Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1910-03-25
A SLEEPY
HEADED MAN
BY M. QUAD
Copyright. 1910. by Associated Lit.
erary Press.

another basin and so reported to the
Sunshine Crude Oil Producing com.
pany. capital 100000. That CON-
pany had gobbled up all the best wells
in large district and was rapidly
controlling production.
Moses Perkins was young man of
twenty-siX. He was a farmers son
and farmer himself, and he was not
yet married. He had left his farm for
a few months to help drill oil wells
for the Sunshine company. Moses
was hard working and honest. He
would put in long days work, but
he wasn't smart. From the day he
began work at $3.50 day until the
day he was discharged. a period of
twenty days. the foreman over him
applied to him such terms as sleepy.
head. idiot. blunderbuss. born fool,
and so forth.
One day Perkins was sent for a can
Of nitroglycerin. On his return he was
seen coming along tossing it in the
air and catching it when it came down.
This was too much. Perkins was dis
charged.
1t was geologist who differed from
all the other biologists that found q
new dip" on the Widow Carson's
farm. Her farm was the center of
the basin. 1t was stony. sterile old
farm of 100 acres, and the widow her.
self was almost as dilapidated as the
nlf
gaunt and homely, and she had three
gaunt and homely children. The geol-
ogist staled his reputation that there
was oil beneath her land. and the Sun
shine company took him in OH pro-
viso. The first thing was to get the
legal privilege Of sinking we'll. and
this was to carry with it lease in
case oil was discovered. There must
be more or less beating about the bush
to prevent the widow from taking the
alarm. The preliminaries were in.
trusted to 4 lawyer disguised as ped
der
When Moses Perkins had got it into
his head that there was Widow Car
son somewhere Oh earth who was of
interest to the Sunshine company he
figured that it could mean only one
thing. Then he began to inquire
around. and after week he lighted
on man who could tell him. Then
he put shirt. collar and pair of
socks into an old satchel and set out
for the forty mile walk. In the even
ing of the second day he arrived at the
widows. lie found her and her chill
dren as above described. it was next
door to poverty. Moses had often
dreamed of the wife he was to marry.
and he was taken aback. He might
have given up his project and retreat
ed in good order had not peddler ar
rived the same evening. He was the
disguised lawyer of the Sunshine COM
pany. He seized on Moses Perkins for
dunderhead and went ahead and
talked. The widow didn't catch on,
but Moses did. A company wanted her
farm for a quarry, and she was ready
enough to sign any sort of paper the
next day.
Moses had been asked to stay over
night. The peddler must 60 farther
This left the coast clear for a few
hours. Moses had never made love 20
a woman. but he began while yet TIE
peddler's coattails were futtering
through the gate. He told Of his own
farm. his prospects. his good health
how he looked in vain for years for
the woman Of his dreams, but had
found her at last. He needn't have
done half as much talking. The Wild
ow was ready to lease her farm, and
she was also ready to marry again.
Before midnight she was the promised
bride Of Moses Perkins. At 10 o'clock
the next forenoon she was his wife
and her children We're calling him pop.
At II o'clock the peddler arrived with
certain documents and a witness. He
found the bride sitting on the BRIDE
groom's knee. He intimated that the
papers were all ready to sign and that
he had certain sum of money to
pass over. but fool Moses had some
thing to say. He was the husband
and the man of the house now. AS
soon as the wedding trip was over
he was going to take off his coat and
vest and make those lGO acres hump
and hustle. The big powders lying
around would take roll. and the
stony ground would blossom as The
rose. Mrs. Carson would have been
willing to sell the old place for most
anything. but Mrs. Perkins didn't care
to even sign lease.
For six weeks longer Moses was talk
On for a chap With sawdust in his
head. The lawyers and spectators
and rings tried in every way to get the
best Of him. but what they cursed as
his stupidity helped him to hold his
own. Then he woke up one morning
with his head all right He had found
oil eXudins from spring. and he an
nounccd the fact to the world at large;
also that the farm was for lease or sale
The Sunshine people were not the only
ones to rush. Three leases were made,
and three companies pledged them.
selves to pay royalties. and inside of a
year Moses Perkins was millionaire
and the Perkins family We're eating