Daily Yellowstone journal., 1884-07-22
NEu FORK LEDGER wRlTeRs.
WIN They Are PaiA..Sylvaaus Cebs,
80. ana Hew he Grew Famous.

WIN They Are A..sylvaaus CsbS,
No.. ana Msw Ne Grow Fansus.
New York Letter In Indianapolis Timsal
asked Mr.. Bonner il "The Gun.
maker of Moscow" written by Sylvanus
Cobb, Jr., as We all know, did not make
The Ledger its early fame.
"No," he said, The Ledger had l00,-
600 subscribers before ever published
that; though / hold that The Gun.
maker of Moscow Uncle Toms Cabin,
and The Hidden Hand are the three
greatest stories this country has ever
produced.
The Hidden Hand" as everybody
knows, is Mrs. Southworth's work,
and is now running in The Ledger Ie
third time. The Gunmaker" has also
had third term before the public.
Every few years new generation of
readers arises that devours these stories
as eagerly rs did their elders quarter
ola century ago. Both have been drama
tiled with success. Sylyanus Cobb,
Jr., has written for The Ledger al.
most ever since Mr.. Bonner has
owned it. He lives in Boston, and
is the son of q distinguished preacher
of the same name who died q few
wears since. When Mr.. Bonner first
employed him he was a proof-realer,
and in odd hours wrote stories for
Gleason's Pictorial, literary pictorial
which has been succeeded by Ballou's
Magazine, think. lie was the great
card of that journal. and received
higher pay than any other contributor
-siO0 for story running through six
numbers; not q princely sum for a
serial now surely, but considered quite
ample then.
The publishers of Cleason's Pictorial
offended Mr.. Bonner by printing
paragraph to the effect that the prices
he claimed to pay TO some of his con-
tributors were fictitious. The same
number of The Pictorial contained an
advertisement Of The Ledger which had
been solicited. Mr.. Bonner wrote t.le
publisher, asking him if he thought it
either courteous or honest 10 solicit q
favor and get it.and then do his best to
damage the man who had favored him.
He replied he did not, and was very
sorry his paper had made such
an erroneous statement; il had
been done in his absence, etc.. had
"crept" in, probably. as errors always
make their entree into newspapers ii
the editors assertion is to be taken as
fact-nobody ever heard OF one walk
ing, or jumping or riding in. Still he
couldn't publicly take back what his
journal hal said, although "very sorry,
very sorry" etc. Mr.. Bonner replied
that lie never took o private apology
for public wrong. Meantime he east
abort for some means of reminding his
adversary that he could not he openly
slapped without resenting it, He wrote
Sylvsnus Cobb o note asking if
he was under contract to work
only for The Pictorial. II not,
Mr.. Bonner intimated that he
had something to say to him. He
was not restricted in any way, and. as
requested, he told what he received for
his stories. Mr.. Bonner at once Of
fepsd him double the amount for Q story
and contracted with him for Ave more
before he announced him in The Ledger.
The publisher of The Pictorial was
away from home when he heard the
news, and at once telegraphed Mr..
Cobb to make no permanent arrange
msnts with anybody else until he re-
turned. But the mischief had already
been done, and Mr.. Cobb was on the
high road to fortune. Although Mr..
Bonner only paid him $500 for his first
story, he has since paid him as high as
$4,000 for some Of his work.
just before employing Sylvanus Cobb
Mr.. Bonner paid Fanny Fern, then at
the height Of her fame as the author of
Ruth Hail." $1,000 for o ten.column
story. For fourteen years afterward,
or until she died, she never failed to
write every week for The Ledger, her
crisp and dashing comments on men
and manners occupying q noticeable 20.
sition on the fourth page. They were
eagerly read, too. by all classes Of read
ers.
Indeed" said Mr.. Bonner, Fanny
Fern never could have written anything
dull, even II she had tried; neither can
Henry Ward Beecher."