The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1899-12-01
| Preacher Who Can Milk Cows.

anu young oJefnally reviewed the de-
tails of the conflict, and the amount of
profanity with which all was garn-
lshed was prOdigiOus. A call on the
Methodist pastor at o'clock that Sun
day, discovered him milking the cow
which stood next to the horse that
carried him on his circuit of four or five
congregations. They are a practical,
energetic class Of people, these rural
Methodists. They seem to fill place
in the community approaching that of
Catholic priest, enjoying freedom of
speech and a vigorous independent
action, as reward for their good sense
and recitude. That night the little
Methodist church was swamped with
people, the occasion being special
temperance exercises in which the
stalwart young men teachers Of the
public schools took a prominent part.
They were football enthusiasts like
the Methodist preacher, who had been
a CONSPICUOUS figure at the game; and
one could imagine what a valuable in
fiuence those young men were. So
many of their lads seemed to think
that to be tough, profane and reckless
is to be manly and heroic.
A Fox Interests Richland County.
Monday 1 covered 26 miles, taking
dinner in Richland Center and sleep
ing in Hub City. In Richland Cen
ter l found Asseblyman Fogo, editor
of The Observer. He is not in the best
of health, though gaining, and has Mr..
Hill formerly of the secretary Of
states office to assist in the work of
the office with Mr.. FOgo's son. Rich
land Center is a lively country place,
profiting in it's isolation from other
business points. The presence in
town of Vernon" the hypnOtist, was
the subject regnant; and when boy
brought in fox a dog had captured,
after securing the So bounty in the
court house opposite the hotel what
more fitting than that the great Ver-
non should buy the pelt.
Happy People on Farms.
AS one goes north of Lafayette
county into Iowa and into Richland,
the prairie gives way to the hills and
small growth Of trees diversity the
outlook. The farmers seem to be
prosperous; though most of the money
is spent on the lands and on the barns,
for the home is usually small and very
plain. 1t was pleasure to chat with
the men and the women Of whom
asked a drink of water or directions on
my way. They told me of coming in
35 or 40 years before, when all was
wilderness. Some of the places look
slack and the universal pig seems to
have left his mark on other lives than
his own; yet from the turnpike as in
the dusk, l looked at family groups,
children and all, at supper, they call
for no pity. They have enough and to
spare. The mortgage is pressing some
of them. They handle little actual
cash. The $50 that twenty Thanks
giving turkeys may yield, is a hope
they canvass with joy; while the an
nual sale of hogs at Sc or 81 apiece vies
with the annual shipment of cattle as
the big event in the year, for less and
less grain is sold from these farms.
They are feeding it to increased ratio
to larger punches of stock. Yet they
are far from the worries that infect
the lives of city people, the ambitions,
the passions, the disappointments..
Cheese Has Promise.
At Hub City, little place where the
cleared ground is scarce, [ found the
place where Mr.. Mandt, of Stoughton,
and other Dane county people started
a town a dozen years ago. There are
two stores there now and although no
license is the rule this year, blind
pig has succeeded the two saloons of
last year. The big saw mill is the 81
lent victim of a WaShOut and the hopes
of the little metropolis are now mainly
centered in the cheese business, a
young Scotchman who has taken first
c,4, in,
having already a system of three fac
tories. Such soil is richer than prairie
soil, although much work is needed to
clear out the trees and underbrush.
There is much pasture found under
a heavy tree growth. The prevalence
of springs and small streams in this
region is marked and cited to explain
the excellence of the cheese.
Farmers Yield to Steel Range Sharks.
In Hillsboro to the north, I found a
place five miles from the Northwestern
railway and nine from Elroy. There
was an excellent hotel. Here we ate
rabbit, having previously enjoyed ven
ison and jack snipe down the road.
Here we heard of the operations of the
steel range sharks. They cane from
St. Louis and drove mules exclusively.
At one time nine teams were operating
within this place, Hillsboro. They
were Obedient to orders from a COM
mander like an army. They sold a
stove worth, say $50, for 500. They
drove up to a farmers house and threw
their stove out to prove how strong it
was. Then they offered to take the
farmers old sove for handsome
amount. They got the farmers name
to promissOry note, usually by fraud.
The collections were later by the local
banks or by another stranger from ST.
Louis, who expressed no interest in
the farmers version of the trans
action, and although protests were
vigorous, as a rule the farmer was
forced to pay. 1t is gratifying to
know that in some cases the rOgues
over-reached themselves, selling stoves
to local characters for which never
dollar was collected. The notes were
good, but the parties had no property
to collect on. A. w.
Dom Paul's Charm.
The Cape Town correspondent of Il