The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1912-09-13
Copyright by Edward J. clode


brought him In from the door. Their
81 a close-sitting air Of the province
on all those who come from there In
to New York. The smartest tailors
the most Partisan modistes cannot dis
lodge II. 1t 10 the atmosphere OF hi
own land minted into the man, lying
deeper than the cut Of his coat.
put Jean Balduc up In British Amer
tca-his big. lank, hard body belonged
In the open, q rugged, roomy. primeva
open. His light blue eyes were from
remote spruce forests reflected on the
glimmering ~snow-crust. His hair was
that blue-black which the French car
ried for violent contrast into the white
north. His manner and speech were
abrupt and direct.
He demanded an audience with Ran
dolph Mason. / tried first to get q
little history out Of the big fellow
from which TO determine the advisable.
fly OF such an audience. I got only a
few craggy fragments. He had come
10 New York to even up a score with
Barnsfeld, the copper emperor on
Broadway.
He wished to get at the man within
the purlieus OF the law. If such a thing
was possible. II not. he knew another
way, very common In his country and
direct-and, II not productive Of none
tary results. at least the balm OF
Gilead to ones injured sensibilities.
He had some other business to settle
with Barnsfeld mot his own AFFAIR.",
which would require dancing.steps and
truce flags; but, when that was
cleaned up and ended, It would be the
chester and AZ white fags down.
I took him to Randolph Mason, and
he told his story. yalktsg up and down
the length Of the room and driving,
% and then, his clenched right hand
into the palm OF his left for emphasis.
He vas from Huron county on the
south shore of Lake Superior. Earlier
he had com from the Jacques Cartier
river In the Dominion. He had been a
factor in the affairs Of Huron county:
he knew every man. woman and child
in 1t, every tract Of land, every nook
and corner Of it. Three years before
he had made a house-to-house, man-to-
man nva OF the county for treas
urer. and got it, with a majority TO
spare. He had gained, too, the good
will OF the people, their confidence and
their hospitable friendship. Then, like
ahn 1n1,ctC ~ DfhiinaI rnaNrA n
the emissaries of Barnsfeld TO pur-
chase the mineral rights under all the
lands In the county.
II was not known that there was
any copper in Huron county. Indeed,
eminent biologists and practical pros.
pectors had long agreed that the coun-
~ was barren. These emissaries OF
Barnsfield explained that he was not
misled about the sterility of the land.
He knew that he was paying out good
money for worthless rock, clay and
gravel; but his plan was to corrupt
the prospecting engineer of the Great
Lakes Railroad company-have him
secretly report 10 the company the
existence OF copper in this county.
Then he, Darnsield. would come gen.
erously forward and offer to transfer
to the railroad the entire mineral
rights Of the county, provided the COM
pany would build a line through 1t TO
his wharf at Plymouth on the south
shore OF Lake Superior. This would
enable him to load ore from the known
nOnnnr rnufnnc dfrnatly- nm narc frDyn
the lake boats at Plymouth, and
shorten the haul to his market by two
hundred miles.
This story was gladly swallowed by
the natives. They hoped for the COM
ing Of a railroad into the county, as
the advent of a sort of commercial
Messiah. Once or more they had
voted large bond subscriptions % lure
in such an enterprise, but 1t was Of
no avail. Lake Superior remained the
only path OF commerce.
In a few months these agents had
obtained the mineral rights OF almost
the entire county. A few landowners
along the lake held out against them,
and finally, after exhausting their in
genuity. Barnsfield's men came to Jean
Balduc for assistance. They explained
that these landowners were blocking
the prosperity OF the whole people.
The only chance OF an iron highway
to the south was being elbowed out.
Balduc said he would go to these
men and induce them TO join in the
sale, II he were assured from head
quarters that the railroad plan would
be carried through. They took him to
Duluth, and to Barnsfeld. He had
the plan from Barnsfield's mouth. He
was shown maps and profiles of the
proposed route, elaborate plans and
specifications OF a great wharf and
warehouses which Barnsfield expected
to build at Plymouth when the rail.
road came, drawings for an addition
to the town-indeed, all the paper de-
tails for a city. Balduc was intro
duced to the engineer Of the Great
Lakes Railroad company and read his
report.
Barnsfleid talked very frankly. His
plan was not philanthropic. He would
get back his money In a year from
lessened shipping rates from the
lakes. At present, his ore was at the
mercy OF one line; a rival would mean