New Ulm review., 1894-01-24
sssChat has been distorted. IT was re-

with my father, but didn't seem to Get
anywhere. Forgot as diligently as 1
read. So far as school equipment was
concerned, was an advertised idiot; so
what was the use? I had trade, but it
was hardly what wanted to do always.
and my health was bad VERY bad-bad
as was! 81.
"a doctor here in Greenfield advised
me to travel. But how the sufferin' Mo-
ses was to travel without money? It
was just at this time that the patent med
lclne man came along. He needed a
man, and Iargued in this way: This
ma man is a doctor, and if must travel,
better travel with DOCTOR He had
hne team, and nice-looliing lot of fel-
lows with him; SO I plucked up courage
to ask if couldn't go along and paint
his advertisements for him." ...
Riley smiled with retrospective amuse-
ment. IL rode out of town behind those
horses without saying good-by to any
one. And though my patron wasn't
dlploma'c doctor, as I found out, he was
a mighty fine man, and kind to his hor-
ses, which was recommendation. He
was a man of good habits, and the whole
company was made up of good straight
boys"
'How long were you with him?''
"About year. Went home with him,
and was made same as one of his own
lovely family. He lived at Lima, Ohio.
My experience with him put an idea in
my head-a business idea, for a wonder
and the next year Iwent down toAnderson
and went into partnership with young
fellow to travel, organizing a scheme of
advertising with paint, which we called
'rhe Graphic Company We had five
or six young fellows, all musicians as
we'll as handy painters, and we used to
capture the towns with our music. One
fellow could whistle like nightingale,
another sang like an angel, and another
played the banjo. I scuff1ed with the
violin and guitar
81 thought so, from that poem on
The Fiddle in The Old swimmin'
Hole"
"Our only dissipation was clothes.
We dressed loud. You could hear our
clothes an incalculable distance. We
had an idea it helped business. Our
plan was to take one firm of each busi-
ness in town, painting its ADVERTISE
ments on every road leading into the
town: Go to Moneys and things like
that, you understand. We made a good
thing at it,"
elbow long did you do business?"
''Three or four years, and we had more
fun than anybody" He turned another
comical look on me over his pinch-nose
eyeglasses. "You've heard this story
about my travelling all over the State as
a blind sign painter? Well, that started
this way. One day we were in a small
town somewhere, and great crowd
watching us in breathless wonder and
curiosity; and one of our rarty said:
'Riley, let me introduce you as a blind
sign-painter.' So just for devilment I
put on crazy look in the eyes and pre-
tended to be blind. They led me care
fully to the ladder and handed me nv
brush and paints. It was great fun. I'd
hear them sayin' as worked, That fel-
Ter amt blind.' yes, he is, see his eyes,
NO, he amt, tell you, he's playin' off,
L tell you he is blind. Didn't you see
him fall over box there and spill all
his paints"
Riley rose here and ghinglJ re-enac-
ted the scene, and don't wonder that
the villagers were deceived, so perfect
was his assumption of the patient, weary
look Of blind person.
Cali got of farm life picked up
right from the distance this town-th;s
old homestead. Of course, Greenfield
was nothing but farmer town then, and
besides, father had farm just on the
edge of town, and in corn-plantin' times
he used to press us boys into service and
we went loathfully, at least did. I got
hold Of farm life some ay-all ways in
fact, might not have made use Of it if
/ had been closer to it than this. Z.
Sometimes some real country bow
gives me the round turn on some farm
points. For instance, here comes one
stepping up to me: You never lived on
q farm, he says: why not2' said I. Well,
he says, g turkey cock gobbles, but he
don't ky-ouck as your poetry says He
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