Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1902-07-03
The constable came along and broke
down the door.


down the door.
men, young men, clerks about the
town who wore no waistcoats when
their linen was pot-boiled and
starched.
In a months time the Cinnamon
were doing a business the like of
which they had never dreamed would
fall to their lot. The colored aunties
were forced to do the drudgery, that
is to cleanse the quilts, tablecloths
and do the rougher work belonging to
the wash-pot. They attempted to dis
cover the secret the Cinnamon pos
sessed of making the shirt front shine
as the secured bottom of tin pan,
but they couldn't.
Finally a Yankee who was in the
South for his health heard that Ellis
Vile needed a steam laundry. So he
set about to establish one. Then he
moved his family from Connecticut,
and appealed to the citizens for their
patronage because of his being an
American, and local taxpayer. Be-
sides, he said, if the town treated him
right, he would be the means of bring
ing other settlers to the county, too.
Instantly the Cinnamon commenced
losing trade. Some few stuck by them,
but when Mcintosh, Ferrill and Cham
pencils sent their bundles to the steam
laundry, the Cinnamon got frightened.
They cut the Yankees prices. These
were met and lowered. Then began a
terrific warfare with the result that
both concerns were doing washing for
nothing. Soon the town loafers were
changing collars every morning.
If the Cinnamon were respondent,
they concealed such emotions. When
the. church bells were ringing for
prayer meeting of evenings and the
organs of the various places of wor-
ship were attuned to the harmony Of
village voices the puffs of the little
engine of the steam laundry and the
perspiring faces of the heathens went
evenly along. Finally it became a
matter of notice that the Cinnamon
were no longer patronizing the gro
Gerry stores except for starch and soap.
The situation was becoming decid-
eddy interesting. Presently the dusky
spouses of the Mongolians seized hoe
handles and left for the bottoms" be-
tween the cover of night. When they
were missed it began to look as 1t the
ship of the Cinnamon was about to go
under sure enough. But not so. They
worked; they bought more soap; they
! smiled in their childish and blandish
way and kept on washing. Now they
had ceased trading at the stores alto
.gether. From what source could they
be securing food?
A freckled faced boy of ten solved
that problem. One day he went to the
Yankee and told things; told of the
thousands of rats that made their
homes in the big barn adjoining the
home of his hated rivals. Whereupon
the Yankee hit upon scheme with
the result that the Weekly Eagle con-
tanned this notice, set in plea type:
WANTED!
One thousand cats. It makes no
difference whether they are thor
oughbreds or scrubs; fat or lean.
white or yellow. For which the
sum of twenty-five cents will be
paid on delivery at the
STEAM LAUNDRY.
P. S. Hurry Them Up.
In three days time wagon loads of
cats began coming in and more boys
being thrashed hourly for stealing
their mothers most precious pets than
before in Ellisville's history. One
night the first battalion of these SOL
diers of this remarkable Yankee were
mt ON the attlefield-housed in that
immense barn and told to fight. The
next night these were removed and a
fresher and hungrier lot were turned
inside and so on until there was not
even a mouse in that town that dared
to poke it's shifting nose above the
mellow earth.
A week elapsed and one morning