The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-04-11
HOW HE GOT THE BLUES.
An Incident in the Life of Jayhawker-Indigo
Catches Him.
San Francisco Alta.

Catches Him.
San Francisco Alta.
An Alta reporter was chatting on the Oakland
boat with a friend the other day. when the chat
tee said 20 him: Ibid you ever see a blonde
IndianW The reporter for once admitted there
was something he had not seen, lingering on the
admission long enough to give the Angel of Rec
ord q whack at the incident. Pointing across
the deck. his friend indicated a close-knit. tall,
businesslike man who, sure enough, in
his features was q perfect image of
Blackhawk, chief of the Sacs and
Foxes, albeit he was blonde and sandy as the
typical ScotcLman. Know him?' said the party
of the second part. mot Why that's Jim Wood
ard. who did more to give the Cincinnati Enquirer
reputation by his s~Jayhawker' letters than Gath
has done by his toploftical tumblings in the
same paper. Woodland is now the San Francisco
agent OK the Wabash road, trying TO recoup
himself for losses"
In many respects Woodland ia a remarkable
genius. He is the product of Warren county,
Indiana, from whence he went to war In the
Union cause, and it was during his service on the
field that he developed, in his correspondence to
local papers, those marked characteristics as q
newspaper writer, which subsequently made him
a somewhat famous character in the journalistic
profession. de somehow got an undeserved
reputation for being a studious and un-
compromising liar. Those most familiar
with him are sincere in believing that
Woodland was honest and conscientious in his
work. much of which. however sensational, was
usually found to be truthful, and was never
gossipy or scandalous. Next to newspaper work,
Woodland had a weakness for railroading, and
for a number of years past he has had more or
less interest In various enterprises of that kind.
After tie close of the war, Woodland went to
Tennessee, got into politics and ultimately
into the Legislature. BY one deal and another
he had managed to save up something
like $4,000. About the time his bank book
showed a balance represented by these figures,
a mysterious individual came to Memphis, rent
ed rooms, and with closed doors and blinded
windows he pursued some sort of star chamber
Investigations and experiments about which the
curious manifested much interest, but could
learn nothing more definite than that little
which they cleaned from the mysterious strang-
er's frequent visits to drug stores, and his pur-
chase of divers compounds.
In the course of a few weeks Woodland was
taken into the confidence of the weird alchemist,
who told a fairy story of what he had accom-
plished after years of patient toll and industry,
and at the sacrifice of a fortune which had been
left him by his father. then deceased. In brief,
he had discovered a process for the manufacture
of indigo by a combination of chemicals and
minerals, by which the cost of production could
be reduced to a mere bagatelle. The solemn
visaged alchemist was p%lethoric of statistics
and pregnant with visions of untold profits.
But he was broke. and wanted a partner to help
turn the discovery to profit The sincerity and
enthusiasm of the man had turned the head of
the shrewd and worldly journalist, and for the
first and probably the only time in his life. he
was a chump. He visited the rooms of the
chemist and inspected the process of manufact-
ure. He was YET skeptical and cynical, but the
man agreed to the severest tests. Provided with
a formula, Woodland himself went forth to the
druggists. He spent fifty cents in the purchase
of compounds with strange Latin names.
With his own eyes he witnessed the
alchemist throw these into the hopper
of his machine. There was a rapid turning of
a crank, a sound of crushing rolls and cogs and
things, and a minute later a receiving box at the
rear of the machine held two pounds of lump
Of the old machine. Woodland was astonished
with wonder. HIS stranger friend with a look
Of proud satisfaction, appeared wise, but said
not a word, his expression conveying more elo-
quently the famous remark Of Daniel
her" Woodland was half converted already.
He took the indigo to a chemist of
established reputation and had it analysed.
It proved to be the genuine article. so he said.
The fly newspaper mar was captured. The pro-
The market price was 81. Hundreds of thou
sands OF pounds were consumed annually. 1t
looked like a sure fortune In sight. He hastehe6
to close q contract for a half interest, by the
payment Of 81, 500 to the serious and clerical
looking inventor. who took him in
share equally in the profits. but
should not possess himself of the secret of the
invention Two days were then spent in the
manufacture of indigo. at the rate of about 200
pounds q day-a profit of $500 per day-$l20
clean income to each partner every twenty-four
hours. The impecunious journalist was wild
with delight Then the senior partner Gisap-
peared; also the money which Woodland had put
into the firm. He found that he couldn't work
tho machine, and after weeks of patient wait
ing for his absent partner, he had the machine
raken apart His hopes were blasted by
the denoumenk All the drugs that had been
put in the hopper were skillfully packed in q side
anartmank Of tha strunturA. anafhAr annrtmanf