Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-07-23
Greeley Among the Pixies.

Greeley Among the Pixies.
The Famous Editor Bathing his Feet
in . Horse Trough.
At the annual salo of wild lands
for taxes in Pike county, last week,
several tracts once belonging to
Horace Greeley we're disposed of.
Horace Greeley at one time owned
! 2, 500 acres Of land in Pike county.
In 1843 he formed the Sylvanian So
ciety, aud established u community
on the property after the plan Of
Fourier, the French social econo-
mist. Large buildings were erected
and at one time 125 persons were
active members of the society. Mr..
Greeley invested $4,000 in the en-.
terprise, but it was a disastrous fail
ure. He believed tina. he had been
made the victim OF land sharks and
the ultra Democratic views OF the
Pike county natives. This inspired
him to publish in the editorial col
umns OF tbs Tribune several bitte'
articles against the county, in one OF
''ich occurred two expressions that
~ w. IKE Countians never forgave.
" T P;ta =. unity" said Mr.. Greeley,
6. 49,, mo ~ 'lv for its scrub oaks,
its osofoco oio mao. ti's 1s and aidns its rattle e
snakes. There are hve ga gal;onS o p;,ea o,
whisky to one spelling b. s'ok IN IN f.Re IL :,
county" When Mr.. Gree. y n.n. ,"u
for President in 1872, Pike COZ. IVY
good at any time for nearly ,O~
Democratic majority could hardly bs
induced to give any majority for him.
Half Of the vote, almost, refused to
come out, and the county was just
saved to the Democrats, and that
was all.
Once, before the Fourierite Socie.
ty had failed, Mr.. Greeley paid a
visit to the spot. On his way back
to New York, the stage coach broke
down several miles from Milford.
Mr.. Greeley walked the rest of the
way to this village. He arrived
here in the condition of confirmed
tramp. "Uncle Sammy" Dimmick
kept hotel here then. He was one
of the dozen or so of Wings that
dared the Democratic forces in the
plaSe. He was a bluff. curt man,
but kind and generous. Horace
Greeley was bis idol. He had never
seen him but often declared that he
would consider it the proudest mo-
ment of his life to meet the great
Wing editor. When Mr.. Greeley
entered the village after his long and
dusty tramp he CHANGED to stop at
Dimmick's tavern. Uncle Sammy
was in the barroom, and in one OF
his worst humors. Mr.. Greeley
walked up to him, and in his pecu-
liar falsetto voice said:
81 am very tired and dusty, sir.
l would like to have room where l
can wash my feet"
Uncle Sammy looked the seedy
and dirty stranger from head to foot.
Believing him to be an impudent
tramp, he beloved out, in voice
that could be heard over half the
town:
GA room to wash your feet in!
Why you id impudent scound-
rel, 60 out to the horse trough and
wash your feet!'
A large public trough stood in the
street at the corner of the hotel.
Mr.. Greeley walked quietly out to
it, took off his boots, and began
washing bis feet in the trough. Cor
ne;ius DsWitt, father of John E.
Dewitt, the well known New York
insurance President, at that time
kept store opposite Dimmick's tav-
ern. He was also Wing, and knew
MIR. Greeley. He saw the man at
the trough washing his feet, and
Uncle Sammy standing on the hotel
piazza looking at him with intense
disgust. Dewitt walked over, rec
ognizsd Mr.. Gre ley, and at once
gave words to his surprise. He
beckoned Uncle Sammy to the spot
"Mr. Dimmick," he said, 1 want
to introduce you to Horace Greeley,
the editor of the New York Ti-
bune."
Uncle Sammy never recovered
from the modification he telt over
his treatment of the man he would
have gone u hundred miles TO do
honor to. Mr.. Greeley took the
matter good-naturedly, and spent
several days with his Wing admirer.
-Myord (Pa.) Letter to the Ne,c
York Sun, June Fl.
POSTAGE STAMPS IN THE WORLD
To correct recent item that the
whole number of different postage
stamps known to exist in the world
is about 5000, London firm of
dealers writes to the Times to say
that this estimate is far too small.
They are now negotiating for the
purchase of collection of 5000, no
two of which are alike, and in 1877
they purchased for 1900 collec-