Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-07-29
HOW THEY ESCAPED
BECOMING MiLLI0NAIRES
PASSING COMMENTS.

PASSING COMMENTS.
Ply LIEuT-CoL.J- a. WATRoTS, L. 5. \.
Amos Elliot of Washbun spent sew
eral DAYS in Milwaukee last week. Mr..
Elliot j. an old time Wisconsin lumber
man. He began his career in that indus
try on Black river at about the time the
state, was admitted to the union. in lS4S,
and he remained a resident OF Black
River Fails until two years ago. Though
~ wears of age he looks like a man OF
So. He remembers and talks interest
inelv Of the lumbermen on Black river
in the old days as well as in later years.
In speaking of the old days he said:
If ext congressman Bill Price, Dudley
Spaulding and Leander Merrill of Black
River Falls. G.. c. HiXon. Charles Cole
man. John Paul and others of La Crosse,
lame. O'Neill. John Ross Daniel Gates
and len stafford OF Neillsvile had pos
.e,.ed even moderate sum of money
which he could spare when we first
reached the Black river country. and had
1 invested it in pine lands on the banks OF
| that river. every last man Of Us would
/ have been obliged to fight III order to
escape becoming not only mllionaTes
/ but millionaircs.
/ There were billions upon billions of
feet OF the finest pine timber along Black
! river at that time that the world ever
saw. Some OF the men | have mentioned
made good deal of money by pndchas-
/ ing pine land and pine logs, including
/ Judge Price HiXon, the Wcstons. Mer-
Iril. Gates. Ross and Stafford, but it was
| nothing compared with what all of them
Knight have made had circumstances been
different and had we been wise enough
/ to look ahead. Some Of the later corners,
| including the late Gen. {. {. Nashburn
! OF La Crosse, were WISE enough to look
ahead and invested all the money they
could rake and scrape in pine lands on
! Rluck river and its tributaries. and it is
| those lands that made GOV. Washbmn
millionaire very soon after the Civil war
/ Most of my old Black river lumber
! friends have passed away. Judge Price
| died in 1886. after wonderfully active
and useful life. He served in both
branches Of our state Legislature and
was three times elected to Congress. His
son Hugh succeeded him in Congress.
! He too. is dead. HiXon died in La Crosse
some wears ago, a man OF large wealth,
president of bank, respected by all
classes Sheppard. Brockaway, Merrill,
! Gates and Ross crossed the river long
ago Andrew Sheppard, or odd Shep,"
/ as nearly everybody on the river called
! him. was famous character. At one
! time he was worth good deal of money,
but he enjoyed drinking and when under
the influence nothing pleased him 50 well
a. to scatter funds broadcast. A day of
reckoning came Old Shep became a poor
man and he died poor, but the last ten
or fifteen years of his life he was one
Of the most upright manly Christians
in the community.
AT one time it was said that Leander
Merrill was worth n million or more. but
his million vas like at Of great many
accredited miiiionares; ii fell short
when il was counted. Merrill got ambi-
tioue politically. While a Republican he
persisted in running Independent against
a Republican candidate for the Assembly
for jackson and Clark counties and de-
fcated him. The defeated candidate was
editor of the local paper in jackson
county The editor. partner was nomi-
mated the next year and Mir Merrill
guessed lac would have to give another
! editor Il chance To stay at home and at
| tend To his business and he ran indie
/ pendent again. The partner had but re
| Gently come out OF the army and didn't
! know much about political affairs. but
| his friends did. and thy showed MIR.
! Merrill under. lie never seemed quite
| the same man after that.
Len Stafford was a hustling busting
business man and had Il host of friends
Some of the other Black river lumbermcn
cnjoycd telling Stafford that il was not
himself and his great abilities that made
him popular. but his large family OF
handsome daughters. One of Stafford,
daughters married Fred d. Underwood
a long lime conductor on the st Paul
and later general manager OF the Sioux
then oi the Baltimore y Ohio. and uow
president of the New York 4 Erie rail.
road. drawing "a salary Of S6O00n Il wear
Dudley >pauldiHg at Black River
, FatI~ worked hard enough 10 become y
very rich man, / guess he divided Ms
force loo much. lie had it large farm
, ene @ two ~,lWuiil~, erist miH n plan.
. lng mill. VAS an extensive logger kent
{ two on lHec stores, and ion "a time had
ah interest IN newspaper He Va. nm
Z everlasting worker and enc of the b,.t
d uaj}Hrd men ! ever knew. He, WA, 49,
long a. | can remember, LEADING u,ep,.
: t"' IT the Methodist church.. Ic ,y,.
=. oftlH't-IH-laW to Judge Price Price VA,
. n"' a church mcmacr. bat he WAS ahy,y.
hm supported oi churches.
~ here was "a time ~oou after ~.
f'"'he1 Black river. when nearly AN al
Us souh take a ration ut whisky without
masking IL face. Price Was of the number