The Whitefish pilot. [volume] (Whitefish, Mont.) 1904-current, 1911-10-05
Good t.
W.:
BY M QUAD
Copyright. 1o1l. by Associated Lit
erary Press

way. one OF the craft drove into the
town Of Plainield In showing off his
fine horses he ran over IL hog. and the
hog limped squeaing away. 1t was
nothing to make a fuss over. and none
would have been made If the hog
hadn't belonged to Elder Carpenter.
| The elder was u solemn. severe man.
He happened to he passing at the time
the animal was run over. and he
| caught laugh and an oath from the
lips of the man Of lightning. What
does lie do but 60 before Il justice and
swear out a warrant for malicious in
| jury to hog. An arrest and trial fol.
lowed. OF course the lightning rod
man testified ON his own behalf that
no malice existed. He and the elders
hog had never met before. He was
driving up to the hotel in a fancy way
to show OF before the lOaferx sitting
on the veranda, and the hog was un-
seen until too late.
At the conclusion of the trial the
lightning rod man told the elder ana
about forty others what he thought Of
them, their town and their fathers and
mothers before them. and there was a
fight. in which he got badly banged up
| and driven Oh. Of town. OF course be
wanted to get even. You must know
that there is fellow feeling between
men who are SHINING the public. and
| it was quite natural that the elders
victim should select u tin peddler as
his instrument for carrying out his
plan.
A shallow river runs through Plain.
| Geld. At that time it's banks were
lined for II mile up and down with ell
derberry bushes. Toward the last of
August the clusters of berries were a
sight to see. One could gather a wag.
oE!o:d in half day. One day tin
peddler stopped to gather a couple of
bushels. In answer to inquiries he stat
ed that be was going to make elder,
berry wine after recipe brought from
| China by a missionary. Your mother.
If 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 ned
dler and his Chinese recipe. and an ex.
element followed. He returned to
PlainfieId with a twenty gallon keg OF
new wine. and wanted to form s..n.
dicate for gathering the berries and
making the wine. He had With him a
letter supporting to come from a large
wine house and offering him So a gal
Ion for all the elderberry wine be
| 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 hayseeu in the
hair Of the population Of Plaintield
The peddlers talk sounded all right
but the people said he must show them
before they invested That was why
that twenty gallon key 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 clderherry wine and selling i,
for medicinal purposes.
1t was three hours before the kep
was empty. and by that time it was
the universal verdict that the peddIel
WAS Il goo felr' and that the town
! stood ready to invest not $500. but
| $6CO,C00,OGO, in Ills enterprise. They
would buy COCO presses They would
gather GO.0OO loads Of berries. 1t was
in the midst of the greatest good feel
ing and general hilarity that the town
blacksmith said that Elder Carpenter
was Il hog himself for making th<
| lightning rod man trouble over the 9th
err hog. The elder promptly replied
| that the smith was born liar and
! started the row. The peddlcr made
for the tavern barn and hid away. but
| his example was not followed Every
man got the idea that it was his dut,
| to wade into some othe. man. and for
! an hour there was fighting up and
down the streets. Fathers whAngeG
away at sons. and brother punched
brother. The three local ministers
butted III as peaccmakers and were
early left stranded in the dust.
There were Il few men in the town
who did not get black eyes and bloody
noses ANA 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 so in and
whoop 'er up. 1t was these old men
who assisted the women when it came
to poultices and bandages and to
wheeling home those who could no,
walk
Only two men knew what was in
that key and they never told. 1t may
have been Chinese elderberry wine
according to missionary recipe. or it
may have been Il mixture OF whisky
brandy. gin. wine and drugs At any
rate. the feeling" lasted two whole
days. and there were fights s,lmos,
daily for the next fortnight. 1t was a
month later that the lightning rod mar
came driving up to the tavern again
This time he ran over tv.n hors ,rSta.o