The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-04-17

on one of the rabbits whose tracks ar
 SO numerous in this depressing place
 Henry David Thoreau, hermit thougl
 he was, would not have remained al
 hour in this lonely cabin, and CoWper despite his plaintive signing for { | Hodge in some vast wilderness, would have taken a. look at the place and fled, nor cast no long lingering look behind" No living thing there
 save crows and they finding nothing tc
 tempt their voracious appetites, flying
 circuitously westward, cawing impa tiently, Come on, come on. come onn
 Ten years ago there was a different scene Perhaps 100 homes-modest structures such as miners occupy
 stood in orderly rows BustIing, activ-
 ity everywhere. Coal trains pulling in-
 to town ad departing, laden with fuel
 for distant parts of the state. Red 1 checked, bare-armed lusty women | hanging the clothes out to wash or gos-
 siping at the doors of their houses.
 Miners smoking company tobacco in
 nicotine-reeking cob pipes. Children 1 everywhere, their light-hearted laugh ter sweet music for weary miners trud- ing homeward with grimy faces and empty lunch boxes. The chug-chug of the engines scarcely ever teasing, with
 shrill whistles at intervals. indicating that the ponderous thing of iron and steel was doing it's best.
 The miners were an interesting class, as former sheriffs of Kankakee, county can tell. It is said they made whisky in their cellars and more than once blind pigs were raided, but always too late, for the village, standing just half a mile from the Grundy county line,
 enabled illicit distillers to find an easy
 haven of refuge from Kankakee off, cers. Tracy being unincorporated could not secure a license, but the miner must have his dram when he emerged from the pit with dust-caked throat
 One day there was conference be- tween theb wn-corduroyed mine su perintendent and the alert president of the Illinois coal company.
 "Veins giving out" said the superin- tendent, fthen added, in response to a question, Nope, nothing to be gained by operating any longer"
 So, one day, the cage made it's last ascent to the top of the long shaft of mine No 3. Engine and machinery werel oaded on cars and shipped to Clarke City, The company's store was denuded of it's stock Most of the buildings were moved away. The min CTS came no more to Tracy They were glad to move to the larger and more lively town of Clarke City--such of them as reained in the employ of the company. Tracy's streets became grass grown. The village was left to the crows and rabbits and to the newspa- per correspondents.
 Years passed. Tracy had consisted of about 30 acres-52 lots and some un- divided land, to be exact. The taxes were due and unpaid. In the natural course of events, each year, the county treasurer offered the land for sale. No one cared to buy it. It was not coveted There was an impression that it was a deserted village of slack else,
 Inadvertently County Clerk Fred Mann told the story to a newspaper re- porter. The fact that deserted Vil- lage could be bought for $20 became widel circulated Chicago, New York, St. Louis and San Francisco papers had it. Clerk Mann received over 100 letters from prospective purchasers Most of l them were from Chicago, though some | came from Texas, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, | New York and California, and half a | dozen from New Jersey. There were l letters from professional, business men, | and persons in the humber walks of | life-all eager to get something for | All the letters were serious very serious--With one exception A | Chicago newspaper man wrote:
 Please send up the village of Tracy l for inspection. If I like it will buy"
 Many inquiries came by long distance telephone, and a few by telegraph. | Clerk Mann, though usually sweet official grew grouchy toward members of the local press. He kept 1 he letters relating to the village of Tracy neatly filed, with rubber bands round tbom. When stamped envelopes were enclosed he answered the letters he became tired Then he ! would speak harshly about newspapers nd newspaper reporters. And the two 'oung women deputies in his office would look up from their work and wink soemnly at each other. Finally he time came when the deserted vil- age could be sold. and MT. Mann was appy. Such is the story of Tracy 'hicago Inter Ocean.