The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1912-11-25


'Ian6l-oT5Tuer whom Balduc could induce
to sen tlle money 20 Be paid Vlllelnl his,
DEEDS were made to the EOapO6d COM
Dany. The strength Of the plan Iayi
IN having the entire county IN shape
for direct transEer to the Great Lake8
railroad. So large q bait could not
fail OF success, nor Waa there any.
moral wrong IN EOlgtinG these worth
less mineral q Ehfg on ito company.
The directors OF s NeE6 notorious.
land thieves; > haiF-shirt Wae due.
them.
Jean BaIduc was convinced and.
eIated. He would gladly have lent his
aid to the scheme without c0mpansa-;
ton, out cfsiuteEe6t in tho people OF
the county; but here was BaEnsdeIdi
about to reap enormous sums rom
the venture, and he might Is Wen:
have the money which was offered.
They agreed, then. that BaEn61eldi
should pay him one thousand dollars.
FOR every landowner who made =
deed for the mineral rights under his
land, the money to be paid when the
transfer was made by Barnsaeld TO.
the Great Lakes Railroad company.
There were thfry-6our Of these men.
Balduc,s popularity the reputation
he had established with the people
and his prestige as county treasurer
EAVe weight to his w0rdS He went.
back to his people, assured them that
he had Investigated Barnsheld's plan
and that it would certainly be carried
out. He had seen the very surveys for
the road, the estimates, the proales.
Finally he secure9 the deeds OF nine
teen Of these recalcftrant landowners.
The others could not be induced to
sell. BarnsdeId marked their names
or his list, expressed himself satis-
fed with the matter and put all his
deeds to record. The county, now at
the gateway Of its fortunes, reJoiced-
A. great mass meeting was held IN
the court house; a vote OF thanks was
awarded Jean Balduc; he vas carried
to his nome on the shoulders Of his
burned on the hills; horses were pa
iraded; the local papers ran their cleo
ton roosters and eagles.
Then came the gray morning. and
the gradual rising OF the sun The
minions of Barnsdeld vanished
Months passed. and no engineer Of
the Great Lakes railroad sighted his
sfff=1lFSEfeg lnO0s Huron county No carts
were trundled across her rivers, no
Italian came to make q footpath for
the iron beast; but, instead, a little
man in spectacIes arrived from Mar
Quette and staked out q shipping wharf
at Plymouth for the Lake shore
Steamship company To. Inquiries he
replied that BarnsheId wished to take
the copper out QG Huron county and
the steamship company must have
wharf from which to load it. Copper!
The county sat literally with its jaws
agape. But was this merely another
subterfuge OF Barnsdeld? 1t was not.
A little later a weILlnown superin-
tendent from the regular mining
region came with Horkmen and I'M
covered the copper-bearing strata. 1t
was copper territory The whole
county richer than the Indies!
Jean Balduc stopped here In his
narrative, drew down the muscles OF
his face until his eyes narrowed to
pale sits. He crushed and ground
the maps OF his coat pockets in his big
hands. His mind was evidently
cramued with incIdents-Vivid, crowd
ing incidents: A hood OF Indignation
poured over Jean Balduc. He was.
cursed, waking and sleeping, as With
Roman anatherna- Even Barnsdeld.
chuckling in his den In New York,
Eoaded him He would pay the nine
teen thousand dollars when the deeds
we're transferred to the Great Lakes
Railroad company-if he were living
then.
Exile was the only solution. Jean
BaIduc determined to close up his at
fairs as treasurer OF the county, come
to New York, collect from Barnsdeld I
the tzenty-eight thousand dollars |
which he owed Huron county for taxes |
on his mineral rights. transfer It to
the county, and then settle his own !
atiafr with BarnsheId. After that, II /
he got away. he would go back to the !
JACQUES Cartier river; but he would
likely not get away.
Have you seen Barnsdeld?" said |
Randolph Mason.
yes" replied the man: II went to =
him yesterday to collect these taxes.
and he tried to beat me even on that
He was hard up, he said, he had no
ready money: but he would. give me
bonds OF the Empire Copper company
II would take these bonds at par
ana turn over the tax receipts TO him.
Irefuseds and he asked me to come
back today at one o'clock
Randolph Mason turned to me-
what arc these bonds WORTH" he [,
said
"They are not listed on the stock
EXCHANGE" I answered: ''but there is !
a curb market for them at seventy /
I'VE cents"
randolph Mason walked over to the ,
window and stood looking out: at the +
heavy snow-hakes driving against the
-.l..,1 -rrbe HE, North or0eF. waited but