Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1890-05-21
UP SPURrS A STEADY STREAM.

UP SPURTS A STEADY STREAM.
emily had plenty Of money, for he lived
we'll and bought considerable land.
"All of a sudden, without giving any
notice, Pipkin shet up his saloon and
went to work to build a cider mill. 1t
want no one-horse mill, neither. 1t
wur a big affair, with a cooper shop and
every thing complete. At tho same time
Pipkin built himself large, two-story
house, and set to work with hull lot of
help Gall strangers) to farm his Land. He
had tho biggest farm in Wood County
nigh on to 1900 acres, though more'n
half OF it wer woods.
Inside OF two years Piplin wor doing
the biggest cider and vinegar business
in Northwestern Ohio; only what puz-
zled the neighbors wus where on earth
he got all his apples-for Wood County
warn't much Of apple section them
days. However, nobody cared much about
Pipkin's affairs. The women gossiped
considerable, but the men folks let him
alone. Pipkin warn't inclined to be
noways neighborly; he never gave any
ono round them parts a job, and he done
all his trading way off. All his help
was strange, and even the teamsters he
hired he fetched from Toledo. Once
old Uncle jeff Smiley, as wer kinder
old and inquisitive like, did undertake
to ask Pipkin whore he got his apples,
but he didn't get no satisfaction for his
pains. We all took the hint and didn't
bother Pipkin, and it got to be that no.
hrIxy k11 y 4
to the surly codger.
''But apples or no apples, friends or'no
friends, Pipkin run that there cider mill
of his'n full blast. and jist everlastingly
kept three and four teams a-hauling
cider and vinegar in barrels to the rail-
roads Ho shipped the stuff all over
to Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Toledo
and Detroit, and even as far as New
York City.
"Well, sir, by tho end of tho fourth
year Sam Pipkin must have made pile
Of wealth, and it wer about tibet there
time that my old uncle, Seth Sander
son, died. Uncle Seth had lived for
years in Sandusky, but owned land in
Wood County, which he, being sorter
misery, wouldn't sell for no price.
There was nigh on to two hundred
acres, and Uncle Seth willed 1t to me.
This lot, mostly in TIMBER was west OF
Pipkin's line, and, being sort Of mar.
row strip, ran out clear to big Wood
County swamp, nigh on to two miles.
''First thing knew Pipkin came to
me and wanted to know my price for
Uncle Seth's strip. But as hadn't
thought it over I put him off for week,
and tho next day, with Levi Ransom,
set out to kinder inspect my new be-
longings. We got polzing around in the
sile, and purity soon Levi he run his
hickory stick in some rery soft earth,
and then struck something real hard,
and curious like. Then we both of us
scraped and scratched, and at last we
managed to clean of two or three feet
length of iron pipe-small pipe, such as
city folks use for gas pipe.
"'Wal, I'm burned! says Levi, and
says I: well, I'm burned
eve speckerlated and guessed till we
was tired, and at last says Levi: 4 have
it, says he; I'll run home for drill
Uevi being a blacksmith, and he went.
He wer back in an hour, and in a few
minutes he had little hole drilled.
Then up spurts steady stream, taller'n
a man, of pure, strike-yer-dizzy aohisty!
Yes, sir, whisky, and no foolin'!
"Well, sir, you might have knocked
me and Levi over with straw. and we
had to both of us sample the liquor jest
to brace up our nerves. But we didn't
go off half-cock, by no means. Levi
plugged the pipe with small stick of
wood, covered up the hole and we
started off for Toledo. When we came
back we brought with US the supervisor
and two or three deputy United States
marshals.
''Next m orning, bright and early, we
tracked that pipe line, sir, right through
Uncle Seth's strip way into the swamp,
and brought up at big pretty we'll
built shanty. The marshals captured
the place and two men, and discovered
one of the finest whisky stills you
ever heered tell on! Then we followed
tibet pipe back again for more'n five
miles, and we landed right into Pipkin's
cider mill.
"'Well, sir, it wer considerable Of q
Joke on US Wood County sleepyheads to
think thet ther Teller Pipkin had fooled
Us for years, now, waren't it?"
"Cider? Ha, hap ..~
''Vinegar? Ha, ha, hap
We'll, Pipkin didn't get ahead Of the
revenue men, to any large extent, and
he put in about ten years at Columbus.
Yes, sir, these pipe lines are mighty
handy things, but you see the Standard
amt the first to lay one in this section.
"Here comes your train. w. =. s.
Atkinson, in Detroit Free Press