The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1917-06-16

chase those thousands of acres of forest,
mountain, and stream which now be-
longed to them, a speculative lumber
man with no capital, named OHara,
built the white house across the river on
a few acres of inherited property, settled
himself comfortably with his wife and
child, and prepared to acquire all the
timber in sight at a few dollars an acre
80. on credit. For thus, thought he,
is the beginning of all miihonaires.
So certain was O'Hara of ultimately
cOrRering the standing timber that he
took his time about it, never dreaming
that a rival might disturb hmm IN the
wilderness of Sycamore County.
He began IN the woodland which he
had inherited, which ran for mile on
either side of the river. This he leisure
~ cut hired few drivers, ran few
logs to FoxvI1le, and made money.
Now he was ready to extend business
on a greater scale; but when he came to
open negotiations with the score or
more OF fandhOlders, he found himself
IN the alarming position Of a bidder
against an unknown but clever rival,
who watched, waited, and quietly fore
stalled his every movement.
1t took a hong time for O'Hara to
discover that he was fighting a COM
bInatlon of fifteen wealthy gentlemen
from New York. Finally, when the
Sycamore Club, limited to fifteen, had
completed operations, O'Hara sudden
~ perceived that he was bottled up in
the strip of worthless land which he
had inherited, surround ed by thousands
of acres of preserved prOperty-Out-
witted, POwerless, completely hemmed
m. And that, too, with the best log
driving water betWiXt FOxville and
Canada washing the very door-still of
his own home.
At first ne naturally offered to sell
but the clubs small offer enraged him,
and he sxoFe that he would never sell
them an inch of his land He watched
the new clubhouse which was slowly
taking shape under the trowels Of mas
ons and the mallets OF carpenters; and
his wrath grew as grew the house.
The mans nature began to change; an
inextinguishable hatred for these people
took possession of him, became his
mania, his existence.
His wife died; he sent his child to a
convent school IN Canada and remain
ed TO watch. He did the club what
damage ne could, posting his property,
and as much of the river as ne con-
trolled. But he could not legally pre-
vent fishermen from wading the stream
and fishing; SO he filed the waters with
sawduSt, logs, barbed-wire, brambles,
and brush, choking IT so that no living
creature, except perhaps a mink, could
catch fish In it.
The club protested, and then offered
TO buy the land on O'Hara's own terms.
O'Hara cursed then and built a dam
without fshway, and sat besides it
nights with loaded shotgun
He still had a few dollars left; he
wanted millions to crush these rich men
who had come here to mock him and
take the bread out of his mouth for
their summers sport.
He had a shrewd young friend IN
New York, named Amasa Mum.
Through this man, O'Hara began to
speculate In every wildcat scheme that
ssqualled aloud for public support; and
between Mum and the wildcats his
little fortune spread its wings of gold
aid scared away. leaving him a wreck
on his wrecked land
But he could still find strength to
watch the spite dam with his shotgun.
One day better scheme came into his
unbalanced brain; he broke the dam
and sent for Num- Between them they
laid plan to ruin forever the trout-fish-
ing In the Sycamore; and Mum, taking