The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-10-07

TO New 1Orb Tor some brass ingots and
spent them all in putting up a fine
building and bring hides drawn from
the railroad, and told the boys to bring
in all the bark they could get-he'd
take it all-and was written up in the
Adirondack Populist as "Hsmilton
Counly's Pfosperity-A Great IIhux
of Foreign Capital"
And what lots of engagements the
guides had that fall How the deer had
to >scamperl In St. Lawrence and in
Franklin counties there were few par
ties in the woods, but the stage CON
panies had to put on extra team. to
haul the hunters, who poured by y "
trainload into Worthwhile and Prospect
and Remsen and North Creek, bound
for the Hamilton hunting-grounds--
every man with q rifle in his hand and
a good supply of cartridges in his trunk.
The parties stayed in the woods till
they had fred eff ell their cartridges,
stopped at the mint on their way home
and had the empty shells coined into
good brass dollars, paid their guides
and their board bills, and went home
with a load of birds and venison, their
cheeks glowing with health and their
pockets nc lighter than when they
came.
1t was not long before prices began
to rise. A horse that it would have
been hard TO sell at $50 now brought
a hundred, and next week would
bring S250-in brass. Yet, take that
horse to Fulton County and you could
only get $50 for him. Everybody was
sorry for the poor people down in Ful-
ton County. Yet, somehow, the Full
ton County people were foolish as well
as poor. They sent all the brass they
had up the river, and imported every
thing that was for sale, even though
they lost so heavily by doing it. And
other things became more valuable as
well as horses. Flour went to $40 a
barrel, then 500, then 800. 1t was
splendid. Even wages rose a little.
The men who worked for the lumber
companies at $50 a month last year
were nov promised that that they
should have $40 by and by.
There were a few difficulties, of
course. No great reform was ever ac-
complishe0 without difficulties. The
man who complained first was Peter
Tulliver. Peter was in Jail that year
for breaking the game law. The
county allowed the sheriff So a week
for Peters board. Under the gold
standard Peter had Jared sumptuously
on bread and ham and potatoes, but
when potatoes went TO a dollar apiece,
and ham to SIS a pound, the sheriff felt
it his duty not to exceed the a%ppropris-
tion-and Peter Tulliver grew 80 thin
that they had TO let him have his gun
and EoE-no1a onA tha bow Af tho so.I
and tell him if he would sleep there
nights it would be all right.
Mrs. Wilks was the next to complain,
When old man Wilks died she had sold
her rights in the properly to her step.
son for S15ia month as loDg,as she lived.
Now her allowance would not keer
her in tobacco, and when she applied
for admission to the %poor-house she
found that the poor tax would only
support one pauper.
Willie Davis and Sam Smith caught 6
wolf in a trap over west of Long Lake
and had to go to Wells to draw the
bounty-$30; but although they walked
both ways, they spent $4S along the
road, and yet had only square mea
apiece.
The County Judg, resigned, for his
salary would no longer supply him with
postage-stamps. The women who die
washing for the lumbermen and the
boarders at the hotels, at seventy-five
cents a dozen, were the next to suffer,
and the families of the men who worked
for days wages found that, however fast
wages might go up, they never could
get in sight of the prices of clothing
and provisions. The schools were closeC
because the school tax would not buy
pencils and stove-wood, which wa;
lucky for the teachers, who would 9th
erwise have had to fulfill their con
tracts and work for salaries that would
not pay a quarter of their board. Ii
seemed strange that when the county
was so prosperous, and everybody hat
plenty of work, so many people were
hungry and ragged. Yet there wa!
always a chance for a smart man. Fo,
example, there was Hen Cole. Her
had a steady job of chopping all through
June and July for the Black Rive
Lumber Company, and a steady job o
guiding all through August. Hen hat
a tomato-can full of brass dollars ant
concluded to get married. His fathe
had never finished off but half hi
house, so Henry got some clapboard
and patched up the unfinished end ant
plastered it himself, and got marrie'
and went down to Johnstown to bu,
some furniture and things. The furni
ture man was glad to sell to him, ant
Henry found things 30 reasonable, com
pared with home prices, that he bough
a table and three common chairs, and
patent rocking-chair and a bedsteaC
and a stove and some carpet and a mic
brass kettle. But when he offered
handful of Hamilton County dollars i
payment the shopman's face changed
eff I'd known you were from up tn
river, / wouldn't have spent so muc
time on you,' he said. 1--WE can
take those things"