The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-05-06
HOW DAVIS GOT START.
Told BY \ Gentleman Who Lived
Near Him inthe EARLY
Days.
Ingenious Plan By Which He Sc
cured Several Barrels Of
Cherry Bounce.
IT. Beaman Knew All the Witnesses to
the Will-The Davis People
in Iowa.

IT. Beaman Knew All the Witnesses I
the Will-Thc Davis People
in Iowa.
ID. g. Beaman, president of the America;
Trotting association and now secretary an
general attorney of the Colorado Fuel com
pany, with headquarters in Denver, Col
knows as much perhaps as any living maj
about the affairs of the dead Montana mil
l~ionaire. Andrew J. Davis. MIR. Beaman be
gan life in Iowa when it was on the frontie
almost, and he began at the bottom an
worked up. A Chicago Tribune reporte
recently sailed on Mr.. Beaman and said:
II understand you once lived near A. ]
Davis and know something of his curious
lifs?"
eyes," replied Mr., Beaman. "In the fall
Of 1861 or spring Of 1852, do not now re-
member which, I was transferred as station
and express agent to Independent Station
(now Selma), in Van Buren, county, Iowa.
The Keokuk, Des Moines and Minnesota rail
road was in process of construction up the
Des Moines valley, being then just COM
pleted as far up the river as Ottumwa. In
dependent was the shipping point for a
large territory lying west, including Davis
county, Iowa, and a portion of northeastern
Missouri.
"Andrew j. Davis then had a large distil-
lery at Blackhawk, about a mile from indie
pendent, on the other side of the Des
Moines river. About that time the distil-
lery closed down, but MIR. Davis had on
hhr1 oyoA cforaH ~ &bn hpil1inra cnvaral
hundred barrels of whisky, high wines, and
cherry-bounce. This liquor was several
years old, and was made when material was
cheap and before adulteration became COM
mon. and hence was pure n choice in
quality. The cherry.bounce was made from
wild cherries picked in Davis county and
put in some of this liquor. and had become
fine and smooth and consequently valua-
BILE. Mr.. Davis was then arranging to re-
move to Montana, and sold or agreed to sell
the liquor to Emil Sterne, a clothler of
Keokuk, Ia. Before the delivery the law
imposing a revenue tax of So per gallon on
all liquors manufactured after that date
was passed. This liquor, not being subject
to the tax, immediately acquired an en-
HANGED value of s. per gallon, amounting in
I'LL to $50, 900 or $4,000, a sum considerably
above the original value. Davis refused to
complete the sale and deliver the whisky.
sterne at once replevied it and brought it
over to Independent Station for shipment.
Before cars could be had Davis procured an
injunction restraining the shipment, and
for several days 1 had more whisky on a
than l could take care of. as it was piled up
in the depot and all around it on the plat
form, so that l had to employ men both
night and day to watch it. The appetite
Tor whisky was good in those days, and in
spite of the Waterman Cor probably with
their connivance) the barrels were bored
into through the depot floor and platform
and bucketfuls carried away. ore barrel of
I have no doubt that if things had con-
---.inusavse for amonth every drop of the
liEuor would have been carried away.
Judge Knapp. of Keosauqua. ~(after-
wards my law partner) was Davis attorney
and to him he went for assistance, the in
junction being the first step. But as that
only prevented the shipment of the whisky
and did not take it out of Sterne's posses
sion it did not satisfy Davis. He desired
possession of it himself and wanted Judge
Knapp to get a writ of replevin, but the
latter advised him that as it had already
been replsvined by Sterne a second replevin
would not stick. Davis was of an impsr-
ious nature and was determined to get the
liquor and demanded that Judge Knapp
should procure a writ of replevin and he
would be responsible for consequences, that
he didn't care whether it stuck or not in
the end if it only would stick long enough
to put the liquor in his possession once
more.
"Judee Knapp also advised him that he
would have to give a bond in dou-
BILE the value OF the liquor, and if
he was defeated in the suit, as he
certainly would be, he would gain nothing;
and, besides that, he must i'll order to OBJ
~, %ha wait ,ac1o "a AZ Il wit %hof - I,l ,-@
already been taken by Sterne on q similar
writ, and that this could not be done with
out committing perjury. This condition OF
affairs would have stumped almost any
other man than Andrew j. Davis; but he
was not of the kind to be thwarted by any
such obstacles as these. He was something
of a lawyer himself, and with very little
hesitation evolved Il plan the ingenuity of
which | have never known equaled.
"a somewhat crude and almost obsolete
prohibitory law enacted some years before
was then in force in Iowa, and under it
such a sale as he had made to Sterne was
probably unlawful, the liquor c%ontraband
and not recognized as property, although
Sterne had SO treated it and had replevied
it rs SO many barrels of liquor, making nc
reference to the barrels as such in fixing
the value, but basing the value on the liquor
alone.
Davis directed Judge Knapp to draw a
SNANA w SPASN viz D AApAllS
80 many as wooden hooped' and 80 many
IS iron hoped and stating their value to
be from SO cents to ST each, but saying not
a word about the contents.
A the barrels had not been specifically
referred to in Sterne's writ. Davis without
hesitation made the affidavit that they had
not been taken on any previous writ, and
on giving a bond in double the value of the
barrels, about $500, he procured his writ
of replevin. Simultaneous with the service
of the writ he had a train of cars and an
engine at the depot and as soon as the
liquor was again placed in his possession
by the sheriff it was loaded on the train
and run as quickly as possible to Omaha,
where 1T was without any delay loaded on
an OK train and soon on its way across the
plains to Montana. Ieleeraphs were scarce
in those days and l do not think Sternt
learned the direction it had gone until he
heard of its starting across the plains.
believe that Sterne, finding himself SO com.
pletely outwitted in the transaction, fnall,
settled with Davis for a few hundred dol
lars.
lit seems that Sterne had in view thu
passage of the revenue law when he ne
gotiated the trade, but Davis was SO busy
getting ready to go to Montana that he haC
not kept himself advised. Davis, however