Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-07-23
WORKING FIR FUN.
Recreation Of Wealthy Profess
sional and Business Men.
Amateur Carpenters of More Than Ordi-
nary Skill-A Master Mechanics soft
Snap''-A Banker With n NanI>
For Tool-Sharpening.
[Chlcago News.

[Chicago News
"Send that planed stuff up this after
noon, sure" said the head of West Side
carpenter establishment yesterday, giving
one Of his men the address of WE'LL
| known business man who resides in a
suburb.
| Business appears to be rather lively, !"
yentured bystander.
"Yes, the regular legitimate business is
booming, but that job you saw just now is
clear velvet. It's soft snap"
"How's that:" queried his listener.
why, we don't do the job at all. We
let banker or business man pay us for
the privilege of sweating over it himself.
We furnish the raw material slightly
smoothed down and the millionaire car
! penter does the rest of the work. OF
course we charge him just as much as if
we finished the job"
THAT Is something new, isn't it? Do
any of the miIlionaires live in houses they
built themselves:"
"Oh, it isn't so, now," answered the
| bcs' carpenter. ats what Il known a s
amateur carpentry 1t ragged several
years ago, died out little, and now it's
: broken out again. There are several
wealthy men l know, however, who have
kept at it for the last ten years. They
/ don't build houses. They work al all kinds
of odd jobs. Most of them have special
ties. South Side physician and sur
| geon devotes his leisure time to sawin e and
planning. He measures up piece of hard
| wood with professional air, and then
| sets to work saving with the great est
! care. It is rather natural for a su rgeon to
/ be saving, you know. He comes home
from his round of calls excite d and nerv-
ous, but after neatly amputating a piece
of hard oak timber he is always rested and
quieted.
lone business man sent for me to report
at his house at ten o'clock at night and
| not TO bring my tools. knew he was lib
eral pay and reported on time. He re-
ceived me as though / was the President,
and, after giving me glass of wine, es-
corted me to room right back of his par
Tor, and not far from his wife's bed-r room.
1t was filed with lumber and odd bits of
carpentry work. He began by telling me
that he had an important job which he
wished me to superintend and help him
occasionally with my advice. I bega to
get little frightened, but was treasured
when he brought out set of the finest car
penter tools l ever saw and also produced
a hox OF fine cigars. Then he pulled off
his overcoat, drew on pair of overalls,
donned an embroidered leather apron
and tegan pulling out n number of large
| pieces of seasoned English oak. He then
told me that he intended making O chest
| fitted up with d, awers and lockers of his
own invention. He had big sheet OF
paper on which he had drawn off every
piece to be used in its construction.
''He went to work, and for four hours /
sat there smoking cigars and occasionally
giving him directions about saving and
| fitting. That was all he wanted. He knew
there were number of simple little points
he never would learn himself and that was
what he had me there for. ! never saw q
man work like he did. He was a natural
born carpenter, and / would give good
deal to have n few such men in nv shop
He hammered and sawed and split away
there for all he was worth, and while he
was working be told ME that his wife was
used to il AMI didn't mind the noise. He
said he went to work at carpentering be-
cause he took to it naturally in the first
place, and because he could work and think
at the same time. When he finished, as nice
and neat che { a. ever set eyes on was
standing in the middle of the ROOM He
paid me literally, said he hoped wouldn't
think he was crazy, and dismiss ed me with
profuse thanks.
I'D like few more jobs like it," con-
cluded the boss carpenter, lighting a
Wheeling "stogy" and thoughtfully blow
ing the smoke through his nostrils.
7 al
ers:" exclaimed big hardware dealer
when questioned OIL the subject. "Well, I
should say did. This is just the season
of the year, and garden tools arc going off
at a brisk rate. Most of my customers
live in the suburbs, and the majority are
rich men. They are nearly all very par
ticular. They want hoes of a certain
weight and size, rakes with certain bend
and of just such fneness or coarseness,
as the case may be. They are just as par
ticular on sickles and garden trowels
They work to rest themselves, and finally
get exaggerated ideas of their skill They
think they are the only men in the world
who can hoe or rake a led, or even cut
grass with a grass hook.
"By the way, there's one man-you'd be
surprised if you heard his name, but l
can't tell you, because I'd lose his custom
at once-who has queer conceit. He's
grinder and sharpener. didn't know
what to make of him at first, although
knew who he was. He kept buying emery
wheels, whetstones and grindstones until
he had an account that would make your
hair stand up. He also bought any guam
tity of CUTLERY and sickles and hoes. He
kept complaining that the steel in these
articles was of very poor quality. The
mystery was solved at last, however
One day the coachman called to buy two
new sickles. 1 questioned him, and
in reply he said his master had queer
freak. AS soon as he comes from his bank
ws.i, ahem, he's banker-he goes out to
the tarn and goes to work sharpening
everything he can lay his hands on. Moth
ing Is sharp enough for him. Everything
in the house is on keen edge, and he's
had half a dozen good cooks leave him
owing TO the danger OF cutting off their
fingers while washing the table cutlery.
The funniest part of 1t is that he was
formerly sickly and ill-natured when he
returned from his business. His health
and temper have both improved since he
began devoting an hour a day to using
up my good material--for which he paws
a good price," concluded the hardware
man, with a laugh.