Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1892-02-13
HERE LIVED A GENIUS.
JOHN a PATTERSON, A POOR
SCOTCH WEAVER.
He Carved on the Ciihs of His native
Town a Remarkable Representa-
ton of Lord Byron's Pris-
oner of Chill on.

John Patterson had genius and big
family And he was poor 1t was a
bad mixture. He couldn't nourish
both genius and the big family ana be-
ing humane man and irresponsible
for the existence of the former and re-
sponsible for the presence Of the lat
ter he cheerfully and manfully faced
his parental obligations and told gen.
ius TO take back seat Pity It's,
twas so; although we have less rea-
son TO complain than we should have
had had the humble John passed away
without leaving any evidence of his
wonderful natural abilities And
Dysart-dear old Dysart would have
been poorer by far. writes H. G. +.
! in the Chicago Herald.
The waters of the German sea dash
1 into the Firth of Forth sweep round
the little bay on the shore OF which
nestles the auld burgh town, kiss It's
feet and roll back into the ocean.
Towering near the water edge is the
! greatest object of interest in the town
the ruin of the once famous cathe-
| dral of st. Serfs. II is a monument
TO the architectural gloryof PARKWAY
past The great blocks of masonry,
worn by The ceaseless grind Of time,
the massive walls and the remarkable
arches tell of an age by no means de-
void OF architectural triumphs. Hoar,
slanting tombstones lie between the
ruins and the sea The place is
neglected, the once magnificent struc-
ture is now pigeon roost whore the
feathered possessions of Lord Rosslyn
bill and coo, the table stones are over
grown with thick. long grass. and the
visitors to this Gods acre are the
town boys who play "hide and seek, -
Il spy and other games among the
tombs and gather blackberries that
grow where
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.
1t was to such place that 1.-The star
that rules our luckless lot sent John
Patterson TO preside at a handloom
and weave bed ticking and table linen.
1t must have been an accident that
brought him into possession of q copy
OF Byron's poems, for times were hard,
and it was only by long and trying
labor that he kept the porridge poi
well filled. While waiting one DAY
for new web he turned to the -Pris
oner of Chillon,m and here is what be
read:
And then the sigh he would suppress
OF fainting natures feebleness.
More slowly drawn, grew less and less
| listen'd, but | could not hear,
call'd for was wild with fear;
/ knew twas hopeless, but my dread
) Would not be thus admonished;
} / call'd and thought / heard a sound;
, burst my chain with one strong bound
rushed TO him, found him not:
, only stirred in this black spot,
only lived, only drew
The accused breath of dungeon dew:
The. last. the sole, the dearest link
Between me and the eternal brink,
Which bound me to my failing race
q Was broken in this fatal place.
: John Patterson couldn't sleep tina
!, night He walked the floor like maj
4 Gemented. Early next morning he
: left the house with a hammer an,
chisel in his pocket and a mile east o
the town he attacked the red sandston
cliff. But the section on which h
worked gave way and he hal to jun
Tor dear life Nothing daunted. b
4 set 10 work on another portion Of tn
red rock. Night after night when tn
Il days labor was finished he was at hi
II favorite resort cutting, carving, Dor
d ing and scrapiug, surrounded by gap
ing crowds OF his fellow townsmen
n At last after long and patient labo
II the finishing touches were given an
: the work was complete. There wa
; no unwilling no speech making. n
banquet. John Patterson cast a Low
:, ing glance at his pet work lit hi
Guilty pipe, slowed away his hamme
n and chisel and went home 10 weav
h bed ticking and table linen that tn
hungry stomachs Of his weans migt
V be filled. But the work remains an
t will endure long after Byrons famou
o poem is forgotten.
u Ii is to n common stonemaSon thi
&c Scotland owes one of its best statue
OF Sin Walter Scott; ii Is to plain job
= Patterson, the Dysart handloom weav
. err. that we are indebted for The Ma
is in the Rock. Some day-the soonC
Of the better-the Saul Burgh' may ten
down the Victoria jubilee lamp III,
al stands in the center OF the town m
ic on the site erect to the honor OF job
ip Patterson. haudloom weaver and scull
ie tor. fitting monument And whC
q that day arrives none will more will
ingly assist than the Dysart laddl
u now resident in Chicago
Nv nv" tVsi''o'i' a.
of
Y. An Empcror's Romance.
II Few people know of a little romano
nnnnnntnd with the enrlN life Of Em