New Ulm weekly review., 1891-09-30
STORIES ABOUT COL. TRoGDEN.
Interesting Incidents in the Life of an
-.v Eccentric Character.

The passing away of the gallant old
colonel. j. B. Trogden, recalls to mind
many amusing chapters in a life that
was marked from the start by ups and
downs. AS everybody knows, who
was acquainted with him, Trogden was
a man of remarkable memory, keen
wit and ready answer. These often did
him good service in rebuking the hings
at his mlsfortunes, and never was any
one known to get che better of Trogden
IN tilt with words.
Shortly after he had met with rever-
ses wrich filched from him his proper.
ty, he was boarding at the Northwes.
tern Hotel in St. Peter, then run by A.
H. Benham. Trogden had dead-head-
ed his way for several weeks, and the
landlord finally grew tired of support
ing him. So one Sunday morning
Benham gave Trogden to understand
that if he couldn't pay for his board he
had better fall back onto the poor-house.
Without any hesitation and while pick
ing his teeth calmly with the No1thwes-
terms tooth-picks, Trogden retorted
that if there was a poorer house any
where than Benham's, he would be on
ly too glad to accept of it's hospitality.
This answer gave him board for anoth-
er week.
At another time Trogden permitted
himself to roast the same hotel to very
cruel turn. Drled.apple sauce had
contributed largely to the menu three
times day for three hundred and six
ty- tiye days during the year, but one
day for some unaccountable reason it
did not appear on the board Noticing
this, Trogden at once rushed to the Of
flee and demanded his bill. Unable to
understand such sudden and apparent
ly uncalled-for action, the proprietor
asked for an explanation. It came
when Trogden said that he was a lover
of dried-apple sauce and did moi propose
to stop at a hotel where, through mere
neglect, it couldn't appear regularly on
the table.
Il was in St Peter too, that the old
veteran aired his views on religion. One
day, an cquaintance-one of those fel-
lows who have a faculty of seeming
saint-like and who attend prayer meet
ings often, but whose souls, like that of
the Pharisee of old, are Shiny with
hypocrisy and deceit-came to Trogden
and inYited him to his room. He had
urgent matters, he SAID, regarding which
he wished to speak with him in private.
| Trogden consented. and when they
were quietly locked in the room togeth-
er, he of the holy turn of mind asked
the other if he had made any prepara-
tions for the other world. Trogden at
| that time probably thought of how his
spiritual advisor had cheated him on
former occasion, for his answer was
short and to the point ''No,'' he said,
Il have been kept altogether 100 ID
busy taking care of myself in this one,'
| and with that the other fellows mission
of kindness was brought to a decisive
end.
o o %
AS another instance Of how his ready
wit held him good, and as showing that
he did not believe that the clothes that
man wore necessarily made the man,
it is told that a public meeting was once
being held in New Ulm at (which sever
al local speakers, who prided them
selves on their powers of oratory, made
lengthy talks. During the meeting,
Irogden entered the hall. He was not
dressed SO as to look like an Apollo or
an Eaglish dude, or in other words was
not exactly prepossessing in appearance.
Addressing him, one of the speakers of
the evening remarked that if he wasn't
dulGS 81 I'LL GACy NOu1O linz W udfc
him make a speech. The slur drew
upon Trogden's store of sarcasm and he
replied that he regretted very much
that his personal appearance would not
permit him to say a few words, for in
all his life he had never been IN pub
lie meeting where there was such sore
need Of a good speaker as there was in
this case. With that he drove his. hand
through his unkempt hair, chuckled as
only Trogden could, and left the meet
ing.
It is related also that Trogden's lack
of money often caused him to invent
ingenious excuses for doing that which
he would not have done, had he been
supplied with more liberal allowance
of the common medium Of exchange.