The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1897-04-29
HOW WE DEFEATED THE LAW.
A RACE FOR THE BORDER BETWEEN 4
SHERIEF AND THE ENGINEER OF A
STEAM THREsHER.


abundant, especially SO in Easter
Kansas and Western Missouri, ant
along the fertile river valleys of thi
region, where perhaps the drouth o
that summer was the least felt of any
where in that section, while still ftnt b
er east, AS far almost as Indiana, th,
wheat crop was almost a failure il
comparison.
The incident which l am about t.
relate happened early in October o
that fall, just after my twenty frs
birthday. Clayton Fisk, a young mar
about my own age. and myself, haG
resolved to start West with the inten
ton of investing our little savings II
the wheat business in some way thai
would pay us good interest on ON
investment. We were full of plucl
and enthusiasm, determined to ven
tnre our last dollar in our enterprise
Kansas was just about this time de
yeloping some immense wheat sections
along its border, and it was in this di
rection we took our course We had
a little over $500 between MS, and af
ter more or less careful consideration
OF the matter and the outlook ahead
we concluded to purchase traction
engine and thresEing machine, and
with this outfit strike off directly west
ward through the wheat regiong. We
went by rail to Jefferson City, where
we stopped over and went to look at
the threshlng equipments are man
nfactured. Fisk had no knowledge
whatever of englneerIng-in fact | do
not believe he knew the steam chest
from the eccentric-but | had had a
little experience and understood the
points fairly well and felt quite conf
dent that we wonld have no trouble in
operating the outfit. | remember
the peculiar thrill of pleasure
felt as we looked over the big
black silent masses of iron at Jeffer
son City and thought that before long
one OF those iron monsters would be
pulsing and ihrobbing under my hand.
After some little uncertainty and a
great deal of advice we finally select
Ell 30 horse power engine as one in
every respect the. best adapted for our
purpose, but upon asking the price of
the machine in view we were inform
ed that we might have it at bargain
only $1,000 for the whole outfit,
consisting of engine, thresher and
equipments.
The price was considerably more
than we had calculated upon paying,
and for moment we were feeling
rather discouraged, for with a capital
of only $500 between us, the price was
beyond us. and as we stood there lalk
ing it over. and considering whether
to buy cheaper outfit or give the en-
terprlse up, young man we'll dress
ed and appearing stepped up to us
and said:
Il accidentally overheard some of
your conversation. from which | un-
derstand yor lack $500 of the price of
the outfit yoE want. Now, / have just
abont that amount by me. and l am
out OF work, and if you will take me
as third partner we will buy the out
fit and start out | am willing to risk
what little I've got, for [ think we can
make a good thing out of 1t. OF
course" be went on, I'm a stranger
to you, and you are the same to me,
but Eli risk it if you will"
He did not seem like bad sort of
a fellow at ali, and we wanted that
particular thresher pretty badly, so
after Clayton and l had talked the
matter over between us we decided to
accept the strangers offer at once
After breakfast the next morning we
went back down to the works again
and closed the bargain, and we became
the owners of the Comic" as we con
cluded to call her. After carefully in
specting and oiling the machinery, l
began firing the engine, which was an
immense concern, the huge six feet
drive wheels being two feet broad to
prevent them from sinking into the
soft soil of the prairie wheat fields
Clayton and Gleason tour new part
ner) were busy about the thresher,
leaving me to my special charge
of the engine. At last, about 9 o'clock
we were I'll ready to start: the tender
was full of coal and the thresher vas
coupled on behind. and the "Gonic ,
was making steam rapidly. Already
the indicator began TO creep up
40, 80, 60, pounds. | waited until the
needle began to tremble at so pounds,
then, seizing the lever, pulled the
throttle slowly open. The monster
shivered as the steam rushed into the
cylinders; then, as the great drive
wheels began to slowly reyolva, blew
the whistle, and with Fisk aud Glea
son feeding the fire and looking after
the thresber, we were eff out along the
country roads and across the prai-
RE.
Probably no mechanic feels the pc
culiar love for his machine as the en-
gineer does as be works over it. wa ca
ing and tending it as carefully as q
mother does her child, noting the vii
lingness and quickness, we might al
most say, the intelligence with which
1T responds to every desire of its mas
ter, feeling grows IN his heart akin
to the love one person bears for anoth
er
began to experience this feeling
as we were rumbling along over the
rough country roads and out acros:
the rolling prairie as fast as a mar
could run. our iron steed answering
its levers steadily and as easily a:
a well broken horse would his reins
and hauling the heavy thresher behind
We took south westerly course. apc
after crossing the Usage river strucl
some extensive wheat fields just be
yond Here the wheat is bound ant
piled in great stacks and the threshe
is run alongside them, and as fast a
one stack is threshed the machin
moves to tie next. We had good luck
and In about i months tima We cam
to the Kansas line, which we struc
nearly parallel with Fort Scott an,
about $50 miles southwest from JET
ferson City. We could have worke
much longer in Missouri. but we wer
anxious to take only such jobs as la
o,,~ l,~aaf aor,.,f, ooy-..s.s, 10 Kon N.