The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1911-10-06
Good Elderberry
Wine
BY NJ. QUAD
BY NJ. QUAD
Copyright. 1911. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

when you could meet q lightning ROD
outfit at every five miles on the high
way. one Of the craft drove into the
town Of Plainfield. In showing OF his
fine horses be ran over a hog. and the
hog limped %squealing away. 1t was
nothing to make u fuss over, and none
would have been made il the hog
hadn't belonged to Elder Carpenter.
The elder was u solemn. severe man.
He happened to be passing at the time
the animal was run over, and be
caught a laugh and an oath from the
lips Of the man Of lightning. What
does he do but go before a justice and
swear out a warrant for malicious in
jury to q hog. An arrest and trial fol:1
lowed. OF curse the lightning rod
man testified on his 0wn behalf that
no malice existed. He and the elders
hog had never net before. He was
driving up to the hotel ina fancy way
to show of before the loafers 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 and
about forty others what he thought Of
them. their town and their fathers and
mothers before them. and there vas a
fight. in which he got badly banged up
and driven out Of town. OF course he
wanted to get even. You must know
that there is a fellow feeling between
men who are skinning the public. and
it 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 it's banks were
lined for. a 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-.
onload in half a 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 a 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 ped
der and his Chinese recipe. and an ex-
element followed. He returned to
Plainf1eld with a twenty 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 purporting to come from a large,
wine house and offering him s. a gal
lon for all the eldefberry wine he
could ship. !.
Six hundred dollars was the cash
capital wanted for a 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 key was placed on
the tavern veranda. and the public
asked to help themselves. Elder Car
penter was a temperance man right
down to refusing ginger beer. but he
saw no hurt in manufacturing a good
brand Of e~lderberry wine and selling It
for medicinal purposes.
It was three hours before the keg
was empty. and by that time 1t was
the universal verdict that the peddler
was a ''goo' felr'' and that the town
stood ready to invest not 5000. but
$600.O00.O00. in his enterprise. They
would buy 5000 presses. they would
gather 10000 loads Of berries. t was,
In the midst OF the greatest 'Eo6t feel
ing and general hilarity that the town
blacksmith said that Elder Carpenter
was a hog himself for making the
lightning rod man trouble over the 9th.
er hog. The elder promptly replied
that the smith u q born liar and
started the row. The peddler made
for the tavern barn and hid away, but
his example was not followed. Every
mai got the idea that It was his duty
to wade into SOME othe:: man. and for
an hour there was -dghting 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 q 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 let
the younger Eenerad0n 10 In and
whoop or up. Il vas these old men
who assisted the women when It came
to .poultices and bandases and to
wheeling home those who could not
walk.
Only two men knew what was in
that keg. and they never told. It may
have been Chinese e~lderberry wine
according to missionary recipe. or it
may have been a mixture Of whisky.
brandy. gin, wine and drugs. At any
rate, the feeling" lasted two whole
6ova aud <horo wopo Aul<o ol~no