West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1902-02-06
THE JERICHO POSTOFF|CE.
Pap Perkins, Postmaster, Relates An
other Incident.

GATE when the dispute between Joat
Warner and Moses Stansell origina
ted, but it was generally concluded
that it lasted thirty aine years before
Providence put an end to it. One
fall evening when Jericho consisted
of only seven houses and buckle.
berry patch, Joab and Moses me-
at the postoffice, and after little
talk Joab said +:
"Moses, Pm told that you've goi
tolerable appetite for cider "
eyes, tolerable," admitted Mo.
ses.
"You allus lay in bar'l for win
ter"
81 surely do"
"And what do you put into it tc
keep it from gettin' hard and
twangye
81 allus use h little peppermint.
'I've heard you did, and Pm go.
ing to tell you a better thing.
wouldn't tell it to everybody, but a.
you amt stingy about lendin' your
plow I'll talk right out. Put in sas.
afras instead OF peppermint, and
you'll have bar'l of cider equal &c
champagne. You know how folks
cry for my cider along in the winter,
and it's the sassafras what does it.
"Sassafras couldn't beat pepper
mint" says Moses as hes hakes his
head.
"But it does beat it all holler,'
says Joab. "You use it once, and
you'll be grateful to me all the res,
of your life."
al don't doubt you mean well,
Joab. but shall stick to pepper
mint right along. Sassafras root is
a good thing to chaw on, and / like
the smell in ha'r oil, but when II
comes down to cider peppermint's
the only thing to use. You put in
three tablespoonsful to the bari,
and the bar'l must be rolled over
twice day"
1'm givin' you sassafras, Moses. >
"And I'm givin' you peppermint,
Joab."
"Waal, wouldn't give pepper
mint to grubby calf.
''And / wouldn't give sassafras to
an ailin' hog"
That was the beginning of the
dispute. They didn't lay hands on
each other, but they felt edgeways,
and they never met without bring.
ing up the question. They had il
all to themselves at first, but after a
bit other folks were dragged into it,
and a good share of the county was
divided into "Peppermints" and
"Sassafrasers." Almost every night
in the year Joab and Moses met al
the poslofice, and after sort oil
elbowing each other around for a
spell Joab would say
"Why hello, Moses, is that
your ! thought I srnelt pepper
mint around here"
''And / smelt sassafras as soon as
You left home" Moses would reply.
"Still stickin' to it, are you, tina,
peppermint is the right thing 70
keep cider from gettin' too hard p
81 am, and / allus shall, and 50
would any one else but a born fool. y
There would be more to IT. and
a dozen men would 60 over the
question and call each other fools
and liars, and the trouble kept
spreading. II got into religion and
it got into politics. Il beat Ioab
when he ran for supervisor. and Il
downed Moses when he wanted 10
be a deacon Of his church n a
lightning rod man or a tin peddler
showed up within ten miles of Teri.
cho, they we're asked for their opin-
ION on the cider question, and the
man who favored peppermint,
couldn't do business with the ssssa-
frasers. II one party wanted to
celebrate the Fourth Of July. the
other opposed il, and IL was the
same with all public Improvements.
Several preachers tried 10 smooth
over the quarrel, but when they
went 70 Joab be said
"1'm wiIlin' enough to be friends
with Moses, but. durn bis hide. he's
got to drop that peppermint bust.
ness first"
Then they would 90 10 Moses
and talk and argue and point on,
bis duty, but be would shake bis
head and reply
"lPs NJ use talkin' tll Joab lets
go Of sassafras. Hes sdckin' 70 Il
jest because he's pigheadcd and
wants % come out on top"
The thing had been going on for
nearly forty years, and Joab and