The Newport miner. [volume] (Newport, Wash.) 1899-current, 1911-02-02
A Blackberry Craze
By N. QUAD
Copyright. 1910, by Associated Lit
erary Press

Hawkinsville Is. a village in the
shadow of a certain New England
mountain. 1t is called the LATEST
place In its state. and rightly So Ten
years ago stranger came along and
gave 1t its deathblow, and in a rather
queer way.
There was tavern at Hawkinsville.
There was little need Of one, as very
few strangers ever found the place.
but there was one, and 1t was kept
by lazy man. There was a black
smith shop. and Its owner was lazy.
1t was the same with the butcher, the
cooper and others. Laziness and con-
tent prevailed.
just why this laZiness should have
irritated traveller who rested at the
tavern for few days was a puzzle.
He was not in the best Of health, and
he wanted peace and rest. but the lazi-
mess and serenity Of others appeared
to gall him. The weather was hot.
and Of an afternoon about 200 men
would occupy the long veranda of the
hotel
1t was about time for the blackberry
season to open. The mountain sides
and the fringes of the highways were
thick with blackberry bushes, and the
crop OF berries promised to be unusual
" large that season. 1t was from See
ing freckled faced boy with a basket
of berries on his arm that the stranger
must have got his idea. The landlord
was lazy. His son, who waited on the
table. was lazy The stranger called
them into consultation. He first swOre
them to secrecy. Then he admitted to
being resident of Philadelphia and
wine dealer. He had invented new
champagne, and the basis of 1t was
blackberry wine. He was up in that
blackberry country to secure It,
The lazy landlord lazily figured. but
his figures proved to him that he could
make more profit in one day picking
berries than running his tavern for
sixty. Four dollars per day were his
figures, and there were four Of them
to pick and press The four started
out next morning. Yes. they let some
Of their friends in on the ground
floor That was the reason why Haw-
kinsville got the blackberry craze. In
two days it had everybody wild.
There Is no man so lazy that he
won't pick blackberries. The bushes
are high, and you don't have to bend
over. In some cases you can sit down
and pick. All you have to do is to
reach out hand. You can fall asleep,
take refreshing nap and then wake
up and go to picking again. The cham
pion lazy men of Hawkinsville got a
move on them. Four dollars a day
and they could keep together and talk
as they picked! The women went out.
The children went out Old grand
fathers and grandmothers went out. A
certain citizen who had been told that
he would die within three days braced
up and lived two weeks In order to
give his family chance to go berry
ing.
When about forty people are engag-
ed in hunting the blackberry there
must be results They came In at
night with full baskets and pals, and
before they slept the berries were turn
ed into wine and bottled and jagged
and kegged. The champagne man was
on hand to speak encouraging words.
He even went out and did little pick
ing himself and turned over the Der
ries to the widows and the fatherless.
One day lightning rod man drove
into the town. He had been there be-
fore. He knew how lazy everybody
was, and he longed to throw siren
uosity aside for awhile and mingle
with them. No one on the tavern We
randa-only q lame man in sight on
the streets. The town was dead
"Yaller fever?" he asked Of the lame
man.
Nope"
Cholera 2" s...
Nope"
Smallpox around -
''Nope"
''Then what does this mean"'
"Blackberries and 81 day
When the lightning man had heard
the full particulars he shut one eye
and held it closed for long minute be-
fore saying:
Jest so; jest so. Blackberry boom.
Blackberry champagne. Blackberry
stranger. Well. 1t amt any OF my fu-
neral. If town Is bound and deter
mined to kill herself 1t won't do no
good for one man to talk"
whats the matter?' asked the lame
man.
"Oh. / amt wanting to interrupt the
fun. but femme ask you II you ever
heard that champagne was made Of
blackberries:'