The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1881-05-18
LINCOLN
Got Into the Grocery Business and How
ii Terminated.
g Lack Of Business Qualities
and How He Was Worried
Over a S4OO Note.
The Wrestie With Sam Thompson at Roci
Island, and Lincoln's Proposition
Afterward.
Correspondence Of Inter-ocean.l

that grocery at Salemf INQUIRED OF Mr.
Green
HE and man by the name of Berry
bought it out" replied Mr. Green, thinking
they were getting great bargain; and they
were, had they known anything about bust
ness. But Lincoln was no fnancier, and
Berry was an unreliable sort of fellow, and
the result was not very encouraging
"Who did they buy OFF,
"Of mel''
"Youl"
Eyes. You see, it was this way. A man
by the name of Ratford came from the
South and started n grocery at Salem. His
wife's sister lived near here, and they wanted
to be together. 1t was the fashion then to
keep liquor in the groceries, and once in q
while a crowd from one of the surrounding
settlements would gather at Salem, get to
drinking. and make things lively for a while.
Just above US here there was such a crowd,
and those composing il used to be called
the 'Clary Grove set Rstford's brother-in-
law knew them pretty well, and the first
time he went down to Salem he told the
former that he was afraid he would have
trouble with them.
"Why, I'll fight any one of 'em," said
Ratford.
FIGHTING THE "CLARY GROVE SET"
'That won't do any good" said his broth
er-in-law. "If one can't lick you, two will
try, and if two can't do it the whole crowd
will jump on you. The best way is to wait
quietly till they come and then try to make
friends with them. Don't give them too
much whisky, and maybe you can do it."
So Ratford sat down to wait. A week,
two weeks, three weeks passed, and the
dreaded gang did rot come. Finally, his wife
wishing very much to visit her sister, they
concluded to leave younger brother in
charge of the store and go up and spend
Tuesday with her. They went, and that
very evening the Clary Grove set rode into
town. They wanted drink, and they got
it. Then they wanted another, and get
that. When they called for third, the
young man in charge told them they had
enough and he could not sell them any
more.
"You won'tl" said the leader. "Boysl''
he yelled, che amt goin' to sell US no more
pizenl Oh, no, of course he won'tl" and q
yell of derision went up.
"The boys tenderly lifted the little weights
from the counter and merrily began plugging
the glass jars on the shelves Remonstrance
was useless, and in ten minutes the floor was
strewn with copperas, alum, spice, ginger,
sulpher, nutmegs, etc, ETC., ankle deep.
Then they tapped the whisky barrel, and,
filling themselves full of benzine, rode out
of town yelling like
BAND OF INDIANS.
''The homes of the ''set" were in the neigh
borhood of Ratford's brother-in-law's and
about 3 o'clock in the morning the yelping
of dogs, the chatter of coW-bells and the
whoops of the "set" returning home aroused
Ratford and the household
"That," said the brother-in-law, is the
Clary Grove set. Ratford, they've been TO
Salem, and I'm afraid the grocery is gone
up"
"Ratford was very much excited, and
going to the stables mounted horse and
started away for Salem.
cit happened that the same morning, /,
then boy still in my teens, had started on
horseback with grist for the mill at Salem.
The mill was small affair, and unless one
was early on the ground he had to wait a
long time for his grinding. was riding
into Salem about daylight when R4tford
dashed by me, his horse covered with foam,
and refined up at the door of his grocery.
There was a small window at one end, and
as he got off and stood in the door / rode
alongside of the window
AND LOOKED IN.
'sYou see that picture on the wall there"
said Mr.. Green. swell, that is a rough
drawing of the grocery, and of myself and
Ra.ford, and the town as it was that
morning. AS was wondering at the ruin
inside, Ratford, almost bursting with anger,
struck his fists together and cried
"I'll sell the grocery to the first man that
makes an offer for it."
Looking in at the window L sang out,
'I'll give you $500 for it.
"tAll right, you can have it. said he.
al didn't know what 1 was buying, but
it looked to me as if it was still worth twice
that. / told him who was, that didn't
have TIE money, but would give my note,
and there and then the trade was made. L
was still standing amid the broken jam,
hardly knowing what 1 had done, when
Lincoln came across from his boarding
house and looked in.
"'What's up, Bill?' said he.
II told him what 1 had done, and he
laughed till he nearly cried. 1t looked so
funny, he said, to see me standing there in
the copperas and sulphur newly-fedged
merchant.
"'You must have
AN INVENTORY
right away said he / remember that was
the first time had ever heard the word in
ventory,a had kind of dim sort of no.
ton that it meant another smash-up; so l
said, Much obliged, Lincoln, but l don't
want any more inventories here.' Then he
laughed and explained, and pretty soon
came over and helped me to take an account
of stock. We found when we got through
that there were about 81, 200 worth of goods,
and I felt pretty well over my bargain.
Then Berry came around. He talked to
Lincoln and finally they offered to take up
my note to Ratford, give me a horse, saddle
and bride, and $3.50 cash for my bargain,
and accepted it. The money was all in
silver, and that night L started home II had
sent the grist back during the day. feeling
pretty proud.
ait was rather late when / got to the
house. and when opened the door, father,
who slept in the room, gruffly cried out,
Who's there2'
"It's me" said /.
"Oh, it's
THE MERCHANT"
he exclaimed, derisively, "Who you goin'
to get to clark for your You back off to bed
now, mighty quick. I'll give you store in
the morning"
He was very mad, but instead of going 70
bed threw some kindling on the fire, and
it blazed up, making bright light. I took
handful of silver out and threw it on the