and one
evening very large and powerful son of
Erin, who evidently had partaken as lib
orally as was judicious, came in, when as
matter of course his demand for drink
/ he
al argument about my having no power
to refuse, ending in the declaration that
he would help himself, in all of which he
was backed by a companion and a coun-
| tryman, not much less powerful than
himself, but when they began to put
their threat into execution and COM
menced to take possession of my premises
/ was obliged to act on the defensive, and
seized the larger fellow to put him out,
when he caught me by the throat and
backed me up into the corner in style
which showed very clearly that he meant
earnest work, which required active and
decisive action on my part. With sud-
den lift of the knee l struck him such a
blow as to deprive him of his hold on my
throat, and Instantly seizing piece oi
oak plank hit him alongside the head,
but he was about as tough as an OK, and
came at me with such fury that knew
the work was to be rough and hot even
if was not to get the worst of it, and in
which case l knew by the look of his eye
that my life would have been sacrificed,
and it was probably owing to the knowl
edge of the desperate character of his
companion that the smaller man with
drew at an early stage of the affray, re-
turning as he did with others, just in
time to take living man out of harm S
way, for by this time he was pretty well
used up, although still making his best
efforts, and should have been obliged
to have struck him again, and as was
now warmed up to the work it is not
likely that the blow would have been
given with any less force, and probably
with not as much judgment as those he
had already received; as it was he lay
for three weeks in critical condition,
but finally recovered and was quite a
civil man from that day out This is
mentioned to give an idea of how rough
and self-reliant men were obliged to be
| at those times