The Alaska prospector., 1903-09-03
A NEW ENTERPRISE
BY MAX ADILER.

'If you only had liitle capital 10 invest" said the young man. as he took chair and sat down close to my ds.k. T might put you m the way of good thing
 Miner"
 'on, no. Its a petrifsction company; tAe Columbia Pettlfaction company. of Clarion county. could spare you lpo shsr~s."
 What does the company do."
 Way. you know. 1t owns a limestone spring up here in Clarion county. That spring used to belong to e man nam<d Herkimer Jones. One day. when : well ran dry. Jones wen; eff and hroIg. ueket of wa ter from that spring and the family drank it. Wac vas tae eonss ,iueree, Next uorn- ing wren the neg ihors called. Herkirner Joae> Was si.;ins at t..e ,gips, table turned to soiid s.one. He Lad La.f O; a sausage in his mouta: taa; was turned to stone. too. So was Mrs. Jones, and Ellen F. Jones. and HeIkimer Jones. Jr.. and the baby The limestone water dId 1t. The heirs closed the whole lot out to sculptor named Ferguson, who arranged them in group and sold them to the British museum as models from the antique. That is, excepting the haby. He put plaster paris wings on the baby and passed him oH as an original design of . Cupid."
 w aat about the company"
 Well. you see. the company at once boueat up the spring property and they in- tend io 90 into the petrifying business upon . large -cile. For example. s'posen you get contract from congress 10 execute an equestrian statue of Gen. Warrington. Fust You find horse; you make taa; Lorse drink at the spring. and tLere he is, Perfectly splenied TGen you find a man who bears . sort of general resemblance ,o Washing ton. You arrange a picnic: get tha, man up there in the woods. offer h;m a drink; and in II minutes you can chip s,,alls off of him with stone-chisel. Then you mount your m4u on your horse. and there you have a group of statuary such IS Greece in her pa!miest days would have gven her bottom dollar to get"
 "I see"
 "Tae company. you know, purposes to have the country poorhouse located near to the spring; and as tl.s presiden; of the board of trustees owns do shares. we calculate to solidiy paupers right along. without inter- mission. say 2p or a . day. Don't you ses what magnificent prospect i, opens up for high ar; Tn America, We can i'll any order. Say you want statue of Gen. Jackson, and the only available pauper s too fat, What do ~e do! We pe;riiy him. and then we chip him down and touch up his eoun,s- mar C.. maybe, with ehisel. Suppose you want a pair of -aints ;o work into the front door n a church. We seirei a couple of venerable vagran,s. harden tkem. turn their noses down. 10 give them ,:;gIi;! of expres- sion. and the tricklayers then can build them right into the door jambs'
 Suppose the demand ios that k,ad ol statuary be small.'
 Then we come down to basis of utility at once. S'posin' there's . pauper with in- fammatory rheumatism in his leg, We pet rify him. We sell him to q doctor. That doctor cuts of the leg with . marble saw. and there he mas that infiaInIna,ory rheu- matism rigat before him turned into gran its. S'posin ore of them has ,orI i'd liver. In two hour. the doctors can examine that liver just as if 1t was . brickhai, with the torpidity sticking out all over il. Mind you, ii the supply ot pauper. hold, out. venture to say that the day j. not far dislsr, waen