The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-10-20
THE LIGHTNING ROD DAYS
PecksSun.l

neiV, says ousineSs man, as he
 came down the avenue one morning ,h,s
 week. to melancholy looking chap ,ha; had seen better days, you look liuIe of color. What you up to no~ z,
 o. little of everything" said ,h.
 hard-locking citizen. lust been the rounds of the fairs selling soap to erase
 greese. Money enough in il, when yos can get bar of common soap for fye cents and cut it up into fifty pieces. and
 sell them for ten cents, with a little tn. foil on, but the grangers are all on to the
 scheme, thanks to the dunn newspapers,
 and a man can't make a decent living
 Why. three years ago you were sell
 ing lightning rods, and flying high," said the merchant You had a diamond
 pin, and champagne was no, good enough for you. We'll, time changes al things"
 There's where you are right" sad the hard-looking citizen. And the newspapers are to blame for i, all.
 have seen the time could make tif;y dollars day putting up lightning roGs.
 Drive up to house and talk 10 man about rodding his barn, a, so much fooi. and ne would figure tha, |, would cost. say, siN'een dollars, and he would sign an order. Before the ink was cold would have seven or e.sht men with ladders all over that barn. They would go over II like cats on back fence, and pu; points on every corner. and con- ductors down every side. The farmer and his family would look on in amaze ment, and be so pleased at the improved look of the old barn that they would no, kick al the number of points. Then we would 50 off without collecting the bill. and Tn about week our collector would come along with bill for three hundred and eigh,y-seven dollars and forty-seven cents. and the farmers note. all signed, and demand the pay. The farmer might faint away but he had 10 pay ii. c, of course, If he seemed hurt, we would throw of the odd cents, )ust to show christian sptit. But the condemned newspapers have kept talking about high way robbery under the disguise of light ming rod peddlers. till i, is as much as mans life IS worth 10 go through the country on lightning rod wagon. Ac,u- ally. they chased me out of Dodge county two years ago with dogs. A, least thought they were after me. but found out after got out of the country alive that t was pack of hounds be- longing to Van Brun;, of Horizon. after a foN. But want to say ;o you m con- hdence, that when heard those hounds, and saw the men on horseback. no streak of greased lightning ever made better time than l did with that lightning rod wagon. felt almost IS scared as did out m Minnesota dating the Ozier willow excitement.
 Nha, abou, the Oz.er willow excite ment:" asked the merchant. "l never heard about that
 Didn't you ever hear abou, ,ha, : We'll. l must tell you. Tha, was foo good and the seedy man laughed. " Don't you remember, about fifteen years ago, the agricultural papers were advocating the planting of Ozier willows on prairie farms. Every paper was full of Il. They claimed that if farmers set out Ozier willow cuttings, around the farms, they would grow so rapidly and hardy, that the nrs, year the willows would make the best kind of fences. and after that they would furnish an unfail- ing supply of fuel My partner and 1 went out in southern Minnesota. and we took orders for over thirty thousand dollars worth of Ozer willow cuttings. Every farmer snapped at them. We wen, 10 the bottoms. along the Mississippi nver, along in the spring, and GU, willows, these common willows. and in the spring we delivered them and took our money, or the farmers notes, which we sold a, the banks. The farmers set out the cut tings. expecting to realize all that the papers had said. don't think d single willow, ot the tens of thousands that we delivered. ever grew. They were of no acooun, on earth. never thought much of |; afterwards, except 10 laugh at the farmers, till four years ago some fellows wanted me 10 go out in Minnesota. shoot ing chickens. l didn', think l would see any body had ever sold willows to. but one day our party took dinner al farm house. near Albert Lea. The farmer looked at me. and after a while he says 10 his wife, Marian. tha, man looks like the pirate that sold us them Ozer wiliers," and Marian put on her spectacles and looked at me and said, >' Hiram, i, is the same critter. as sure as you live" Well, was Tn fix. But l tumbled to myself in an instant. and got up from the table and shook hands with them, and told them had seen the error of my ways, and joined the church. and was now ,ray- cling through the country making amends for the swindle, by paying back the amounts that had been paid to me. and actually paid that old granger nine dol lars and sixty cents. and then the old fellow was so pleased that he asked me 10 lead in prayer. But kicked on that, and when he told his boy to saddle up the old mare and go around to the neigh bors and tell them ,ha, the Ozier willow pirate had got religion and was there 10 pay them back, l told the boys we had better so out and shoot a few more and come back 10 supper. and could pay them of in body. We go, away and took freight train for Austin. and | go, out of that country alive. but heard they. were prepared to lynch me. wouldn't go back to southern Minnesota tor a million dollars. 0, times are different rOv No,,