The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1913-06-20
GINGER OR
NO GINGER
By M. QUAD
By M. QUAD
Copyright. 1918. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

and Moses Wheeler was among the
men loain' at the postofice and Adm
iron bimeby mentioned that his wife
was goin' to bake pumpkin pies on the
morrow and that he must buy 5 cents
worth of ginger to season with.
you don't tell me that you put gin
ger in pumpkin piesy' says Moses.
"Of course"
what fur?"
ITO add to their goodness"
"But it don't add to their goodness
not with folks who've got more taste
than a cow!Its all a fool bizness. and
where it started from ! don't know. A
pumpkin pie is a pumpkin pie, and you
can't neither make gingerbread nor
bran soup out Of it."
His words made Adiniron mad. and
the two had a jaw lastin' fur half an
hour. As both were church members
they didn't come to blows, but they
was never to be good friends ag'in.
The next time they met Moses Wheeler
tried to look as mean as he could and
stuck up his nose and said:
"Waal. Adiniron. are you turnin' out
many pumpkin pies with skunk's cab
bage for seasonin' nowadays?"
mot many. Noses" said Adiniron.
with a CLINT in his eye. "only jest NUT
to feed the town fool on"
That was the way the thing vent on.
After three years of argument and dis
pute Moses weakened enough to say
that a leetle nutmeg grated into pump
kin helped the taste of the pie, but be
wouldn't yield a hairs breadth on gin
ger. If there was a huskin bee. a
barn raisin' or log rollin' them two
men was allus there. and jest as soon
as they sighted each other the dispute
began. 1t finally split up the town
into gingerites and nutmegites. and
there was a heap Of hard feeIin's. At
various times the ministers tried to
bring about a reconciliation. They'd
20 to Adiniron and ask him fur the
good Of the community to weaken on
his ginger. and they'd 60 to Moses and
tell him that If the spire Of the Bap-
fist church was ever to be finished
he'd got to let pumpkin pies 60 and
talk of dOughnuts or %turnovers. Both
men would think 1t owe and promise
and agree and shake hands the next
time they met and call it all OF. They'd
meet at the p%ostOfice. and they'd shake
hands and purtend to be sorry. but 1t
wouldn't be two mlnits before Adm
iron would say:
Moses. | reckon you've heard of
that fellow Milton. who wrote Para
disc Lost'T"
"Of course"
mighty smart a wasn't he?
"You bet" ,
"Waal. his wife used ginger in her
pumpkin pies!
That would bust everything up agin.
and the old quarrel would be resumed,
and probably at the next prayer meet
in Moses would ask heaven to bear
with them Of depraved tastes, and
Adiniron would appeal that them who
didn't know nuthin' shouldn't be cut
of in their ignorance like a green bass
wood tree.
It was only a few nights ago that the
end came. Both men had got old and
feeble and ailin' in body. but their
minds was still sot as hard as ever
Adiniron had been talkin' most all day
with a windmill man. and Moses had
had a tin peddler at his house over
night. and both had got a heap Of new
Information. When they sauntered
into the postof1ce at Z o'clock Adm
iron puts On a grin and says:
Moses. you've heard of them pyra-
mids of Egypt. I reckonT
"Know 'em like a book" says Moses.
but they wasn't built of your kind Of
pumpkin pies::"
"No. they wasn't. but the men who
built 'em was fed on my kind of pump
kin pies. I've got the 6ggers right here
of jest how much ginger was used
every week. If 1t hadn't been fur gin
ger there'd hev been no 'pyra mids: new
er could hev been built on plain pump
kin pies in all this world"
"Mebbe not" says Moses. but them
pyramids are no great shakes. Mebbe
you are aware that Christopher Colum-
bus diskivered America"
1--WE heard no."
"And what did be do It onT"
ambition"
mot much! Adiniron Tompkfns, I've
got baF'ls II pfUof right II my coattafi
pocket that he did It on pumpkin pies!'
with ginger In 'em7"
"Not any-only pla1n."
81 don't believe IT."
""Then you're, a newt"
"Don't call me n~annes!"
"And don't bristle up to me-"
Then Of q sudden Moses went white
ID the face and took on q queer look,
and purity soon It was found that be
had a stroke Of paralysis. They took.
him home. and he died that night. but
afore passin' away he looked UP at his
wife IN away that meant plain pump
kin pies. Adiniron was Jest used up
over It. He no longer had any one to
dispute with. and even itghtnin' rod
men didn't seem to, are a rap wheth-
- Mt san~ -~A~ ~l~a- ~.-s>-~~~A -