Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1905-12-21
When the Lawyer
Came
By CARL DAY
Copyright, 1895, by L. 5. Mcclure

The village of Iiillsdale, containing
400 inhabitants, LAC Il grocery, Il post
office, a cooper shop. Il blacksmith shop
and a sawmill. but when any of its
people visited other towns they DIDN'T
brag OF these things. If they boaStea
nj all it was of the fact that the village
never had had Il lawyer OF II lawsuit.
Now and then differences of opinion
arose among the villagers. and they al
ways went to old Silas Warner TO set
tie them He was the father" of the
village. When he said ii was going to
be Il hard winter OF a hot summer no
one thought Of doubling his word. He
was ready with advice 10 old and
young, and no one ever knew him to
say Il mean thing about anybody. lie
would hear both sides of a story and
then dec.Ge according TO his Judgment.
and it was seldom that his decision
was appealed from or created bard
feelings.
Uncle Silas had been father.ng Hills
dale for twenty years when an event
happened \ boom struck the town.
Some one sold his house and lot, the
cooper got an order for hGnd"eI bar
rels all at once, and it was discovered
that the water of a spring emptying
into the mill pond WAS good for sore
eyes 1t wouldn't have been called
much of boom in Kansas. Llt ii was
enough to make them hold their breath
in IIill5dale. and it led to results. one
of the results was Il move to get law
yer to come there ana oren an Office
II amt goin' to say yes nor no to it."
Uncle Silas said when he heard OF it,
but if we get II lawyer here we can
look out for munrs and measles to
| foller.'
The lawyer came. He WAS an OBJECT
of curiosity for the first two weeks,
and then he was an object of some
| thing else 10 % him justice, lie v-ls
no pcttifogger to set neighbors Ivy the
| ears. but the fact that there was a
! lawyer in town to lie consulted had an
influence with the villagers, and soon
most of them discovered CHIPS on their
shoulders.
The cooper had Il plot of ground on
which he always raised about fifty
bushels of potatoes. The sawmill man
had six or eight hogs running at large
that always managed to get in among
the potatoes and reduce the crop by
ten bushels. Heretofore this matter
had been carried to Uncle Silas for ar
bitrntion. He had taken Il couple of
days to think it over aud then said:
"Waal nayburs, hogs is hogs, and ia
tiers is tlters. and it's mighty hard to
keep 'em apart, Fact is, hogs have got
to have en-. | can't say that it was
anybody's fault in this case, but |
guess if the owner of the hogs pays the
owner of the taters about dollar and
half no one Will he the wriss off,
That sum had been paid over with
out dcmur. and there never had been a
hard word between the two principals.
Things were different now. however.
One day the sawmill man got let
ter from the lawyer demanding $40
damages because his hogs had made
their annual raid on the potato patch
of the cooper
Yes, Joe" said the cooper when his
neighbor came to see him, Il told the
lawyer to write you that letter. It's
time you took care O them blamed
hogs O yours. You've got to pay me
$40 this time"
But you owe me 81 for lumber.
jim"
Then sue for it"
Hanged if | don't! I'll show you
that / can start just as many lawsuits
as you CAM
| For ten years people had been in the
habit of taking short cut across ia
bcz Smiths lots when going to the
postotiice, and Jabez had no more
thought of complaining than he had of
| flying All of sudden, however, he
puts ~ Signs of mo Trespass," and
when the Widow Thompson didn't heed
them he came outside his gate TO meet
her.
"See here, widder' he began, t0u
either keep Off my land or I'll have you
up for damagesH'
whats the matter of youf' she
asked in surprise.
'Waal, I've been picked Oh and pick
tti On lOI tut last ttll sttilH, anu 1 Nt
stood it Jest as long as I'm goin' to.
We've got a lawyer in the town now,
you know"
"Then you keep your hens out of my
garden or you'll hear from that law
yer | allus thought you'd be pizen
mean if you had q chance, and now |
know IT,"
Don't use violent language, wilder,
or tEe law will make you suffer for it,
Horses, cattle and hogs always had
been allowed to run ut large in Hills
dale. and the citizens were supposed to
protect themselves 10y keeping their
fences in repair and their gates shut
1t was not long after the arrival of the
lawyer that a dozen different neighbors
were shaking their fists nj each other
ana threatening i3ws1its for damages
done. In the long before. Jonas Bebee
had given the village the privilege Of
digging gravel at his banks to fill in the
mulholes of the three or four streets.
There was no sale for il at any price,
and the more they dug away his hills
the better for his property. but one day
Jonas rose up at the postQflico To speak.