Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1911-09-15
Good Elderbeny
Wine
By NJ QUAD
By NJ QUAD
Copyright. 1911. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

fine horses he ran over a hog. ana the
hog limped squealing away. 1t was
nothing to make a fuss over. and none
would have been made II the hog
hadn't belonged to Elder Carpenter.
The elder was solemn, severe man.
He happened to be passing at the time
the animal was run over, and ne
caught a laugh and an oath from the
lips of the man of lightning. What
does he do but go before justice ana
swear out warrant for malicious IN
jury to hog. An arrest and trlal iol-
lowed. OF course the lightning roo
man testified on his own behalf that
no malice existed. He and the elders
hog had never met before. lie was
driving up to the hotel in fancy way
to show of before the loafers sitting
on the veranda, and the hog was I'M
seen until too late.
At the conclusion OF the trial the
lightning rod man told the elder ana
about forty others what he thought or
them, their town and their fathers and
mothers before them. and there was
fight. In which he got badly banged up
and driven out of town. or course he
wanted to get even. You must know
that there is a fellow feeling between
men who are skinning the public. and
1t was quite natural that the elders
victim should select a tin peddler as
his instrument for carrying out his
plan.
A shallow river runs through Plain
field! At that time its banks were
lined for a mile up and down with ell
derberry bushes. Toward the last Of
August the clusters OF berries were
sight to see. One could gather wag-
onload in half day. One day a tin
peddler stopped to gather a couple of
bushels. In answer to inquiries he stat
ed that he was going TO make elder
berry wine after Il recipe brought from
China by a missionary. Your mother.
II she lived in the country, used to
make wine Of these berries, but only
In limited quantity. 1t isn't the bev-
erage to make one enthuse. There was
considerable talk about the tin ped
dler and his Chinese recipe, and an ex-
| element followed. He returned to
Plainfleld with twtnty gallon keg of
new wine, and wanted to form a syn
dicate for gathering the berries and
making the wine. He had with him a
letter purportlng to come from large
wine house and offering him IS n gal
Ion for all the elderberry wine he
could ship.
six hundred dollars was the cash
| capital wanted for press and build
ing and to pay for the gathering. The
dividends for the season would be 100
per cent There was no hayseed in the
hair of the population OF Plainfeld.
The peddler's talk sounded all right.
but the people said he must show them
before they invested. That was why
that twenty gallon keg was placed on
the tavern veranda. and the public
asked to help themselves. Elder Car
penter was Il Temperance man right
down to refusing ginger beer. but he
saw no hurt In manufacturing good
brand of eIderberry wine and selling II
for medicinal purposes.
1t was three hours before the keg
was empty. and by that time II was
the universal verdict that the peddler
was goo fel'r'' and that the town
stood ready 10 invest not 5000. but
$600,000,000. In his enterprise They
would buy COCO presses They would
gather 60,O00 loads of berries II was
In the midst OF the greatest good feel
ing and general hilarity that the town
blacksmith said that Elder Carpenter
was hog himself for making the
lightning rod man trouble over the 9th
er hog. The elder promptly replied
that the smith was n born liar and
started the row. The pedder made
for the tavern barn and hid away. but
his example was not followed. Every
man got the idea that 1t was his duty
to wade into some Other man. and fol-
an hour there was fighting up and
down the streets. Fathers whanged
away at sons. and brother punched
brother. The three local ministers
butted in as peacemakers and were
early left stranded in the dust.
There were few men in the town
who did not get black eyes and bloody
noses and lumpy heads, but they were
the old men who had had their fun In
other days and were now willing to lei
the younger generation 60 in an6
whoop 'er up. 1t was these old mer
who assisted the women when it came
to poultices and bandages and tc
wheeling home those who could moi
walk.
Only two men knew what was IL
that key, and they never told. It may
have been Chinese elderberry wine
recording to missionary recipe. or II
may have been q mixture of whisky
brandy, gin, wine and drugs. AT any
rate, the feeling" lasted two whole
days. and there were fights almost
daily for the next fortnight 1t was q
month later that the lightning rod man
tame driving up to the tavern again
This time he ran over two hogs instead
Of one. Elder Carpenter was pass
Ing again, but he did not stop or turn
He simply uttered an ''um" and hello
his way There was the usual CROWD
IN the veranda. but they crossed theil
egs. spat their tobacco juice over the
railing and were mum The town had
been struck by lightning and didn't
want any more OF it II didn't even
want the empty keg the peddler had
left behind him in his fight.