Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-03-05

braska, a Minnesota congressman,
and various other dignitaries, all
speaking highly of him. Some thought
that there was rather too much re-
semblance between the handwriting
of the various letters, but it was de-
cided that this was too trivial mat
ter to stand out about, and the man
was taken in, Of course on an exact
equality with the others.
The new man gave his name as
Peter Hapgood, land soon settled down
to work. He was generally voted an
eccentric sort Of a fellow, and one
with whom it was difficult to become
intimate. He seemed thoughtful and
much given to examining the horizon
and making calculations on his boot
leg with a piece of chalk, hastily
erasing the figures if approached. His
personal aspect remained about the
same. He always wore the appear
ance of having had his beard singed
off rather than shaved, and it was the
popular belief that he caused a NINA
ture prairie fire to run over his face
every Sunday morning. At the table
he seldom spoke, but leaned far over
it and set little stacks Of food into his
mouth in much the same manner that
one would set a stack of dishes into
dumb waiter Not much attention
| was paid to these little peculiarities,
nor, indeed, to the man himself, till
one day in the fall when he had
misunderstanding with William Hyde,
chairman of the board Of managers,
and generally looked upon as the
leader of the colony, if there can be
leader where all are equal.
The trouble was brought about by a
political argument. Hyde said the
government ought to issue four hun
dred millions of greenbacks without
delay to make money easy. Hapgood
answered that any darned fool ought
to know that two hundred millions
would be sufficient. Hyde replied
that he knew of one darned fool that
didn't know anything OF the kind.
Hapgood's lip curled with scorn as he
said that he was sorry to say that he
knew one too. Of course peace with
honor was only possible through fight
ing.
Now it happened that the constitu-
ton of the Progress operetive
Brotherhood prohibited all quarrel
ing and fighting, and in the contract
which every member had signed
when he joined he agreed to do ev-
erything in his power to stop any
trouble which might occur in the col
ony. But when Hyde and Hapgood
rose and faced each other they all
forgot this agreement, and formed a
ring and encouraged the combatants
with loud shouts. The engagement
lasted ten minutes; it probably would
have been longer had not Hyde at the
end of this time found himself in
bent and disjointed condition, able
only to lie on his back, wave his arms,
and roar Justify. Hapgood was un
harmed, and after offering to give a
similar lesson in political economy to
any man wanting it, and getting no
reply, walked off. The others held a
public meeting, and passed resolu-
tons pointing with pride to the
peaceful tone Of the Brotherhood, and
viewing with alarm the recent occur
renee.
Affairs ran on quietly enough for
the rest of season, though it was gen
orally conceded that William Hyde |
was not proper man for chairman
of the board Of managers. Some talk
of Hapgood for the place was heard,
but the election was still in the future.
Winter closed down early, and after
a considerable snow storm there was
a thaw, which was succeeded by ex-
tremely cold weather, which made
the roads icy and slippery. Cord
wood was selling for twelve dollars
cord at Yankton, forty miles distant,
and there being considerable timber
along Choteau creek, the Brother
hood wished to send as much wood as
possible to market. But there was
difficulty in the way. The colony was
provided with oxen only, no horses;
and the icy condition Of the roads
made it necessary that they be shod.
Now it happened that though there
were two or three horseshoers among
the Brotherhood, there was no one,so
far as known, who could shoe oxen.
This may seem strange to the reader
who is not an OK owner, as no doubt
some readers are not, but the fact is
that the shoeing of the patient OK Is
delicate matter. In the first place, an
OK can never be taught to stand still
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