The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1893-06-17
TEN YEARS LATER,

IdNcTu.
"Know Mr.. Bolton? Well, / should
rather say did. 1 can remember the
time when jeremiah Bolton didn't have
second shirt, had doubts about the
first shirt, to his back. Jobs turkey
wasn't in it with Jerry-I allus used to
call him Jerry an he used to call me
Hiram. There warn't no misters be-
tween us them days. Some of you
boys think yourselves smart, but there's
none of you could hold candle to Jcre-
miah Bolton. No, sir. Last lection,
when there was talk of running Jerry
for guvnor, knowed Jerry wouldn't
take no nomination. What did he
care about being guvnor? Why, Jerry
Bolton could buy the hull state eff he
wanted to-"
Most of the governors have to do
that" said bvstander.
"Well, Jerry amt that kind of man.
Fact Is, they don't build men like Mr..
Bolton nowadays. Why, remember
eleven years ago, before Jerry took out
his patent. an he was feelin' kind O.
discouraged, says to him: Never you
mind. Jerry, your times a-comin'.
You'll be able to buy out the county
some of these days. Why, there wasn't
a man in this town believed in Jerry
but me. There was old Deacon Swipes,
him that's dead and gone. He used to
say to me: Hiram. 1 can't imagine what
the devil you see in that wuthless coot,
Jerry Bolton The deacon used to
swear just a little, cause he'd been a
lumberman once, and a man has to
swear when he's bringin' down q raft,
but he never knew he swore, and no
body liked to tell him, and him dea-
con. Why, the preacher, he used to-"
what did you say to the deacon
about Bolton?"
'Oh. says to him: Deacon, you're
all right at SEEM anything that's right
under your nose. but you're no good at
dealin' with the future
"The preacher attended to futurity.
/ suppose"
Jess so, jess so. But the deacon
could never see why took such trouble
with Jerry, but knowed he wasn't no
common kind of man. He had a way
OF lookin' past you and Of not hearin'
what a person was sayin' to him
that"
Lucky man.
Exactly. He was always a-studyin'
and a-studyin' in his mind. We used to
talk about his patent, and, though he
never'd tell what he was fgurin' on,
You could tell which way his mind was
turned. Hiram he used to say to me,
great inventions, like the air brake and
the telegraph and the standard oil COM
pany, they's only thought out once in
life time. 1t takes big man to invent
them sort of things, and I'm only a
small man, Hiram He was always a
modest man, was Jerry"
"That was because he was so much
in your company"
swell, anyhow he used to say that
what he wanted to invent would be
some little thing that everybody would
want to have and couldn't do without
once they had it, and that wouldn't
cost much, and wouldn't las long, and
yet would pay fifty per cent. to the
maker of it. Hiram he used 20 say to
me, If soap wasn't invented, that's
what would like to invent and get
patent on He never could have lived,
ef 1t hadn't been for me. Lived in q
house l owned at that time, and most
they got,to eat come of my farm. I
never bothered him about no rent nor
pay, and when he was troubled about It
used to slap him on the back and say:
You wait till your ship comes in"
didn't he pay the mortgage on your
iarm. Hiram?"
swell, that's neither here nor there.
That's a private matter 'twixt him and
ne. Besides, it was like this: ! put
hat mortgage on, to get the money for
MS patents"
"Why. it was in the papers that the
nan from New York put up the cash."
Nov young man, you keep your
'hirt on, and don't be too smart.
lidn't need to use no money for that,
because I brought Jerry the man from
New York. Twas me introduced 'em.
The man from New York made a good
enough thing out of it, and. he can
hank me fur it, not that he's ever done
t."
"But Jerry was grateful"
"You bet he was. And he didn't
want to hurt my feelings nuther His
wife she came to my wife with the pa
'ers that Jerry had bought up and she
avs to my wife: Hiram was good to us
When we was poor, and so you give him
hese ere papers fur a present. Then
erry's wife, thinkin' of the hard times,
suppose, she breaks down and cries,
nd my wife she keeps her company,
nd them two women had a good cry
ogether."
''Over your goodness, Hiram. 1 sup
ose."
''Well, that's neither here nor there.
cry knows who backed him up when.
was hard sleddin' fur him, and now,
y gum, he's rich enough to buy us all |
ut and never feel it, and has a big
ouse in New York. alias said that's
vt,,t u A.