Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-11-27

csa1s - - 1Anm-
km seveEal yesrs / haze been -
aa1nted With . TOOL. In order tore
neve any anxiesy which this sdmis-
sien may suddenly crease Ii the pub-
nc mind, will add that the sid fool
- not member Of the familv. He
bslongs - different nsfionalitv.
Was brought up In 3 different seafe'
and hasn't the least family resern.
olance- / have known this Fool II
use . big r this time) 70 al on The
bank OF the Detrois river. for q whole
DAY, watching for the water 10 aIl
run out I have known Of his start
ing out 70 cut saw log in two with 4
pen-kHife. have seen him pat his
shoulder % brick church and srv 10
push the edifice over. He WAS record
ed as Fool I'm public documents.
acted like . Fool-and had nv SYM
pafhies until the other day. Not hav-
ing seen hlm playing in the dust, or
grinning &C the .amp-posts for q week
OF 50, asked one Of his brothers II
Tom was Ill.
-Oh. no: Tom 10 all right he re-
piled We made up our minds that
ne would never amount 10 anything
around town, and 50 We sent him 70
the country 70 make q farmer ont of
him.
His words didn't strike me dumb.
for / have known many other fools
with big rs and little Isl to be sent
out on the same errand, There was
the caseof Hinchman. He had been
in the grocery business 20 years. He
knew enough 10 weigh sugar and tea,
and 10 measure out potatoes. and fig.
ure out the cost of two brooms al %
cents each, but he didn't know much
more. de was good-natured, quiet,
aud law abiding, and might have died
among his mussy behring's and faded
clothes pins. II fire hadn't burned
him out His loss was 1854 and q
cent or TWO, with eno insurance, and
he was ruined man. No he wasn't
either. After rejecting that he was
only sixty years old, weighed $50
pounds, aud had muscle enough 10
lift bag of bran, he concluded to
rent farm, do all the work himself,
aud come into the city again at the
| end OF five years with money enough
To start bank. When / asked him
IL be knew anything about farming,
he replied: -
Farmingl Why. any one can 60
out and run q FARM
Perhaps they can. But I kept track
OF Mfr. Hinchnan for year, and /
| found that he didn't make . great
deal of money. He didn't plant dried
apples, but he sowed his corn broad
cast, and planted his oats in hills aud
poIed them. He didn't boil his DO
tatocs before planting them so Is to
raise crop ready for the table: but
he did cut out and throw away allthe
eyes, 80 as to raise smooth, nice.
and symmetrical potatoes. He didn't
sow any bran because be forgot IL;
but he sowed oats and wheat together
| In order to get two crops of the same
field ut once. When / caught him In
town one day he wouldn't admit that
farming wss science, and that Q
good farmer must have the intelli-
Of successful merchant; but didn't
care 10 argne with him. He was get
ting ready to build q few rods Of rail
fence, and was buying step-ladder
to enable him to carry up the fifth
land sixth rails. He died after har-
vessing his FIRST crop; and when
crowd of us went out to the auction
We found that he had been planting
rufabagas under an old shed, where
the poor things wouldn't get SUM-
struck or drowned out.
/ That case wasn't more singular
than Biackstonc's. He was middle
| aged. cofpulent. wheezy-voiced law
yer, and might have been leading
light al the bar thousand years be.
fore knew him. He had consump-
tive son, daughter with weak eyes,
and wife no could only get around
or cruichcs. When Blackstone came
| into Office to advertise the fact that
| he wanted TO lease "a modest, COM
pact. eligibly situated, romantic-look-
ing farm" asked him IL he had had
any experience.
do you thiak I'm fool" he roar
ed in reply. II guess man who has
praciiced law for "a years, and who
has been justice Of the peace, post
master and assessor. knows enough
10 run farm! / want rest and re
creation, sir; and my family want
rest and recreation. sir; and we'll
take farm, and rest up, and make
some money. and by-and-by return to
public life, sir
| didn't argue with him; but / did
not forget to keep track OF his case.
lie secured farm and took posses
sion. He trimmed the orchard out
of season and killed most OF the trees.
When he should have been sowing
his wheat he was inventipg q patent
hen s-nest, and when he ought TO
have been hecing corn be Was max
ling. q water wheel for the creek 10
amnse his poor daughter. lie was
delighted when his corn shot up two
feet high and grew no more, rs II
wouldn't be so much trouble 10 pick
of the ears; and when wheat, oats.
rye and pumpkins were all growing
| In one field, be wished he had only
thought to mix in few potatoes and
cucum5ers. lie didn't pillow his land
rs other farmers do. but set q stake
In the center and plowed Ia circles
around IT, The idea was original,
the field looked more romantic, and
he further explained:
Mature has made everything to
work to q common center. There ID
a center 10 storms, 10 frosts, TO sea-
sons, to trade and finance, and why
shouldn't there be center to corn
tieldy"
There was center--it was half an
acre OF mud-hole. Blackstone insist
ed that he gathered Is ears OF corn
from that field; but lawyers always
lexaggerate about halt. you know. The
daughter got the idea, one day, that
one of the cows had the headache.
and she was bathing the poor crea-
lures brow with camphor, when the
animal struck her in the face with
one OF its horns and inflicted Injuries
which soon resulted In death Black
4 .. assx II 81 n -