The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-03-03
How He Used to Sell Wood
in st. Louis Streets.
EGGS WENT FOR CENT a DOZEN
Always Got to Town Late, but Went
10 the Grocery for Nip and a Free
Smoke-Not "A Business Man, but
Did About rs WeII as other Far
mers-Winning a Wife.

NlGn ne was missouri ldfihtEs dHu
came to town with wood to sell. One Of
these narratives, from a personal ac-
quaintance Of the general as given below.
Grant was great young man" says
Henry ziegenhein. former mayor of st.
Louis, who knew him before the war. II
don't think ! realized it then, but / do
now, when / recall the time when he was
about twenty-five years old, and 1 was
ten or twelve.
He was a quiet man, but strong and
steady; he was pretty well known to ev-
erybody, but not much understood by any
body. It's hard to describe the real
Grant. because any picture showing him
slightly different from that Of a somber
little man under a SLOUGH hat, with pants
in boots, black cigar between his lips,
and in a brown study, would be as re-.
luctantly received as a picture Of Uncle
Henry chr. Zlegenhein) without his
moon yet.
Grant" he continued. was a humble
citizen, and poor. but believe he was
happier then, with the occasional sale Of
a load Of saplings at 70 cents, than he
ever was afterward, as general or Presi-
dent and COmmander-in-Chief Of the
Army and Navy of the United States.
As lieutenant, he led that life. and
as a farmer, he led the farmers life;
adapting himself to whatever came as
though born for that particular position
in life. 1 have read that he wasn't a
business man. a business farmer; but let
me tell you a true story.
Bargaining with Wood Buyers.
Grant used to come to town with a
load OF wood. Always got in later than
anybody else 1 met him frequently. as
I was returning home after selling my
wood, just coming in with his. He didn't
seem 10 take any stock in the early
bird I believe his excuse was that he
couldn't make but one trip to town, any
how. and so what was the use of coming
in early and then returning TO the farm
10 90 nothing the rest Of the day?
When he brought a load OF wood 10
town he would wait silently for a buyer
4 baker IN his apron covered with -four
would come 20 his front door and say: I
want load Of ash. Ash makes just the
right heat for baking bread. What kind
OF wood have you?
Maybe Grant would have a mixture Of
oak, ash. and hickory. RE would puff
his black cigar or little short pipe-once
a nice little white pipe-and then say:
Well. there's ash. oak. and hickory
in this load, but 1 guess It's about seven
eighths ash
That's pretty good the baker would
say Don't think that little oak and
hickory viii hurt
Grant wouldn't actually know the eX-
act proportion. but he knew how 20
make the sale. Perhaps another man
would go up 10 his wagon and ask.
What kind Of wood? See y0u'v We got
good deal Of oak. I want hickory
This IS mostly hickory, little oak, 1T
tie ash. Grant would reply, and the sale
would be made. Nothing irregular. he
just gave the people what they wanted"
Always n Great Smoker.
The former mayor then recalled Grants
travels after he had become a great man,
but returned TO the time he was a boy
and Grant was q young man.
Eggs were packed In baskets Of cut
oats ia those days" he said. They sold
for one cent a dozen. The hens laid one
egg on week days and two on Sundays.
and there were lots and lots of hens.
Many a time I've seen Grant bring in
baskets Of eggs and sen them at that
low price.
Grant had two poor horses. about the
poorest anybody ever saw. / had an OK
team
He was fine looking man, with
little black beard and mustache. and Of
dark complexion, and he used TO look
little odd with such a sorry team Of
horses. But he was too quiet man. of
too few words. and too serious, for any
body 10 joke him about the horses even
then
Everybody now knows that Grant was a
great smoker. Mr.. Ziegenhein explains
how a farmer as poor as Grant could
smoke so habitually.
There was plenty Of fresh air in those
days" he said. and the quality OF a
smoke was not so much in evidence. You
couldn't tell how bad your smoke was
yourself, because you were out of doors
most Of the time,
In going home, ] would often stop my
OK team at some grocery and Grant
would stop his Sometimes we'd get a
little drink, and always one cigar and
often two cigars would be thrown In
with IT, And there WAS always "a barrel
OF free tobacco just outside or just in
side the door, and another barrel of lit
tie clay pipes with straight stems from
two TO four or FIVE inches long. I don't
think Grant ever failed to take adyan-
tage of his opportunity to get some OF
that tobacco o. "a couple Of those cigars.
Pretty good smokins-but, remember only
in the open air"
Uncle Henry was silent a moment,
his eyes half closed, and then he said
Not Much of n TRIker.
f-v,r+ 4,lg~o7 r-s-v- TgttT.. WI
he did say was always based on expert
ence or thorough knowledge. If he didn't
know, he would say he didn't. ! don't
believe he ever made a promise that he
couldn't fulfill II he made q statement
to you to-day, it was safe to wait on
him "a day or TWO, because IT, in the
meantime. he found that he had stated
something Incorrectly, he would return to
you and say, I was a little of on that
1t was this way
Unlike Lincoln, stories didn't go with
Grant He didn't seem to have the time
10 listen to them; didn't show any in
terest His smoking seemed to be a
very serious part Of him. He always
seemed 10 be in a deep study.
But StiIl we used TO have some good
times. \ jug of whisky costs only l2Iz
cents in those days. and it was the real.
pure stuff. too. \ couple of nips at
jug and some black tobacco were about
the limit Of extravaganza for our high
jinks then. We used 10 take q jug home
and for six or seven cents make enough
eggnog or Tom and Jerry to do q whole
lot Of good The whole thing would cost
whisky, 2 cents; two dozen eggs. .
cents; milk. . cents; smoking, 1 cent"
Grant, according to Mr.. Ziegenhein, was
g heater dresser for a farmer Of his
time than has been suspected.
He dressed like an ordinary farmer"
said the veteran politician and present
day banker, and although some people