The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1894-10-27

y l
! :: ! 4
WZhN - and enterpris-
MITk y M ing. In early
WI&MNNNWI youth he wasa
2T1lNN8HaM w eros SIR DIS
%NTW genius. The
U,\ country house,
wives. when their children had a new
| hat or a new knife or the like, useo "
saw at school time:
$50 long. now, and don't let Wesley
| Sterritt trade you onto tha@
swap with him at all"
No casual observer would even sus
pect him of shrewdness-a 1ac' WIZ
he turned to his own advantage in
MANY a bargain-but Wesley haa' do
though Nature provided special com
nensation for the shortcomings OF per
sonal attractions. peculiar manner
erca as to externalities, whether ms
own or those of other people,. he val
ned above par that which he hao anu
below par that which he hao no'' ne
was always in the attitude OF consen'
ing to an exchan ge rather than 'ha' =,
seeking it; he never fixed price, anu
never accepted one as long as tnere
was chance for better He was one
Of those people who could swap
h,sbel of corn for a bushel OF corn
and profit by the transaction' mai
: tanning a reputation for falr measure
! and inch-for-inch honesty. lie TO
! moved at sixteen from Flat ROCK 70
shiloh. He was rapidly advanced 70
forty dollars month and then TO part
, nership in dry goods store he soon
: became sole owner of the business
Z He added line of school books ana
= coffins. fiourished for ten or twelve
!, months. insured everything and got
y burned out. He went to Fairburn'
/ He Aourished, of course. Heexpanded'
4 as it were, to the limit OF his oppor'
. tunities. His enterprise was reveia.
= ton to his competitors. de had Toys
n for Christmas, valentines for the i4tn
4, of February, flags for the Fourth o.
= July.
:. IA leedle too sharp" some croaker'
20 said, commenting upon Wesley Ster
~ ritt's methods, intending to convey I'M
idea that he might some day overreaci
"a himself-'.jest leedle bit too smart.
- There were rumors that he sol
w. whisky-very profitable that, becaus
&c very risky, the town and county oein'
no dry-but the grand jury never did any
doo thing with it, and Wesley continue
-. TO prosper. He attended church an
&c Sunday-school regularly. ingratiatln
IA himself to degree with the demon
nation which had most adherents
-, that neighborhood. Eventually he b.
nv gan specializing in cotton. he SCI
as mysterious kilograms in cipher ana r
rn- ceived equally mysterious answer
,es The telegraph operator told all aoo'
old it, confidentially. The rumor WI
est speedily corroborated, as it could
90 in none but a small town where ever
frl body knows every body else and ever
,ch body else's business.
do "He don't know how to let we
yir- enough alone" the neighbors said
Use. Wesley. Hes in too big hurry
the git rich. He's gettin' over his depth
ice. Fairburn held its breath awhile
the the expression is semi-figurative'
ing course--in expectation of a catastropf
hill the sudden annihilationa Of Nesl
rtly Sterritt. The negroes, who heard 7
4 in white folks whispering about 1T, look
for the earth to open up and Literal
hill swallow him. There was no fins
,ch- cial crash, no crack of doom, no sem
ally ton of any sort. The man simply CO
one tinued to prosper. The town rubt
and its eyes and looked again, to be certs
2. A Wesley was still there, and then
lent liberately settled down to the c.
cas- viction that he was great fin'
only cier-a man who could hold
hich own in conflict with the MOI
ar kings of Wall street He came
ath be regarded as an oracle in the mat
of speculative investments. No list
trustees or directors could be compl
,,;r. without his name. He was offered
mayoralty and declined the honor.
had store burned up, fully insured-a I
60 of which some envious people and
insurance adjuster. referring to
n.y. similar experience in Shiloh, mad
,to1 suggestive coincidence-but Yves
collected the money and removed
ATLANTA. Some people wondered
,ou,d he didn't GO on to New York at o.
mt a instead of stopping in smaller pi
than a limited field, like Atlanta. VIVA
should have done, or might have d.
,rt.r. are considerations foreign to the
pose of this narrative, which is
signed simply to record what he
liar" do. lie started a business =, m n
He was amply successful He was
aight satished.
One evening, after good days
$. ness, he went home in a though
red. silent mood. He had little app
Iuron for supper. His wife--yes, indeed
. him had wifel 1t is strange how nat
Press. ly one who knew Wesley Sterrit
this time might, in telling the stol
,,.ot;a his life, forget to mention the
istence of Mrs. Sterritt. There