The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-08-16

Some OF the supervisors thought it might
be well to consult with Fulton county,
where Hamilton county bought its clothing
and sold its venison. but the Boy Orator
Scorned him. lis not said Jimmy IL 2
loud and impressive tone. rs not tnis the
greatest county. but one or two. in the
State of New York.? Why should we be
slaves TO the greed of Broadalbin and
BatchelIerviile? I would be .pr~esuhptuous
indeed 10 present myself against the dis
tinguished gentlemen 10 whom you have
listened il this were but a measuring OF
ability. but this Is not a contest among
persons The humbiest citizen in all the
land. when clad in the armor Of a right
eous cause. is stronger than all the whole
hosts of error that they can oring- i come
10 speak to you in defense of a cause as
holy as the cause of liberty. the cause of
the Sacandaga River Lumber Company.
! From Indian Lake 10 Morehouseviile let
there rise the glorious response. To such
dastards as dare to lay a limit to the pow
er OF the Hamiltonian people to do what
they please Independently of all other peo-
pies. 1 hurl their cowardice and lack of
patriotism back in their faces. You shall
candaga River Lumber Company on an
altar of greenbacks."
And so the supervisors of the seven
towns OF Hamilton county voted with only
one dissenting voice that William Peter
SON.. the blacksmith at Wells. should get
a die and should coin into a dollar every
ounce Of brass brought to him at the ratio
or 10 TO !. sixteen ounces to one pound.
without waiting for the consent of any
other county, and that if the county Judge
attempted W Help anybody whose contract
called for other dollars, they would fire him
out and elect a new county judge. The
single negative vote was cast by Lie Ben
son. of Indian Lake.
The wave of prosperity came with a
rush. Inc Sacandaga River Lumber Com
Pany paid ITS back taxes for two years.
s.oV-,hearly- nfty pounds of old brass. Andy
Dunlap. and all his friends had a perpetu-
any splendid time at Jake Jones's hotel.
ana une Black River Lumber Company,
although they hadn't found any guns.
Dougnt up some secondhand brass bed
steauS from an auction and built a new
dam on the outlet OF South Canada lake.
IL look twenty men a month to build the
dam, and the company paid good wages
every man had three pounds of brass TO
carry home. The summer boarders at the
large hotels found ii out too, and sent for
their friends. Soon there was such a rush
Tor rooms as had never been known. Each
boarder would bring an old candlestick or
stalr-rod in his valise and paw his board
for a week The countrymen who brought
berries and trout and veniSon TO the hotels
got good prices now. and milk was quoted
at 10 cents a quart-a whole ounce of brass
for ten quarts. Levey, the tin peddler, no
longer came up the river with a wagon of
cotton stuff and tinware and went back
with his pockets full of money. He got a
lot of old castings in the railroad shop.
had them minted on his way. and went
and nice little cheeses ard deer skins. and
a COW and two or three horses towing be-
hind. The Sacandaga River Lumber COM
pany announced that they would cut
twice as many logs as usual and would
spend two guns in wages If it should be
necessary, SO that everybody had lots Of
work. And real estate began TO boom just
as the Boy Orator had promised. There
was a fine site for a tannery on Coleman's
Sam Coleman had asked $500 for the water
power and twenty acres. and the Glovers-
stuck at $3.50. But now, when. the tanner
heard of Hamilton county's free-coinage
boom, he drove back as fast as his horse
could trot with a lot of door knobs from a
/ hardware store. and came right uD to
Sans figures and paid him in cash just
as quick as he could get the door knobs
through the mint. and sent to New York
for some brass ingots and spent them all
in putting up a fine building and hiring
could get-he'd take it all. and was writ
ten up in the Adirondack Populist as
Hamilton County,s Prosperity-A Great
And what lots of engagements the guides
had that fall! How the deer had to
lin counties there were few parties in the
woods, but the stage companies had TO
put put on o,s extra teams am to a haul the hSSnteEs
Vile and Prospect and Remsen and North
Creek bound for the Hamilton hunting
grounds. every man with a rifle in his
hand and a goodly supply of cartridges
in his trunk. The parties stayed in the
woods till they had fired Off all their cart
ridges. stopped at the mint on their way
home and had the empty shells coined into
good brass dollars. paid their guides and
their DOdTQ DIS. ana went nome with a
load of birds and v%enison. their cheeks
glowing with health and their pockets no
lighter than when they came.
rise. A horse thar il would have been hard
TO sell at $50 now brought a hundred and
next week would bring s250-in brass. Yet
could get only $50 for him.. Everybody was
sorry for the poor people down in Fulton
county. Yet somehow the Fulton county
people were foolish as well as poor. They
sent all the brass they had up the river
and imported everything that was for sale,
even though they lost so heavily by doing
ii. And other things became more valuable
as Wei as horses. Flour went to $40 "A bar
rel. then $50, then 500. 1t was splendid.
worked for the lumber companies at $50 a
month last year were now promised that
they should have $40 by and by.
There were a few difficulties. of course.
No great reform was ever accomplished
without difficulties. The man who COM
planned first was Peter Tulliver. Peter was
in jail that year for breaking the game
law. The county allowed the sheriff 50 a
week for Peters board. Under the gold
bread and ham and potatoes. but when DO
tatoes went to a dollar apiece and ham to
s. a pound. the sheriff felt it his duty not
10 exceed the appropriation. and Peter
Tulliver grew so thin that they had to
let him have his gun and fish-pole and the
key of the jail and tell him that If he would
sleep there nights it would be all right.
Mrs. Wiiks was the next to complain.
When old man Wilks died she had sold
HcT TlgHlS III the property 10 ner StepSOn
for SIS a month as long as she lived. Now
her allowance would not keep her In to-
bacco. and when she applied for admission
10 the poorhouse she found that the poor
tax would only support one pauper.
Willie Davis and Sam Smith caught n
wolf In n trap over west Of Long lake and
had to go TO Wells to draw the bounty-s3O:
but although they walked both ways they
spent SS along the road, and yet had only
one square meal and one good drink
apiece.
Then the county judge resigned. for his
salary would no longer supply him with
postage stamps. The women who did wash
ing for the lumbermen and the boarders
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
closed because the school tax would not
buy pencils and stove wood. which was
lucky for the teachers. who would other
wise have had TO fulfill their contracts and
work for salaries that would not pay a
that when the county was so prosperous
and everybody had plenty of work so many
people were hungry and ragged Yet there
was always "a chance for a smart man.
For example. there was Hen Cole. Hen
had a steady job of chopping all through
June and July for the Black River Lumber
Company. and a steady job of guiding all
through August. Hen had a tomato can
full of brass dollars and concluded to get
but half his house, so Henry got some clap
boards and patched up the unfinished end
and plastered IL himself. and got married
and went down TO JohnStown TO buy some