The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1889-04-06
A RIDE WITH A DRUMMER.
SELLING GOODS BY SAMPLE IN A
BIT OF WILD COUNTRY.

Good Trade. Good Collections and APP
parently Good Time-A Delicious Bill
of Fare at vivian's-A Smart Ozark Girl.
Tho Monthly Letter at Sparta
1t was my good fortune to fall in with Two
commercial travellers at Forsyth fancy
county, and ride with one of them as far as
Sparta. Christian county No one who de-
sires to enjoy life will fail to fall in with COM
mercial travellers in the west Mt every oppor-
tunlty, for what they do not know about the
section their route covers cannot be learned
by intelligent and persistent inquiry The
drummer's outfit in this country consists of
the best team Of roadsters to be had, q light
covered carriage, and few grips for samples
slowed beneath and behind the seats One of
the two men was MIR. AL Baldwin, in the
hardware line. the other Mr.. Charles Blood
with groceries Next morning the drunmers
drove out OF town at O'Clock They had
sold good bills at the three or four stores, Just
US they do ut every trip AL took NE with
him. The other carriage was loaded pretty
tull by its driver
GET Up, TANGLE"
Get up, Tungle! get up your end of it,"
said Al to the lazy off horse Easy, jim"
about selling goods in the Ozarks, eht /
reckon can tell you something about it.
Been driving over this route for four years
Its GN miles long, and we 60 over it once
every month We take in all tue country
down to the second tier Of counties III Arkan.
ssls sell about SsU,OOU worth of hardware
year Charley sells a little over $lUu, ,UUU in
groceries We sell about all there is sold
have the only wagons regularly on the road
The house makes about 25 per cent on the
gross sales. Coilectionst Good, you bet.
Get up, Tanale. get up your end of it.
Why, the house only lost one-half of per
cent OH the whole years trade last year, and
we do just that every year. People make n
great mistake who think this country is set
tied with outlaws They ure the most honest
people i'll the world. We start out with Sam-
pies, stop ut every place, take all the orders
we can, send them ill., and the house ships the
stuff to the nearest railroad station. That
may be lUO miles from the store where tho
order was given The merchant draws tho
stuff from the station to the store in wagon,
camping by the wayslde as he goes. We
open the account in January, and never get
a cent for the stuff until December
"Our payt They give us 81 $40 year and
expenses. 1t costs 81 - day ON tile average
for a man and team, Cheap, ehe Good iv
Ing, too generally You ought to go trip
with US. Glad to have you, you bet. IL, like
to take you down to Bakers field, in Ozark
county Say, he's dandy, that Vivian is
He Keeps hotel Yankee style Got Yankee
wife, sees The day before we are due lie goes
hunting when the season is right. What do
you thnkt VeIi,on steak brollcd for break
fast, with raw fried potatoes. and for fear we
shan't DO satisfied with that he will have u
few broiled rabbits or squirrels besides For
dinner we have fried fish, quail fricassee,
roast wild turkey and apple dumpiings
Hows that!
WHAT MADE CHARLEY HEAVY.
'Gct up, Taugic; get up your end of it,
For supper, quail Oh toast. Always get taat
bill of fare in the season. Nothing Ike it.
Look at Charley. Nearly 200 lie'll weigh
a ton by the end of next year Sometimes
we don't doas well, though. 'Tisn't the fault
Of tho people They do the best they can
When tho roads nre bad We may not reach Il
hotel Then we wish we were at Vivian 5, or
ut the Finley house III Ozark. These arc the
two best places on tine road
Get up, TanGle, get up your end of it
Sometimes VIC get something good Were w
don't expect it. One day we get caught by a
rainstor,n, and night came Oh and found us
wallowng along over new road. 1t was
tough, and we had just agreed to camp out
under the carriages when we heard COW bell
We followed that sound, and by luck it took
us down Laul way to u cabin 1t was dark,
plumb dark. Every one was i'll bed. Tho
old man catne out When we called. He si,l
he'd get one of his girls out to cook supper
for US, and then helped us with the teamS
There was plenty Of corn and roughneas fur
them, and we soon had them comfortable
Then we went in, but saw no signs Of supper
or anything but beds full Of childsesaS.: In q
t1.t..l.g2, however, the Ga.d man invited us
through the back door into u lean-to kitchen.
What do you Think There was a table, with
clean White cloth on it, napkins at the
plates, Il stack of steamin2 hot biscuit, u
stack of fresh baked sweet potatoes, platter
of fried ham and eggs, u pot of steaming cof-
Zee and pitcher of sweet cream beside u
bowl of granulu,ed sugar AT the head OF
tho table stood the gal the old man had called,
biushinS in the presence of strangers, and
looking all the prettler for it. told her so,
She was only years old, and yet she'd
cooked that supper in little over half an
hour. She wanted to apologize, at that, for
not doing better Bless my soul
Get up, Tansle. get up your end OF it
Talk about making money This is the coun
try There's Ozark, in Christian county
They started bank there two or three years
ago They divided 30 per cent on the capi
tai last year, and will do better this know
a druggist there. Fine fellow, too Deserves
his luck. Got the handsomest wife in the
county lie came there less than two years
ago Hadn't cent. He'd bursted up once
somewhere else, and went to work on salary
and paid off everything, when he might have
got off at fifty cents on the dollar Gave
him credit, eht You bet. Started in there
with stock bought on tick. He's got 81, Ia
in the store now, and all paid for Has 90.
agood stake in bank, and he's laying by q
hundred a month while living like a prince
What do you think of thati
Get up, Tangle, get up your end Of it,
We're going home now. We've covered over
co., mics i'll twenty-six days. Good ride, eht
What do you think Of thatf Family, Well,
should smile. There's letter waiting for
me at Sparta. There always is. She knows
| what day Ill get there She wrote it yes.
| terday. sect Down at the bottom of the last
page thcreil be lot cf sprawling letters,
but can read EN- They'll say Nice pap,
CT something. That sthe little one. Familyf
We'd, | shouid smile.
Get UP. Tangle; get up your end Of it,
1 Sparta tlio.J Cor. New York Sun
1 ssefa ap,y Tonrv