Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1912-06-06
RAISING
THE WIND
By NJ QUAD
Copyright. 1872. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

J
than $780,
Mr.. Schermerhorn had never spent |
much time thinking and planning of |
things outside his daily work. He was |
a carpenter and that settled that. lie /
could earn $3.50 per day when he had |
work, and that settled that lie never /
allowed himself to have dreams OF
riches and ease. Perhaps II was for
this reason and because he was no
talker and didn't mix up with politics
that he came to be looked upon as a
rather dull man.
On his fftieth birthday the carpen-
ter, being ont OF work, Sauntered OF
into the woods and sat down to nave
his first real think Hard work WAS
already beginning to tell on him, and
after about tive years more what was
to become of him: He was frightened
at the thought When be could no
longer earn wages it must be the poor
house for him. AS he had no relatives
to help him ont For three long hours
Amos Kept his brains at work. and as
be walked back to the village people
noticed a change In him. AS Deacon
Iiker afteTward remarked:
why, he looked an altogether DIFF.
ferent man to me. ana he talked right
up as brisk as lighting rod man. /
couldn't help but wonder If ne had
found a dollar in the road
Next day Amos Schermerhorn packed
his clothes in satcheI and headed tor
IA village thirty miles away. He enter
ed it on the second day. There had
been two or three recent rObberies.
and the constables were on the alert.
A mile from the village and directly
in front of a farmers barn Amos sat
down to rest. The farmer saw him
and came out and asked questions and
finally ordered him to move on and
helped him with kick. He did more.
He followed the wayfarer into the vii
lage and pointed him out as a sus-
picious person and had him arrested.
Amos made no kick and was arraign-
ed. convicted and sent to Jail for thirty
days with great celebrity. The con
stable slapped his mouth when he
started 10 protest, the judge said he
looked like an unhung villain, and the
jaier slammed him into cell with so
= much violence that he was thrown
down and had a finger broken.
Amos Schermerhorn served his thirty
days in Jail and was then warned TO
Q leave town within half an hour. He
made straight for the Office of law
e yer instead. and before night there was
i something to he talked of. The farmer
J. who had kicked him was arrested for
3 assa ult and battery, the constable who
a had run him in was arrested for false
imprisonment, the judge got a sum
e mons for defamation of character, and
J. the jaier was arrested on the same
charge as the farmer.
The judge had been a judge for
{ fifteen years. and he had always
: thought it within bis province to call
{ prisoner n son of a gun or any other
!, old thing he happened to think Of.
y He now learned that his legal duties
II ceased with pronouncing sentence. He
e had DETAINED the character of good
u man. and he had to pay for it. Amos
udu S-OU III ulS ulllu pOChSl WIFI
moved on. and he hadn't put in an
e hour at hard work. He had another
o village in mind. and he headed for it.
- 1t was farmer again that gave him
. away. He was plodding along the
y, dusty road when accoSted with:
u Here. you tramp. don't you want a
: few days work.
How much dayT
. Fifty cents and board"
- 81 can do better"
"Oh. you can? What ails you is that
= you don't want work at any price.
"a Your kind just want to tramp and beg
q BY John. there ought to be Jail big
,o enough to hold you all!
- II am not tramp" mildly replied
Amos.
"Oh. you are gentleman. mebbe"
"Wel, can pay my way"
b And the carpenter dug down and
II brought out his roll and held it up to
le' view and walked Off.
to "Gosh!" exclaimed the farmer to
y himself But he's a highway robher
l.. or | never saw one! Like enough he
o. broke into a house last night Well, I'll
settle his hash mighty suddenP'
n, And he went into the house and tele.
t phoned the constable at the village that
there was a suspicious character head.
:" ed that way, and Amos was collared as
1t soon as he showed up. He refused to
u give his name or TO tell where he got
the money found on him. The charge
Id put against him was suspected rob-
d. berry, and he was sent to Jail and held
Ut for ten days in hopes his victim might
~ be heard from. AT the end of that time
he was sentenced for ten days for be-
Ing vagabond.
When his sentence was up it was a
le rail- on lawyer again. The defend.
" ants could prove nothing whatever
K pgainst the plaintiff when it came to a
u Ihowdown, while he could show that
the three of them had acted illegally
I'D and that he had a fourth case against
10 the farmer. Mr.. Schermerhorn got SEN
'e for his share and walked on to play the
sc same game elsewhere. When he re-
III turned to his home Deacon Rider was