Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1913-08-07
A PUMPKIN
EPISODE
BY M. QUAD
Copyright. 1913. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

have found IA restful, peaceful place.
No one rushed about No one talked
politics No one argued over Jonah
and the whale. There were no quar-
rels among men or dogs. If you had
asked Deacon Somers what thrilling
event had happened in Grafton in the
last twenty years he would have taken
five minutes to reflect and then slowly
answered:
WAL | can't think of nawthin'
'cept the Baptist church being struck
by Iightnin'"'
In that same year Il man Travelled
over Il good part of Indiana and Illinois
buying pumpkin seeds of farmers. He
offered II cents n pound for all they
would send him in the fall to II certain
address in Chicago. and if u farmer
I wanted some money in advance to pro-
| tect himself he got it.
1t was the same man that had bought
the seeds several hundred miles away
that appeared in Grafton early III Jan
uary of the next year He had come
to herald the fact that great medical
as most great things are 1t was that
the seeds Of II certain pumpkin grown
nowhere else except along the Lybian
desert were IL sure cure for indigestion,
liver troubles. kidney ailments, nerv-
BUSINESS and Il dozen other things.
They would positively prevent con-
sumption and cancer and all sorts Of
feverS
Mr.. White had a few of the seeds
with him. They were chocolate color
ed instead Of yellow white They
could be had only in Chicago, and no
order exceeding Il peck would be filled.
Just hold seed in the mouth for five
minutes and then chew it down.
Grafton woke up Bell county woke
up. Other counties woke up. A full
page ad. in the local papers woke the
editors up. Talk about booms and a
raise of 20 per cent in real estate!
Why, here was a gold mine. and every
body owning an acre of ground was
going to become n millionaire inside of
two years.
Did the confiding public send away
to Chicago for the Lybian seeds? You
bet they did! They got 'em by the hun
dred, the pint. the quart and the peck.
Some men made the trip there and
back that they might plead in person
for larger quantity than the circular
allotted. The letters going west aver
aged thirty per day for months.
The editors said that Mr.. White was
an honest man and the crying need of
the country was more like him.
Mr. White himself didn't say much.
II" was too busy signing contracts to
do much Cabling. What he did say,
and with much feeling. was that he
hoped the people would not forget him
after he had departed
They haven't yet and probably never
will.
The village of Grafton had four pref
ty fair doctors. At the beginning Of
things they called Mr.. White liar,
faker and II fraud His reply was that
when Harvey discovered the circula
ton of the blood men wanted to mob
him for charlatan The doctors de-
MED the curative properties of his Lyb-
ian pumpkin seeds. He replied that
for years and years the medical fra
ternity had fought shy of quinine.
No. they didn't get anything on Mr..
White to scare him out of town be-
tween two days He was right on the
job all the time. and the doctors suffer
ed in prestige instead of gaining. 1t
was probably one of the four that
wrote letter to Washington that
brought an inspector to Grafton to see
ii the postal laws were being broken !
He came and saw and went away He
said that somebody had to get the /
money of the Uncle RubeS of the coun-
try and he could see no difference be- /
tween Mr.. White and the brokers Of
Wall street
AS spring approached and the snow
began to go and the people to get ready
for pumpkin seed planting there came
to Grafton one day professor from
the State Agricultural college. He had
heard of the seeds and wanted to see
them, They were shown him. and he
promptly identified them as the seeds
of American pumpkins.
But they are not a yellow white"
was protested
That's because they have all been
dyed!'
But these surely came from a des-
ert"
How do you make that out?"
''They feel sandy"
Couldn't sand be sifted over them?"
Sir" said Mr. White to the profess
sor in a quiet and even voice, ''are you
prepared to substantiate your allega-
tons in court of law?"
Yes. say they are American pump
kin seeds"
You must prove them to be such or
pay me heavy damages"
The professor wilted. and when he
had been notified by several parties
that he had better move on he moved
On the day that the first seeds went
into the ground Mr. White took a trip.