The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1898-11-04

with little smile.
"sss, storage battery" answered
The Man, "and the following seven
years of my life were put In perfecting
that milker, but now-you will pardon
me, gentlemen. If l appear foolish, not
to say childish, but whenever think
of those long. long days spent in my
workshop toiling over the details in
the construction of that mixer, am
carried away by my emotion and can
not keep back the tears"
And with greasy old red and white
bandana handkerchief The Man wiped
away the gathering moisture from
his eyes.
He resumed. "Yes, my friends" he
said, upon that mixer based ali NV
hopes of future greatness. In my
dreams | saw the multitudes surpinp
around me. | saw mothers point me
out to their children; saw young men
gaze al me with looks of awe and ad-
miration mingled in their eyes, and |
saw old men remove their hats when 7
passed among them. And in my wax.
ing hours | seemed to hear the crash
and roar as my name went thunde ring
down the corridors of the ages yet to
come. Those we're happy days, gentle
men, and was the happiest man on
earth; for had not perfected the most
astonishing machine man had ever
dreamed Of? How little then did |
ever think that 1t would turn out to be
Frankenstein that would rise up in
its might and destroy me at one fell
swoop. Yes, thought I, wealth and
fame and name will be mine as soon as
get 1t on the market"
Wont you tell us about the ma chine
itself?" asked Cleaver. "Can't you tell
us the principle upon which it was
constructed, how it was operated and
all about it?"
The Man looked out into vacancy
for moment, and then crossing his
right leg over the lefr knee and tap
ping the ash from his cigar, replied:
"Yes. ! suppose | might as well-now.
1t can do no harm. You see," he con-
tinued, "in the first place it was an elec-
trio mixer. Its system of guide wheels
was so complete and perfect that it
acted as though it were possessed Of
intelligence. Gentlemen, that mixer
ran itself. II was only necessary that
the cattle be driven into a ten-acre
lot and the machine set going. Cen
tlemen. whether you believe II or not.
it is nevertheless fact that that ma
chine would make for the milch cows
only. 1t wouldn't run within ten feet
of calf or a steer. 1t was worth GO
ing ten miles to see that mixer dodge
stumps. Its movements were the po-
etry Of motion. It's four little legs
swung along as rhythmically beautiful
as quatrain by Kipling-"
"But where was the milk collected?"
asked the Doctor.
II am coming to that" replied The
Man. From the tank of the mixer
proper there extended back to the
other ends of which were fastened in
side porcelain bathtub standing on
its own platform on the other side of
the pasture fence. The tubes, being
on the reel in the mixer, and rubber
at that, would of course stretch as
the ground covered by the mixer in
creased"
"And, gentlemen, the strangest
thing about my milker was that II
was its own skinner, its own churn.
It's own cutter, its own stamper. You
think am telling you an untruth. l
will explain. As the milk ran through
these rubber tubes to the bathtub
on the other side of the fence and
fell into the little vat there pro-
vided, a set of paddles were put into op-
Grafton that so jiggled the milk that
the cream rose to the surface almost
instantly. This cream could be bottled
there at once and taken to the dairy
house, or wherever else it was needed,
by the bathtub attendant. The re-
naming milk was handled in this way.
The aforesaid paddles did not cease
operations. They continued their con-
slant churning until the butter had
thoroughly formed, when four knives
would drop from the top of the tub and
cut ii into chunks of the required
size. These would be instantly seized
by another set of paddles, which would
work the butter and roll it into long
bars.
That was all there was to the ma
chine" said The Man. 1T was upon
that machine that based my hopes;
it was by that machine that they were
shattered"
"How?' asked Cleaver. Didn't you
give il trial?"
"Yes," replied The Man. And thou
sands are the times since that l have
wished / hadn't"
"What about the trial?"
1T was made out in Washtenaw
county, this state. / had managed to
interest a dairyman by the name of
Sutherland. who lived about six miles
east of Ypsilanti. took the machine
down there. 1t was a beautiful day
in early summer. 1t was the grass
butter time of the year. set up the
bathtub attachment just outside the
pasture. / stretched the tubes over
the fence and connected them with
the mixer.
when all was ready l SET the ma
chine going.