Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-03-23
From Harper's Magazine for March, 1871
A HELPMEET FOR HIA.


His name was John Detmold. Judg-
ing by his name, be must have
been of German descent, and he was
merely country boy, living a hard
life upon a farm in what was then the
wild interior of Ohio. For years he
had grubbed and ploughed, had heed
and reaped, with eyes fastened upon a
harvest beyond that of his corn and
yellow pumpkins, more than that of
his summer hunting and his midwin-
ter trapping And now the long-look-
ed-for Christmas had come at last, and
he was on a visit to the town which
was at that date the metropolis of all
that region He was nothing but a
coarsely clad rustic, as thickset, sun
burned, utterly uncouth and awkward,
as could be found, and he had driven
to town in cart laden with the care
fully dried skins OF many a squirrel
and rabbit, raccoon and deer. Igno-
rant as the lad was, he had, where
money was concerned, a skill which
amounted to science His lumpy hand
had hunger for cash which was sur
passed only by the grip with which it
closed upon and kept whatever coins
came within its grasp. Possibly he
inherited this from parents who, in
Germany, most likely, had to struggle
for life, with the wolf of poverty for
ever upon the threshold Certainly
his farm experiences had deepened and
hardened in him any such tendencies.
Indulging now in none of the tempta-
tions of the town, be gave himself dill
gently to getting the highest price in
the market for his wares, and persisted
until he had sold the last skin, ond
buckled the last cent obtained therefor
about his waist, and next his person,
in belt which he had himself made
for the purpose.
But his long-anticipated object in
coming to town was something be-
yond even that. He had been born
with. or bad in some queer fashion de-
veloped within himself, an appetite
which money was but means toward
appeasing. When he first came, he
bad put up at the cheapest tavern he
could learn of, and the clerk thereof
had been greatly amused at the fire.
quency With which he had drank at
the water faucet, drawing cup after
cup thereof for himself. After that it
seemed as if he would never be done
washing his face and hands, filling and
the tin pan, and filing it
again. Greatly refreshed, he went
out to make his sales Immediately
upon his return to the tavern he again
exhibited strange fondness for water
considering how cold the weather was
A gain he washed his hands and face
at the sink in the little room adjoining
the bar turning on the water for the
purpose frcm the brass faucet. He
took long time at it, letting the
water off and or, of and on, as if he
would never get through. When he
had dried his face and hands upon the
brown rollcr-towel, he found himself
to take vet another drink, holding the
pewter mug under the faucet, and
watching the rush and foam of the
liquid as topper might have done the
pouring out Of whisky. How far is
it to whar it c, mes from p he asked
the Office clerk. But that gentleman
was too busy with his cigar to do
more than repl, Up street > and John
Detmold Easter ID in the direction in
dicated, until, having climbed the hill
which overlooked the town, he found
and fingered long upon the banks of
the reservoir which supplied the fluid
in which lie SC, mcd to find such pleas
ure
As he came ack at last he hardly
looked in at the windows of the stores.
There were signs along the street tel
ling where, to Judge from the delinea-
tions thereof upon the boards, the
thickest and br, wnest of gingerbread,
the most foan:y of beer, were to be
had but the lad regarded them not,
save with eyes in which appetite was
sternly repress,d, and, arrived at his
tavern, he refre, he'd himself with au-
other wash ] hat over and no one
being in the little room to see, he held
his followed palms side by side under
the faucet, watching the force and and
froth of the wdter with eager eyes,
STOPPING to drink occasionally from
his overfowing hands with more zest
than if it had been, instead, the choic-
est Champagne.
NO, | don't believe III take any,
thing he replied to the clerk, who
acted also as purveyor of the manifold
liquors which adorned the shelves of
the bar. His thirst was only the
stronger, in consequence of the water
he had drank. for that which had
brought him tc town, and, asking his
way along the street as he went, he
found himself in the end at that
Power House If which be had heard,
and with wonder, for many year.
The metropolis was the Rome of his
Imagination, lut this lowroofed brick
building uron The bank of the river
was to him tie st. Peters of that
Rome. John Nctmold entered rever-
emily, ard stood gazing at last upon
the divinity Which had established
here its shrine. The farmers return
ing from the tt wn had brought wonder
full stories of the water-works, new
thing in that region at that datc, and
the tidings lad awakened beyond
everything else a certain slumbering
something within him. He could not
remember when be had not pondered
over the idea force thus caught and
cased, ard maiG to lift river into the
air, as it were, ard pour it in power
full currents thr ugh streets anu houses
hurting it in ca;aracts upon buildings
Never had he seen machinery before
For the first tine in his life he could
crafty the era, ing of years. And now
at last he stood, his mouth open, his
eyes feeding themselves upon the
steam engine. 1t forced the water, as
he knew, through underground pipes,
to the reservoir he had visited That
was the hoilor this was the cylinder