Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1899-07-27
COL. BEN B0GY.
A Sketch of the Veteran
Hardware Traveller.

company, St. Louis, Col. Ben
Bogy. "a week behind your ap-
pointment," was viii Miller's
greeting on meeting the colonel
But the old gentleman had a valid
excuse: He haS been sick for a
week, and in addition will be 20
years old Tuesday next, the 25th.
Few men are possessed of all their
mental faculties at 20, to say
nothing of pursuing a calling
which makes demands upon ones
physical system which the life of a
"drummer" entails.
Known as the colonel is in every
hamlet in the Indian Territory,
the following article from the Iron
Age of a recent date will be Pc
rused with interest:
1.-THE recent articles in the Iron
Age relating to travelling men in
the hardware trade who have
given the greatest number of years
to that service have attracted the
attention of some of the veterans
long employed in this important
vocation. In this sketch of the
business career of Ben Bogy, who
has travelled continuously for 49
years, period of great develop
ment in mercantile methods is COW
cred and the radical change from
selling the visiting merchant TO
the city in ones own store to send
ing a salesman with samples and
prices to solicit orders in the buy
er's own territory is bridged. Mr..
Bogy mentions the fact that he
and fellow travellers took no or
ders before the civil war, their
business being to collect accounts
and make acquaintances. In the
following communication Mr..
Bogy racalls some of the expert
ences Of his long and eventful SER
vice as a pioneer and veteran of
the knights OF the grip:
ST. LOUIS, No.
''To the Editor:-In your issue
OF November 3 l notice F. D. Hall,
of NewtonVille, Mass, says he
had been travelling for As years. l
can beat him three years, as l have
been 'on the road 49 years, and
still travel IL months in the year.
"When / began travelling there
were no railroads at all in the
west. My first trip was made in
1S49 for Child, Farr & Co., of ST.
Louis, Mo-, through northwest H.
linsis, as far north as Galena. |
continued with their successors.
Child, Pratt e. Co., making two
trips a year on horseback, until
1851, when | took a position with
,Shapleigh, Day & Co. to travel in
northwest Illinois, Iowa and
northeast Missouri. Since then
have travelled all over the west, by
wagon and on horseback, drum
ming trade and collecting for
Shapleigh. Day d Co. and their
successors, A. F. Shapleigh Hard
ware company.
"My territory for the past 20
years has been the Indian Terri
tory, from Joplin, Mo-, TO Deni-
son, Texas.
Il was the first native-born
Missourian sent out on the road as
a commercial traveller or drummer.
All the men holding positions of
that character at that time were
eastern men. except two or three
Kentuckians.
SIN the year 1858, during the
time of the 'Free-State and Pro-
Slavery war in Kansas, l was in
Fort Scott when the free state
troops under Montgomery took
the town. l had $4,000 in my
saddle bags, and, knowing what
was taking place, put the saddle
bags under a blanket behind the
door. was captured with the
balance of the citizens of the town
and was made to stand in line
until Montgomery and his men
sacked the town. After they had
gone | found my saddle-bags con-
tanning the 5000 all safe and lost
no time in getting back to Mis-
souri,.
"After my experience at Fort
Scott | began to be a little more
careful about taking care of the
money | collected, as | often had
as much as $4,000 or s12, 900 with
me at a time.
"ln the same year | stopped at
Cassville, Mo, one night. The |
hotel contained exactly four rooms. |
| was assigned 10 a bed in the |
main room, which answered the |
purpose of Office, parlor, bedroom
and general 'loafing' room for the