Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1892-07-29
RG. TENNESSEE. FRIDAY, JULY 90. 1892.
THE SQulRE'S MISTAKE.
An Incident of Life In the village Named
After Gen. Grant.

An Incident of Life In the Village Named
After Gen. Grant.
H. Zebulon Hawkins memory is re-
vered in the hamlet of Grant, N. Y, as
that of man of phenomenal foresight.
Zebulon rode into the military post at
Sackett's Harbor, N. Y, one October
day back in the fifties, with fat buck
across his saddles pommcl. He sold
the venison for double it's value to
lieutenant of infantry there stationed,
who, in addition to the big price paid,
housed the huntsman over night. Zeb
was a bit troubled in conscience over
the big price he had put on the deer,
particularly so because of the lieuten-
ants show of hospitality. So he evened
things up a year later by naming asset
Element that he founded Grant in honor
of his host. Years afterward, when the
lieutenant became acknowledgement,
Zeb told people that he had foreseen
Grants greatness
Grant had one hundred and fifty peQ-
pie within its limits when | was born
there thirty years ago, and the census
to-day will show but little change. 1t
lies in the very heart of the great
"North woods of New York. Grant
people to this day tell the city tourists
who stop there on their way to the
Joe's lake fishing the story of Squire
Harden's internal machine.
1t was in the spring of 1879, and the
first newspaper that came to Grant
afterthe snow went out of the road con-
tanned an account of the receipt of an
Internal machine by New York judge.
Internal machines were new to Grant
people, and the story was talked over
nightly at Deodatus Wells general
store. The machine as described was
about the size of a cigar-box and was
wrapped in brown paper
Squire Harden, of Grant, was holding
justice court over in Bethune, a mite
of a village in our township, when the
Bethune people had rounded ~ Some
timber thieves and the tHstfce htadsgiven
them the limit of the law in fines and
imprisonment. He got back to Grant
Saturday night, Monday noon a
stranger rode into Grant from the di-
rection of Bethune, and, going straight
to the Harden house, left with Sally
Bcecraft, the guides daughter, who
was hired help" at the Squire's, u
package done up in brown paper The
stranger then struck out over the rail
road trail. | was boy of ten years of
age at the time, and l had listened
open-eared and open-eyed to the tale of
the Internal machine. saw the
stranger deliver the package to Sally;
the New York story with its attendant
horrors rushed over me and l
bolted for the squire's sitting
room, reaching it before he had
united the string of the package.
fairly got on my knees in prayerful ter
ror lest he should open the thing. He
heard my story and was so much struck
with it that he backed away from the
package and valiantly called in Sally
to take it to the yard. She knew moth
ing of internal machines, and gave the
box shake that called forth wall
from me. The package was put out in
the yard close under the caves of the
house, and the squire called in the
neighbors, who agreed with one accord
that the box was an internal machine
sent by friends of the men whom the
squire had sentenced at Bethune.
The justice was now swelling with
added Importance. 1--WE iurists," he
said to Blacksmith Farraday, run
tremendous risks because of our devo.
ton to duty"
Every one had suggestion. Throw.
ing the box into the swift-rushing West
Canada creek was the favorite proposal,
but when the question arose as to who
was to throw it, there were no answers
in the first person.
The miller finally suggested rolling a
heavy stone off the roof to smash the
thing, Grant people knew nothing of
dynamite, and explosion by conclusion
was not feared. The idea was acted on
and the squire said that as l had
warned him first ! should have the
honor of smashing the box So my big
brother sat on my legs while leaned
over the edge of the roof and dropped a
tcn-pound chunk of Trenton Falls sand
stone on to the box. The stone hit It
square. There was a crunch and one
hundred of the best cigars that ever
found their way into Grant were re-
duced to powder. There was an I'M
porter's blue stamp on the remnant of
the cover and among the ruins were one
hundred red and gold paper bands with
the word "Perfectos" on each.
Ike Masters, who had never smoked
anything but clay pipe and stem clip
pings, was the maddest man in Grant.
He said the squire was n coward and
said this unmindful of the fact that he
himself had watched the breaking of
the box from the top of a tall pine.
The 'squirc's influence was gone aud
he was defeated for reelection the next
fall by George Stcarns, who had studied
law for three months in Scoharie--
Chicago Tribune.
Great Fun.
Suburban Boy-Pop, won't you get